ABAP (Advanced Business Application Programming, originally Allgemeiner Berichts-Aufbereitungs-Prozessor, German for "general report preparation processor") is a high-level programming language created by the German software company SAP SE. It is currently positioned, alongside Java, as the language for programming the SAP NetWeaver Application Server, which is part of the SAP NetWeaver platform for building business applications.

Introduction
ABAP is one of the many application-specific fourth-generation languages (4GLs) first developed in the 1980s. It was originally the report language for SAP R/2, a platform that enabled large corporations to build mainframe business applications for materials management and financial and management accounting.

ABAP used to be an abbreviation of Allgemeiner Berichts-Aufbereitungs-Prozessor, German for "generic report preparation processor", but was later renamed to the English Advanced Business Application Programming. ABAP was one of the first languages to include the concept of Logical Databases (LDBs), which provides a high level of abstraction from the basic database level(s),which supports every platform, language and units.

The ABAP language was originally used by developers to develop the SAP R/3 platform. It was also intended to be used by SAP customers to enhance SAP applications – customers can develop custom reports and interfaces with ABAP programming. The language was geared towards more technical customers with programming experience.

ABAP remains as the language for creating programs for the client–server R/3 system, which SAP first released in 1992. As computer hardware evolved through the 1990s, more and more of SAP's applications and systems were written in ABAP. By 2001, all but the most basic functions were written in ABAP. In 1999, SAP released an object-oriented extension to ABAP called ABAP Objects, along with R/3 release 4.6.

SAP's current development platform NetWeaver supports both ABAP and Java.

ABAP has an abstraction between the business applications, the operating system and database. This ensures that applications do not depend directly upon a specific server or database platform and can easily be ported from one platform to another.

SAP Netweaver currently runs on UNIX (AIX, HP-UX, Solaris, Linux), Microsoft Windows, i5/OS on IBM System i (formerly iSeries, AS/400), and z/OS on IBM System z (formerly zSeries, S/390). Supported databases are HANA, SAP ASE (formerly Sybase), IBM Db2, Informix, MaxDB, Oracle, and Microsoft SQL Server (support for Informix was discontinued in SAP Basis release 7.00).

ABAP Runtime Environment
All ABAP programs reside inside the SAP database. They are not stored in separate external files like Java or C++ programs. In the database all ABAP code exists in two forms: source code, which can be viewed and edited with the ABAP Workbench tools; and generated code, a binary representation somewhat comparable with Java bytecode. ABAP programs execute under the control of the runtime system, which is part of the SAP kernel. The runtime system is responsible for processing ABAP statements, controlling the flow logic of screens and responding to events (such as a user clicking on a screen button); in this respect it can be seen as a Virtual Machine comparable with the Java VM. A key component of the ABAP runtime system is the Database Interface, which turns database-independent ABAP statements ("Open SQL") into statements understood by the underlying DBMS ("Native SQL"). The database interface handles all the communication with the relational database on behalf of ABAP programs; It also contains extra features such as buffering of tables and frequently accessed data in the local memory of the application server.

SAP Systems and Landscapes
All SAP data exists and all SAP software runs in the context of a SAP system. A system consists of a central relational database and one or more application servers ("instances") accessing the data and programs in this database. A SAP system contains at least one instance but may contain more, mostly for reasons of sizing and performance. In a system with multiple instances, load balancing mechanisms ensure that the load is spread evenly over the available application servers.

Installations of the Web Application Server (landscapes) typically consist of three systems: one for development; one for testing and quality assurance; and one for production. The landscape may contain more systems (e.g., separate systems for unit testing and pre-production testing) or it may contain fewer (e.g., only development and production, without separate QA); nevertheless three is the most common configuration. ABAP programs are created and undergo first testing in the development system. Afterwards they are distributed to the other systems in the landscape. These actions take place under control of the Change and Transport System (CTS), which is responsible for concurrency control (e.g., preventing two developers from changing the same code at the same time), version management, and deployment of programs on the QA and production systems.

The Web Application Server consists of three layers: the database layer; the application layer; and the presentation layer. These layers may run on the same or on different physical machines. The database layer contains the relational database and the database software. The application layer knowledge contains the instance or instances of the system. All application processes, including the business transactions and the ABAP development, run on the application layer. The presentation layer handles the interaction with users of the system. Online access to ABAP application servers can go via a proprietary graphical interface, which is called "SAP GUI", or via a Web browser.

Software Layers
ABAP software is deployed in software components.
Examples for these are:
 SP_BASIS is the technical base layer which is required in every ABAP system.
 SAP_ABA contains functionalities which is required for all kinds of business applications, like business partner and address management.
 SAP_UI provides the functionality to create SAP UI5 applications.
 BBPCRM is an example for a business application, in this case the CRM application
SAP ABAP is an ERP programming language.

Transactions
A transaction in SAP terminology is the execution of a program. The normal way of executing ABAP code in the SAP system is by entering a transaction code (for instance, VA01 is the transaction code for "Create Sales Order"). The common T-codes used by ABAP developer are SE38, SE09, SE10, SE24, SE11, SE16N, SE80, SE37, ST22  e.t.c . Transactions can be called via system-defined or user-specific, role-based menus. They can also be started by entering the transaction code directly into a command field, which is present in every SAP screen. Transactions can also be invoked programmatically by means of the ABAP statements CALL TRANSACTION and LEAVE TO TRANSACTION.
The general notion of a transaction is called a Logical Unit of Work (LUW) in SAP terminology; the short form of transaction code is T-code.

Types of ABAP programs
As in other programming languages, an ABAP program is either an executable unit or a library, which provides reusable code to other programs and is not independently executable.

ABAP distinguishes two types of executable programs:

 Reports
 Module pools

Reports follow a relatively simple programming model whereby a user optionally enters a set of parameters (e.g., a selection over a subSET of data) and the program then uses the input parameters to produce a report in the form of an interactive list. The term "report" can be somewhat misleading in that reports can also be designed to modify data; the reason why these programs are called reports is the "list-oriented" nature of the output they produce.

Module pools define more complex patterns of user interaction using a collection of screens. The term "screen" refers to the actual, physical image that the user sees. Each screen also has a "flow logic", which refers to the ABAP code implicitly invoked by the screens, which is divided into a "PBO" (Process Before Output) and "PAI" (Process After Input) section. In SAP documentation the term "dynpro" (dynamic program) refers to the combination of the screen and its flow logic.

The non-executable program types are:

 INCLUDE modules - These get included at generation time into the calling unit; it is often used to subdivide large programs.
 Subroutine pools - These contain ABAP subroutines (blocks of code enclosed by FORM/ENDFORM statements and invoked with PERFORM).
 Function groups - These are libraries of self-contained function modules (enclosed by FUNCTION/ENDFUNCTION and invoked with CALL FUNCTION).
 Object classes - These are similar to Java classes and interfaces; the first define a set of methods and attributes, the second contain "empty" method definitions, for which any class implementing the interface must provide explicit code.
 Interfaces - Same as object classes
 Type pools - These define collections of data types and constants.

ABAP programs are composed of individual sentences (statements). The first word in a statement is called an ABAP keyword. Each statement ends with a period. Words must always be separated by at least one space. Statements can be indented as you wish. With keywords, additions and operands, the ABAP runtime system does not differentiate between upper and lowercase.

Statements can extend beyond one line. You can have several statements in a single line (though this is not recommended). Lines that begin with asterisk * in the first column are recognized as comment lines by the ABAP runtime system and are ignored. Double quotations marks (") indicate that the remainder of a line is a comment.

Development environment
There are two possible ways to develop in ABAP. The availability depends on the release of the ABAP system.

ABAP Workbench
The ABAP Workbench is part of the ABAP system and is accessed via SAP GUI. It contains different tools for editing programs. The most important of these are (transaction codes are shown in parentheses):

 ABAP Editor for writing and editing reports, module pools, includes and subroutine pools (SE38)
 ABAP Dictionary for processing database table definitions and retrieving global types (SE11)
 Menu Painter for designing the user interface (menu bar, standard toolbar, application toolbar, function key assignment) (SE41)
 Screen Painter for designing screens and flow logic (SE51)
 Function Builder for function modules (SE37)
 Class Builder for ABAP Objects classes and interfaces (SE24)

The Object Navigator (transaction SE80) provides a single integrated interface into these various tools.

ABAP Development Tools
The ABAP Development Tools (ADT), formally known as "ABAP in Eclipse", is a set of plugins for the Eclipse IDE to develop ABAP objects.

In this scenario, the ABAP developer installs the required tools on his computer and works locally, whereas a continuous synchronization with the backend is performed.

ABAP Dictionary
The ABAP Dictionary contains all metadata about the data in the SAP system. It is closely linked with the ABAP Workbench in that any reference to data (e.g., a table, a view, or a data type) will be obtained from the dictionary. Developers use the ABAP Dictionary transactions (directly or through the SE80 Object Navigator inside the ABAP Workbench) to display and maintain this metadata.

When a dictionary object is changed, a program that references the changed object will automatically reference the new version the next time the program runs. Because ABAP is interpreted, it is not necessary to recompile programs that reference changed dictionary objects.

A brief description of the most important types of dictionary objects follows:
 Tables are data containers that exist in the underlying relational database. In the majority of cases there is a 1-to-1 relationship between the definition of a table in the ABAP Dictionary and the definition of that same table in the database (same name, same columns). These tables are known as "transparent". There are two types of non-transparent tables: "pooled" tables exist as independent entities in the ABAP Dictionary but they are grouped together in large physical tables ("pools") at the database level. Pooled tables are often small tables holding for example configuration data. "Clustered" tables are physically grouped in "clusters" based on their primary keys; for instance, assume that a clustered table H contains "header" data about sales invoices, whereas another clustered table D holds the invoice line items. Each row of H would then be physically grouped with the related rows from D inside a "cluster table" in the database. This type of clustering, which is designed to improve performance, also exists as native functionality in some, though not all, relational database systems.
 Indexes provide accelerated access to table data for often used selection conditions. Every SAP table has a "primary index", which is created implicitly along with the table and is used to enforce primary key uniqueness. Additional indexes (unique or non-unique) may be defined; these are called "secondary indexes".
 Views have the same purpose as in the underlying database: they define subsets of columns (and/or rows) from one or - using a join condition - several tables. Since views are virtual tables (they refer to data in other tables) they do not take a substantial amount of space.
 Structures are complex data types consisting of multiple fields (comparable to struct in C/C++).
 Data elements provide the semantic content for a table or structure field. For example, dozens of tables and structures might contain a field giving the price (of a finished product, raw material, resource, ...). All these fields could have the same data element "PRICE".
 Domains define the structural characteristics of a data element. For example, the data element PRICE could have an assigned domain that defines the price as a numeric field with two decimals. Domains can also carry semantic content in providing a list of possible values. For example, a domain "BOOLEAN" could define a field of type "character" with length 1 and case-insensitive, but would also restrict the possible values to "T" (true) or "F" (false).
 Search helps (successors to the now obsolete "matchcodes") provide advanced search strategies when a user wants to see the possible values for a data field. The ABAP runtime provides implicit assistance (by listing all values for the field, e.g. all existing customer numbers) but search helps can be used to refine this functionality, e.g. by providing customer searches by geographical location, credit rating, etc.
 Lock objects implement application-level locking when changing data.

ABAP syntax
This brief description of the ABAP syntax begins with the ubiquitous "Hello world" program.

Hello world
REPORT TEST.
WRITE 'Hello World'.
This example contains two statements: REPORT and WRITE. The program displays a list on the screen. In this case, the list consists of the single line "Hello World". The REPORT statement indicates that this program is a report. This program could be a module pool after replacing the REPORT statement with PROGRAM.

Chained statements
Consecutive statements with an identical first (leftmost) part can be combined into a "chained" statement using the chain operator :. The common part of the statements is written to the left of the colon, the differing parts are written to the right of the colon and separated by commas. The colon operator is attached directly to the preceding token, without a space (the same applies to the commas in the token list on, as can be seen in the examples below).

Chaining is often used in WRITE statements. WRITE accepts just one argument, so if for instance you wanted to display three fields from a structure called FLIGHTINFO, you would have to code:
WRITE FLIGHTINFO-CITYFROM.
WRITE FLIGHTINFO-CITYTO.
WRITE FLIGHTINFO-AIRPTO.
Chaining the statements results in a more readable and more intuitive form:
WRITE: FLIGHTINFO-CITYFROM, FLIGHTINFO-CITYTO, FLIGHTINFO-AIRPTO.
In a chain statement, the first part (before the colon) is not limited to the statement name alone. The entire common part of the consecutive statements can be placed before the colon. Example:
REPLACE 'A' WITH 'B' INTO LASTNAME.
REPLACE 'A' WITH 'B' INTO FIRSTNAME.
REPLACE 'A' WITH 'B' INTO CITYNAME.
could be rewritten in chained form as:
REPLACE 'A' WITH 'B' INTO: LASTNAME, FIRSTNAME, CITYNAME.

Comments
ABAP has 2 ways of defining text as a comment:
 An asterisk (*) in the leftmost column of a line makes the entire line a comment
 A double quotation mark (") anywhere on a line makes the rest of that line a comment

Example:
***************************************
** Program: BOOKINGS                 **
** Author: Joe Byte, 07-Jul-2007     **
***************************************

REPORT BOOKINGS.

* Read flight bookings from the database
SELECT * FROM FLIGHTINFO
  WHERE CLASS = 'Y'       "Y = economy
  OR    CLASS = 'C'.      "C = business
(...)

Spaces
Code in ABAP is whitespace-sensitive.
x = a+b(c).
assigns to variable x the substring of the variable a, starting from b with the length defined by the variable c.
x = a + b( c ).
assigns to variable x the sum of the variable a and the result of the call to method b with the parameter c.

ABAP statements
In contrast with languages like C/C++ or Java, which define a limited set of language-specific statements and provide most functionality via libraries, ABAP contains an extensive amount of built-in statements. These statements traditionally used sentence-like structures and avoided symbols, making ABAP programs relatively verbose. However, in more recent versions of the ABAP language, a terser style is possible.

An example of statement based syntax (whose syntax originates in COBOL) versus expression-based syntax (as in C/Java):
ADD TAX TO PRICE.
* is equivalent to
PRICE = PRICE + TAX .

Data types and variables
ABAP provides a set of built-in data types. In addition, every structure, table, view or data element defined in the ABAP Dictionary can be used to type a variable. Also, object classes and interfaces can be used as types.

The built-in data types are:

Date variables or constants (type D) contain the number of days since January 1, 1 AD. Time variables or constants (type T) contain the number of seconds since midnight. A special characteristic of both types is that they can be accessed both as integers and as character strings (with internal format "YYYYMMDD" for dates and "hhmmss" for times), which can be used for date and time handling. For example, the code snippet below calculates the last day of the previous month (note: SY-DATUM is a system-defined variable containing the current date):
DATA LAST_EOM    TYPE D.  "last end-of-month date

* Start from today's date
  LAST_EOM = SY-DATUM.
* Set characters 6 and 7 (0-relative) of the YYYYMMDD string to "01",
* giving the first day of the current month
  LAST_EOM+6(2) = '01'.
* Subtract one day
  LAST_EOM = LAST_EOM - 1.

  WRITE: 'Last day of previous month was', LAST_EOM.
All ABAP variables have to be explicitly declared in order to be used. They can be declared either with individual statements and explicit typing or, since ABAP 7.40, inline with inferred typing.

Explicitly typed declaration
Normally all declarations are placed at the top of the code module (program, subroutine, function) before the first executable statement; this placement is a convention and not an enforced syntax rule.  The declaration consists of the name, type, length (where applicable), additional modifiers (e.g. the number of implied decimals for a packed decimal field) and optionally an initial value:
* Primitive types:
DATA: COUNTER      TYPE I,
      VALIDITY     TYPE I VALUE 60,
      TAXRATE(3)   TYPE P DECIMALS 1,
      LASTNAME(20) TYPE C,
      DESCRIPTION  TYPE STRING.

* Dictionary types:
DATA: ORIGIN       TYPE COUNTRY.

* Internal table:
DATA: T_FLIGHTS    TYPE TABLE OF FLIGHTINFO,
      T_LOOKUP     TYPE HASHED TABLE OF FLT_LOOKUP.

* Objects:
DATA: BOOKING      TYPE REF TO CL_FLT_BOOKING.
Notice the use of the colon to chain together consecutive DATA statements.

Inline declaration
Since ABAP 7.40, variables can be declared inline with the following syntax:
DATA(variable_name) = 'VALUE'.

For this type of declaration it must be possible to infer the type statically, e.g. by method signature or database table structure.

This syntax is also possible in OpenSQL statements:
SELECT * FROM ekko into @DATA(lt_ekko) WHERE ebeln EQ @lv_ebeln.

ABAP Objects
The ABAP language supports object-oriented programming, through a feature known as "ABAP Objects". This helps to simplify applications and make them more controllable.

ABAP Objects is fully compatible with the existing language, so one can use existing statements and modularization units in programs that use ABAP Objects, and can also use ABAP Objects in existing ABAP programs.  Syntax checking is stronger in ABAP Objects programs, and some syntactical forms (usually older ones) of certain statements are not permitted.

Objects form a capsule which combines the character to the respective behavior. Objects should enable programmers to map a real problem and its proposed software solution on a one-to-one basis. Typical objects in a business environment are, for example, 'Customer', 'Order', or 'Invoice'. From Release 3.1 onwards, the Business Object Repository (BOR) of SAP Web Application Server ABAP has contained examples of such objects. The BOR object model will be integrated into ABAP Objects in the next Release by migrating the BOR object types to the ABAP class library.
A comprehensive introduction to object orientation as a whole would go far beyond the limits of this introduction to ABAP Objects. This documentation introduces a selection of terms that are used universally in object orientation and also occur in ABAP Objects. In subsequent sections, it goes on to discuss in more detail how these terms are used in ABAP Objects. The end of this section contains a list of further reading, with a selection of titles about object orientation.

 Objects are instances of classes. They contain data and provide services. The data forms the attributes of the object. The services are known as methods (also known as operations or functions). Typically, methods operate on private data (the attributes, or state of the object), which is only visible to the methods of the object. Thus the attributes of an object cannot be changed directly by the user, but only by the methods of the object. This guarantees the internal consistency of the object.
 Classes describe objects. From a technical point of view, objects are runtime instances of a class. In theory, any number of objects based on a single class may be created. Each instance (object) of a class has a unique identity and its own set of values for its attributes.
 Object References are unique addresses that may be used to identify and point to objects in a program. Object references allow access to the attributes and methods of an object.

In object-oriented programming, objects usually have the following properties:

 Encapsulation - Objects restrict the visibility of their resources (attributes and methods) to other users. Every object has an interface, which determines how other objects can interact with it. The implementation of the object is encapsulated, that is, invisible outside the object itself.
 Inheritance - An existing class may be used to derive a new class. Derived classes inherit the data and methods of the superclass. However, they can overwrite existing methods, and also add new ones.
 Polymorphism - Identical (identically-named) methods behave differently in different classes. In ABAP Objects, polymorphism is implemented by redefining methods during inheritance and by using constructs called interfaces.

CDS Views
The ABAP Core Data Services (ABAP CDS) are the implementation of the general CDS concept for AS ABAP. ABAP CDS makes it possible to define semantic data models on the central database of the application server. On AS ABAP, these models can be defined independently of the database system. The entities of these models provide enhanced access functions when compared with existing database tables and views defined in ABAP Dictionary, making it possible to optimize Open SQL-based applications. This is particularly clear when an AS ABAP uses a SAP HANA database, since its in-memory characteristics can be implemented in an optimum manner.

The data models are defined using the data definition language (DDL) and data control language (DCL) provided in the ABAP CDS in the ABAP CDS syntax. The objects defined using these languages are integrated into ABAP Dictionary and managed here too.

CDS source code can only be programmed in the Eclipse-based ABAP Development Tools (ADT). The Data Definition Language (DDL) and the Data Control Language (DCL) use different editors.

Features

Internal tables in ABAP
Internal tables are an important feature of the ABAP language. An internal table is defined similarly to a vector of structs in C++ or a vector of objects in Java. The main difference with these languages is that ABAP provides a collection of statements to easily access and manipulate the contents of internal tables. Note that ABAP does not support arrays; the only way to define a multi-element data object is to use an internal table.

Internal tables are a way to store variable data sets of a fixed structure in the working memory of ABAP, and provides the functionality of dynamic arrays. The data is stored on a row-by-row basis, where each row has the same structure.

Internal tables are preferably used to store and format the content of database tables from within a program. Furthermore, internal tables in connection with structures are an important means of defining complex data structures in an ABAP program.

The following example defines an internal table with two fields with the format of database table VBRK.

* First define structured type
TYPES: BEGIN OF t_vbrk,
         VBELN TYPE VBRK-VBELN,
         ZUONR TYPE VBRK-ZUONR,
       END OF t_vbrk.

* Now define internal table of our defined type t_vbrk
DATA : gt_vbrk TYPE STANDARD TABLE OF t_vbrk,
       gt_vbrk_2 TYPE STANDARD TABLE OF t_vbrk.   "easy to define more tables

* If needed, define structure (line of internal table)
* Definition with type or with reference to internal table:
DATA : gs_vbrk TYPE t_vbrk,
       gs_vbrk_2 LIKE LINE OF gt_vbrk_2.

* You can also define table type if needed
TYPES tt_vbrk TYPE STANDARD TABLE OF t_vbrk.

History
The following list only gives a rough overview about some important milestones in the history of the language ABAP. For more details, see ABAP - Release-Specific Changes.

See also
 ERP software
 Secure Network Communications
 SAP Logon Ticket
 Single sign-on

References

External links
 ABAP — Keyword Documentation
 SAP Help Portal
 ABAP Development discussions, blogs, documents and videos on the SAP Community Network (SCN)

Cross-platform software
Fourth-generation programming languages
SAP SE

ABAP


Peleg Arnold (1751–1820) was a lawyer, tavern-keeper, jurist, and statesman from Smithfield, Rhode Island (now North Smithfield). He represented Rhode Island as a delegate to the Continental Congress in the 1787–1788 session. He later served as the chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court from June 1795 to June 1809, and from May 1810 to May 1812.

Personal life
Arnold was born on June 10, 1751, at Smithfield (now North Smithfield), the ninth of the fifteen children of Thomas Arnold. His mother was Patience Cook of Newport who was Thomas' third wife. After starting in the common schools, he graduated from Brown University in Providence. Like many of his generation he prospered in a number of careers at the same time, and combined these with a government service and civic efforts.

Arnold read law, was admitted to the bar and practiced at Smithfield. He opened and kept the Peleg Arnold Tavern, which still stands at 4 Woonsocket Hill Road in North Smithfield, Rhode Island.

Arnold built his home in Union Village, which is now part of North Smithfield. During the Revolutionary War he was the colonel of the 2nd regiment of the Providence County Militia.

When the need for additional troops led to the re-formation of the 1st Rhode Island regiment of the Continental Line in 1778, Arnold was one of the proponents for the idea of using a bounty and freedom to encourage the enlistment of blacks. He continued this interest after the war when in 1790 he founded the Providence Society for the Abolition of Slavery.

Arnold's concern for his community is also evidenced by the creation of  the Smithfield Union Bank in 1803. He was the bank's first President, and it first conducted business from his home in Union. beginning in 1810, he served as president of a local preparatory school, the Smithfield Academy. Arnold died at Smithfield on February 13, 1820, and is buried in the Union Cemetery in today's North Smithfield.  According to one source, "[t]owards the close of his life Judge Peleg was widely known, not only as an extensive dealer in, but an ardent lover of, New England Rum."

Political career
Arnold was first elected to Rhode Island's governing body, the General Assembly in 1777. He would serve again from May 1782 to 1783. He was appointed as a Rhode Island delegate to the Confederation Congress in 1787. A strong supporter of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, in 1788 he left the congress to return home and address the ratification of the United States Constitution. He served briefly as Deputy Governor of Rhode Island in 1790.

Arnold made two unsuccessful attempts to win a seat in the United States House of Representatives. In the election of 1794, he ran against the incumbent Benjamin Bourne as an Anti-Federalist (Country Party) candidate. When Bourne resigned in 1796, he ran in the special election to finish the incomplete term, this time as a member of the Republican Party, and lost to Elisha Reynolds Potter.

In 1795 Arnold was named the chief justice of Rhode Island's Superior Court of Judicature, Court of Assize and General Gaol Delivery. The name of this court was changed in 1798 to the simpler "The Supreme Judicial Court". The Assembly re-appointed him annually every year until June 1809. After a year off due to illness, they appointed him again from 1810 to 1812. Arnold served again in the General Assembly from 1817 to 1819.

See also

Peleg Arnold House

References

External links

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1751 births
1820 deaths
Brown University alumni
Continental Congressmen from Rhode Island
18th-century American politicians
Rhode Island militiamen in the American Revolution
Chief Justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court
People from North Smithfield, Rhode Island
Country Party (Rhode Island) politicians
Rhode Island Democratic-Republicans
Burials in Rhode Island
People of colonial Rhode Island
U.S. state supreme court judges admitted to the practice of law by reading law

Peleg Arnold


Varadvinayak, also spelt as Varadavinayaka, is one of the Ashtavinayak temples of the Hindu deity Ganesha.   It is located in Mhad village situated in Khalapur taluka near Karjat and Khopoli of Raigad District, Maharashtra, India. The temple was built (restored) by Peshwa General Ramji Mahadev Biwalkar in 1725AD.

This place is not in Raigad district, but rather in Pune district. It is close to Lonavala and Panvel.

Legend

Legend has it that the childless king, Bhima of Koudinyapur and his wife met the sage Vishwamitra while they had come to forest for penance. Vishwamitra gave the king a mantra (incantation) Ekashar Gajana Mantra to chant and thus his son and heir, prince Rukmaganda was born. Rukmaganda grew up into a beautiful young prince.

One day, on a hunting trip Rukmaganda stopped at the hermitage of Rishi Vachaknavi. The Rishi's wife, Mukunda, fell in love at the sight of the handsome prince and asked him to fulfill her desires. The virtuous prince flatly refused and left the ashram. Mukunda became very lovesick.  Knowing her plight, King Indra took the form of Rukmaganda and made love to her. Mukunda became pregnant and gave birth to a son Gritsamada.

In time, when Gritsamada learned of the circumstances of his birth, he cursed his mother to become the unattractive, thorny berry-bearing "Bhor" plant.  Mukunda in turn cursed Gritsamada, that a cruel rakshas (demon) will be born from him. Suddenly they both heard a heavenly voice saying, "Gritsamada is the son of Indra", leaving them both shocked, but too late to alter their respective curses.  Mukunda was transformed into the Bhor plant.  Gritsamada, ashamed and penitent, retreated to the Pushpak forest where he prayed for a reprieve to Lord Ganesh (Ganapati).

Lord Ganesha was pleased by Gritsamada's penance and offered him a boon that he will bear a son who would not be defeated by anybody other than Shankara (Shiva). Gritsamada asks Ganesh to bless the forest, so that any devotees who pray here will be successful, and also urged Ganesha to stay there permanently and asked for knowledge of Brahma. Gritsamada built a temple there and the Ganesha idol installed there is called Varadavinayaka. Today the forest is known as Bhadraka.

It is said that if the coconut received as prasad during Maghi Chaturthi is consumed, one will be blessed with a son. Hence the temple is especially full with devotees during Maghi Utsav.

The temple
The idol of this temple Varada Vinayak is a swayambu (self originated) and was found in the adjoining lake in an immersed position in 1690 AD. This temple is said to be built in 1725AD by Subhedar Ramji Mahadev Biwalkar. The temple premises are on one side of a beautiful pond. The idol of this temple faces the east and has his trunk turned to the left. There is an oil lamp in this shrine which is said to be burning continuously since 1892. This temple also has the idol of Mushika, Navagraha Devatas and Shivalinga. There are 4 elephant idols guarding the 4 sides of the temple. In this Ashta Vinayak Temple devotees can enter the Garbhagriha and pay their homage and respects to the idol personally. Devotees visit the Varadvinayak shrine throughout the year. During festivals like the Magha Chaturthi huge crowds can be seen in this temple.

See also
 Ashtavinayaka

References

Hindu temples in Maharashtra
Ganesha temples
Tourist attractions in Raigad district

Varadvinayak


Pierre-Georges Jeanniot (1848–1934) was a Swiss-French Impressionist painter, designer, watercolorist, and engraver who was born in Geneva, Switzerland, and died in France. His work often depicts the modern life in Paris.

Biography

The artistic education of Pierre-Georges Jeanniot began with his father, Pierre-Alexandre Jeanniot (1826–1892), a longtime director of l'École des Beaux-Arts of Dijon, France.

Pierre-Georges Jeanniot started out pursuing a military career, as an infantry officer (1866–1881).  He was a lieutenant with the Twenty-third Infantry from 1868 to 1870.  He fought in the Franco-Prussian War, was wounded at Rezonville, and was awarded the Légion d'Honneur.  He subsequently served with the Ninety-fourth Infantry and the Seventy-third Infantry.  At the time he left the army he held the rank of major, with the Chasseurs à Pieds.

He never ceased drawing. He was known for the first time in 1872 at the art exhibition Salon de Paris, where he presented a watercolor painting called Intérieur de forêt. The next year he presented the painting Le Vernan à Nass-sous-Sainte-Anne. From then on he was a regular contributor to the Salon de Paris, where he presented new works with views of Toulouse, Paris, Troyes, the edges of the Seine, and some portraits.

In 1881, after the army offered him the rank of commandant, he resigned to devote himself exclusively to painting. He took up residence in Paris. His works from this period represent mainly scenes of military life that allowed him to forge a reputation.  Jeanniot established himself permanently in 1882 and obtained his first award the following year (medal third class of the Salon de  Paris) with his les Flanqueurs (1883, Musée du Luxembourg).  In 1886, La ligne de feu, souvenirs de la bataille de Rezonville, remembering the Battle of Mars-La-Tour (Museum of Pau), assured his notoriety.

From then on, he started to show a certain artistic independence. He then mostly portrayed Parisian women during the "Belle Epoque", women in bathing suits on the beaches (a new phenomenon in those times) or scenes on the race course. These paintings give us a vivid sociological portrayal of his times. But as soon as the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts was founded in 1899, he rallied to their new painting trend.

In Paris, he secured himself friendships and memories of Édouard Manet, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, Jean-Louis Carnival, Paul Helleu, and especially with Edgar Degas, whom he revered as a master. He spent much time with Edgar Degas in his family home in Diénay (Côte-d'Or).

He was gifted with many talents and also excelled with his drawings. He showed in his drawings his passion and his artistic strength. They are vivacious, expressive and enthusiastic, while at the same time, rendering with a sense of humour the picturesque scenes of daily life. During the next decades he illustrated a large number of literary books, among them Le Voyage à Saint-Cloud, Germinie Lacerteux (1886), Contes choisis" (Guy de Maupassant, 1886),  Tartarin de Tarascon (Daudet, 1887), "Les Liaisons dangereuses" (Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, 1917). He was also one of the illustrators of   Les Misérables (Victor Hugo, 1887),  La Débâcle et La Curée (Émile Zola, 1893–1894), Le Calvaire (Octave Mirbeau, 1901), Le Misanthrope (Molière, 1907), Les Paysans (Honoré de Balzac, 1911), and Candide (Voltaire)  and many more.

He was one of the first collaborators (together with Théodore de Banville, Alphonse Daudet and Giuseppe De Nittis) of the review La Vie Moderne and also contributed to the review La Lutte Moderne. In a later stage he became the director of Journal amusant, while also offering contributions to Rire and L'Écho de Paris.

As an engraver, he also sketches ironic scenes from the daily life depicting in lively traits the snobs of Paris. His talents suggest a resemblance to the works of Toulouse-Lautrec and Mary Cassatt. At the same time he also used the woodcut printing technique allowing vivid contrasts between dark and bright parts of the image.

His works can be found in many museums, though most are situated in France (Alais, Nancy, Paris, Carnavalet, Pau, Toul and Toulouse), but some in other countries (Oslo, New York, Buenos Aires).

List of honours
1882: Honourable mention, Salon de paris
1884: Third-class medal, Salon de Paris
1889, 1900: Silver medal, Salon de Paris
1906: Chevalier in the Legion of Honour

Recent exhibitions

 2015: "Edgar Degas: The Private Impressionist", The Frick Art & Historical Center
 2015: "Toulouse-Lautrec and the Post-Impressionists", Arlington Museum of Art, Arlington, Texas
 2015: "Toulouse-Lautrec and La Vie Moderne: Paris 1880-1910", Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento
 2014: "Toulouse-Lautrec and La Vie Moderne: Paris 1880-1910", Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton
 2014: "Tea and Morphine. Women in Paris, 1880-1914", Hammer Museum, Los Angeles
 2013: "Toulouse-Lautrec and La Vie Moderne: Paris 1880-1910", Nevada Museum of Art, Reno
 2012/2013: "Le Nu", Musée d'Orsay, Paris
 2012: "Modern Women. Daughters and Lovers 1850-1918", Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
 2010: "Femmes peintres et salons au temps de Proust", Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris
 2010: "The Modern Woman. Drawings by Degas, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec and other Masterpieces form the Musée d'Orsay", Musée d'Orsay, Paris and Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver
 2007: "Des toiles, des voiles, l'île d'Yeu sous le regard des peintres", Historial de la Vendée, Vendée
 1996: "Degas beyond Impressionism", National Gallery, London and Art Institute of Chicago
 1990: "De Manet à Matisse, 7 ans d'enrichissement au musée d'Orsay", Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Museums

 Albertina, Vienna
 Art Institute of Chicago
 Clark Art Institute
 Dahesh Museum of Art, New York
 Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco
 Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki
 Harvard University Art Museums
 Louvre
 McNay Art Museum, San Antonio
 Metropolitan Museum of Art
 Minneapolis Institute of Arts
 Musée d'Orsay
 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
 National Gallery of Art Washington
 Smithsonian American Art Museum
 The Baltimore Museum of Art

Selected works

 Partie de Polo, oil on canvas, 1920 (sold in 1997 for 40,000 FRF)
 Le Vaguemestre, lithograph, 1915
 Paysage de la campagne et du village de Villecomte, oil on canvas, 1909
 Femme au rive de la rivière, oil on canvas, 1908 (sold in 1993 for 6,325 USD)
 Après le bain, etching, 1908
 La lecture, oil on paper remounted on panel, 1906 (sold in 1990 for 6,800 FRF)
 Le Dîner à l'Hotel Ritz, oil, 1904
 L'introduction, watercolour, 1902
 Femme assise dans un parloir, oil on canvas, 1905 (sold in 1995)
 Au tailleur, oil on canvas, 1901 (sold in 1987 for US$8,000)
 Le Buveur d'Absinthe, etching and pencil, 1900
 La Place de la Concorde vue du Jardin des Tuileries, oil on panel, 1900
 Spectateurs au Polo, etching, 1900
 Scène de café, 1892 (sold in 1985 for US$2,800)
 Nuit sur la Seine, oil on canvas, 1892
 Barques en Automne, pastel on paper, 1891
 Portrait d'Edgar Degas, etching, 1891 (sold in 1994 for 3,500 FRF)
 Place de la Concorde enneigée, watercolour heightened with gouache, 1888 (sold in 1983 for 500 GBP)
 Partie de Polo, oil on canvas, 1887 (sold in 1977 for 5,000 FRF and in 1995 for 100,000 FRF))
 Germaine Larceteux, book illustration, 1886
 Prise d'armes, Place des Invalides, 1883 (sold in 1942 for 2,000 FRF)
 Les Flanqueurs, watercolour, 1882, Musée du Luxembourg
 La ligne de feu, 16 août 1870, oil on canvas, 1886
 La charge des cuirassiers à Waterloo, drawing (sold in 1895 for 60 FRF)
 Vieux paysan limousin (sold in 1920 for 400 FRF)
 Chez la modiste (sold in 1925 for 190 FRF)
 L'arrivée du mailcoach au château, watercolour (sold in 1929 for 900 FRF)
 L'Arlequin, charcoal and wash drawing (sold in 1941 for 1,300 FRF)
 La partie de billard (sold in 1943 for 4,700 FRF)
 Portrait d'homme (sold in 1945 for 1,700 FRF)
 Jeune femme, drawing (sold in  1946 for 2,500 FRF)
 Femme dans un intérieur, watercolour (sold in 1948 for 9,000 FRF)
 Galopeurs sur le champs des courses, oil on panel,  (sold in 1995 for 35,000 FRF)
 Elégantes au jardin, wash, charcoal and gouache (sold in 1997 for 1,000 FRF)
 En fiacre, charcoal and wash (sold in 1997 for 1,350 FRF)
 Elegante conversation, wash, gouache and watercolour (sold in 1997 for 1,600 FRF)
 Trois élégantes dans une chairière, wash, watercolour, gouache, charcoal and pencil (sold in 1997 for 1,800 FRF)
 Paris, oil on canvas (sold in 1997 for 2,000 FRF)

Publications
  Le Rire, la morale avant tout, Éditions Tonnelle, 1899

References

Further reading
Bénézit - Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs; Libraire Gründ, Paris, 1976
Osterwalder M., in : Dictionnaire des illustrateurs 1800-1914, Editions Ides et Calendes, Neuchâtel, 1989
Robinchon François - L'Armée française vue par les peintres, 1870–1914; Herscher, Paris; ministère de la Défense, Paris, 2000

External links

1848 births
1934 deaths
19th-century French painters
French male painters
20th-century French painters
20th-century French male artists
Artists from Geneva
19th-century French male artists

Pierre-Georges Jeanniot


The Milawata letter (CTH 182) is an item of diplomatic correspondence from a Hittite king at Hattusa to a client king in western Anatolia around 1240 BC. It constitutes an important piece of evidence in the debate concerning the historicity of Homer's Iliad.

The reason for its title "Milawata letter" is that it mentions that both parties to the letter had campaigned on the borders of Milawata; it also mentions the city Atriya, elsewhere known as a dependent of "Millawanda". Millawanda and Milawata are accepted as ancient names for Miletus.

The letter demands that the client resolve a dispute over hostages, turn over fugitives from Hittite justice, and turn over a pretender from Wilusa to a Hittite envoy so that the Hittites can reinstall him as king there. The letter reminds the recipient that the recipient's father had turned against the Hittite king. The Hittite king then installed the recipient as king in place of that one's father. It also mentions that the recipient's domain is on the coast. However, since it covers events from Wilusa to Milawata, and since the current understanding is that this implies Troy to the north, down to Miletus in the south, it must be deduced which domain this should be. Both the Kingdom of Mira and the Seha River Land were carved out of the coastal state and alliances of Arzawa, and both had rulers in the late 14th century BC which rebelled against Hatti. Of what is known of Mira and the Seha River Land, the best match is Kupanta-Kurunta of Mira. When Manapa-Tarhunta of the Seha River Land joined Uhha-Ziti's revolt against Mursili II around 1320 BC, he did rather little himself; and Manapa-Tarhunta remained quiet after Mursili forgave him. By contrast, Mashuiluwa of Mira rebelled and incited Pitassa into revolt in c. 1310. After this, Mursili deposed Mashuiluwa and elevated Mashuiluwa's nephew and adopted son Kupanta-Kurunta (who was Mursili's nephew as well).

In a subsequent treaty, Mursili agreed to cede Kuwaliya to Kupanta-Kurunta, which had as a border the Astarpa (Meander?) river — which Mursili mentioned in his annals as close to "Millawanda"; the Milawata border also features in the Milawata letter. Lastly, although this is an "argument from convenience", Kupanta-Kurunta is known to have lasted as monarch into the reign of Hattusili III (1265–1235 BC), which allows for multiple candidates for authorship on the Hittite side; assuming that the treaty between Muwatalli II (1295–1272 BC) and Alaksandu of Wilusa has not erred (but note Beckman's footnote in Hittite Diplomatic Texts), Manapa-Tarhunta died before that treaty (that is, before c. 1280 BC).

Like the Manapa-Tarhunta letter (c. 1295 BC) and the Tawagalawa letter (c. 1250 BC), the Milawata letter mentions the infamous adventurer Piyama-Radu; but as a figure of the past. The very name "Milawata" seems to be a later development, on its way to becoming the "Mil[w]atos" of the Linear B / LHIIIB tablets of Pylos and Thebes. The scholarly consensus places the Milawata letter at the tail of this series of letters.

Burney (Historical Dictionary of the Hittites, 2006) and Bryce (Kingdom of the Hittites, 2005) attribute the Milawata letter to Tudhaliya IV writing to a later king of Mira. If so, the letter's references to the events in which Kupanta-Kurunta and Mursili II participated are meant to evoke their dynasties rather than the actual characters, or else parallel events from a later period (which would however remove some of the above arguments for placing the letter at Mira).

See also

 Tawagalawa letter
 Manapa-Tarhunta letter

References

13th-century BC literature
Hittite texts
Miletus
Archaeological sources on Greek mythology
Diplomatic correspondence
Priam

Milawata letter


The Congress of the Republic of Peru () is the unicameral body that assumes legislative power in Peru. Due to broadly interpreted impeachment wording in the Constitution of Peru, the President of Peru can be removed by Congress without cause, effectively making the legislature more powerful than the executive branch. Following a ruling in February 2023 by the Constitutional Court of Peru, the body tasked with interpreting the Constitution of Peru and whose members are directly chosen by Congress, judicial oversight of the legislative body was also removed by the court, essentially giving Congress absolute control of Peru's government. Since the 2021 Peruvian general election, far-right parties held a majority in the legislature. The largest represented leftist party in Congress, Free Peru, has subsequently aligned itself with the far-right parties and Fujimorists within Congress due to their institutional power.

Congress' composition is established by Chapter I of Title IV of the Constitution of Peru. Congress is composed of representatives who sit in congressional districts allocated to each region, as well as two special districts, Lima Province and Peruvian citizens living abroad, on a basis of population as measured by the Peruvian Census in multi-member districts. The number of voting representatives is fixed by the Constitution at 130. Pursuant to the 2017 Census, the largest delegation is that of Lima Province, with 36 representatives.

Congress is charged with the responsibility to pass laws and legislative resolutions, as well as to interpret, amend, or repeal existing laws. Congress also ratifies international treaties, approves the national budget, and authorizes loans on behalf of the country. It may also override presidential observations to bills by a vote of more than half the legal number of congressmen. It can also remove government official including the President, consent to the entry of foreign troops into the national territory, and authorize the President to leave the country. Congress meets at the Legislative Palace in Lima.

The presiding officer is the President of Congress, who is elected by the members thereof (and is therefore traditionally the leader of the controlling party). The President and three vice-presidents are chosen by the controlling governing coalition.

History

The first Peruvian Congress was installed in 1822 as the Constitutional Congress led by Francisco Xavier de Luna Pizarro. In 1829, the government installed a bicameral Congress, made up by a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies. This system was interrupted by a number of times by Constitutional Congresses that promulgated new Constitutions that lasted for a couple of years. The Deputies reunited in the Legislative Palace and the Senators went to the former Peruvian Inquisition of Lima until 1930, when Augusto B. Leguía was overthrown by Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro. He installed a Constitutional Congress (1931–1933) that promulgated the Constitution of 1933. By order of the president, the Peruvian Aprista Party members that were in Congress were arrested for their revolutionary doctrines against the government. When Sánchez Cerro was assassinated in 1933 by an APRA member, General Óscar R. Benavides took power and closed Congress until 1939, when Manuel Prado Ugarteche was elected president. During various dictatorships, the Congress was interrupted by coups d'état. In 1968, Juan Velasco Alvarado overthrew president Fernando Belaúnde by a coup d'état, closing again the Congress.

The 1979 Constitution was promulgated on 12 July 1979 by the Constitutional Assembly elected following 10 years of military rule and replaced the suspended 1933 Constitution. It became effective in 1980 with the re-election of deposed President Fernando Belaúnde. It limited the president to a single five-year term and established a bicameral legislature consisting of a 60-member Senate (upper house) and a 180-member Chamber of Deputies (lower house). Members of both chambers were elected for five-year terms, running concurrently with that of the president. Party-list proportional representation was used for both chambers: on a regional basis for the Senate, and using the D'Hondt method for the lower house. Members of both houses had to be Peruvian citizens, with a minimum age of 25 for deputies and 35 for senators. At the beginning of the 1990s, the bicameral congress had a low public approval rating. President Alberto Fujimori did not have the majority in both chambers, the opposition led the Congress, impeding the power that Fujimori had as president. He made the decision of dissolving Congress by a self-coup to his government in 1992.

Following the self-coup, in which Congress was dissolved, the Democratic Constitutional Congress established a single chamber of 120 members. The Democratic Constitutional Congress promulgated the 1993 Constitution in which gave more power to the President. The new unicameral Congress started working in 1995, dominated by Fujimori's Congressmen that had the majority. The Congress permits a one-year term for a Congressman or Congresswoman to become President of Congress.

During the presidencies of Ollanta Humala, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and Martín Vizcarra, the right-wing Congress led by the daughter of the former Peruvian dictator Alberto Fujimori, Keiko Fujimori, obstructed much of the actions performed by the presidents. According to Walter Albán, head of Transparency International Peru, the Congress of Peru has recently been infiltrated by criminal groups that obstruct reforms in order to maintain their status and parliamentary immunity.

The 2016-2021 congressional term was dissolved by President Martín Vizcarra in September 2019, triggering the 2019–2020 Peruvian constitutional crisis. Vizcarra issued a decree that set snap elections for 26 January 2020. The representatives served out the remainder of the original legislative term, which expired in July 2021.

On 26 July 2021, the new and current Congress was sworn in, with an alliance led by Popular Action member María del Carmen Alva successfully gaining control of Peru's Congress.

On 7 December 2022, the president Pedro Castillo attempted self-coup d'état by unconstitutionally dissolve Congress and the state apparatus as a whole. He was subsequently impeached and removed by congress.

Membership

Qualifications
Article 90 of the Peruvian Constitution sets three qualifications for congressmen: (1) they must be natural-born citizens; (2) they must be at least 25 years old; (3) they must be an eligible voter. Candidates for president cannot simultaneously run for congress while vice-presidential candidates can.
Furthermore, Article 91 states that high-ranking government officers and any member of the armed forces or national police can only become congressmen six months after leaving their post.

Elections and term
Congressmen serve for a five-year term and cannot be reelected for a new term, immediately, in the same position. Elections for congress happen simultaneously as the election for president. Seats in congress are assigned to each region in proportion to the region's population. Congressional elections take place in April.

The D'Hondt method, a party-list proportional representation system, is used to allocate seats in congress. Political parties publish their party list for each region ahead of the election. Candidates do not need to be members of the political party they run for but may run for such party as a guest. Each candidate is assigned a number within the list. The citizenry thus votes for the party of their preference directly. Additionally, voters may write two specific candidates' number on the ballot as their personal preference.
The newly elected congress takes office on the 26 July of the year of the election.

Disciplinary action
Congressmen may not be tried or arrested without prior authorization from Congress from the time of their election until a month after the end of their term.
Congressmen must follow the Congress' code of ethics which is part of its self-established Standing Rules of Congress. La Comisión de Ética Parlamentaria, or Parliamentary Ethics Committee, is in charge of enforcing the code and punishing violators. Discipline consist of (a) private, written admonishments; (b) public admonishments through a Congressional resolution; (c) suspension from three to 120 days from their legislative functions.

Any congressmen may lose their parliamentary immunity if authorized by Congress. The process is started by the Criminal Sector of the Supreme Court who presents the case to the Presidency of Congress. The case is then referred to a special committee of 15 congressmen known as Comisión de Levantamiento de Inmunidad Parlamentaria, or Committee on Lifting Parliamentary Immunity, that decides if the petition should be heard by the body as a whole. The accused congressmen has the right to a lawyer and to defend himself before the committee and before the Plenary Assembly. The final decision is then communicated back to the Supreme Court.

Salary
Every congressman receives a monthly salary of 15,600 Peruvian soles (approximately US$4,000). They further receive 7,617 Peruvian soles (approximately $2,100) for congressional function expenses and 2,530 Peruvian soles (approximately $700) for congressional representation week expenses to support them in their official and representational duties to their district. Each congressman further receives a 33,027 Peruvian soles (approximately $9,000) personnel allowance. Congressman also receive a one-time extra monthly salary before the beginning of their term, known as an installation expenses allowance.

Officers

Presiding over Congress

President and Bureau

The most important officer is the President of Congress who is fourth in line of presidential succession if both the President and both vice-presidents are incapable of assuming the role. The President of Congress can only serve as interim president as he is required to call new elections if all three executive officers are not incapable of serving. This has happened once since the adoption of the current constitution when Valentín Paniagua became the interim president after the fall of the Alberto Fujimori regime in 2000.

The President of Congress is elected for a one-year term by the rest of Congress. Re-election is possible but uncommon. The President of Congress is almost always from the majority party. Its most important responsibility is to control and guide debate in Congress. He also signs, communicates and publishes bills and other decisions made by Congress. He may delegate any of these responsibilities to one of the vice-presidents of Congress.
The president serves along three vice-presidents who are collectively known as Mesa Directiva del Congreso, known as the Bureau in English. The three vice-presidents are not always from the same party as the president. The Bureau approves all administrative functions as well as all of Congress' internal financial policy and hiring needs. Any member of the Bureau may be censored by any member of Congress.

Executive Council
El Consejo Directivo, or Executive Council, consists of the four members of the Bureau as well as representatives from each political party in Congress which are known as Executive-Spokespersons. Its composition is directly proportional to the number of seats each party holds in Congress. The council has administrative and legislative responsibilities. Similar to the United States House Committee on Rules, it sets the calendar for the Plenary Assembly and fixes floor time for debating calendar items.

Committees

Board of Spokespersons
Each political party in Congress chooses a Spokesperson who acts as the party leader and is a member of the Board of Spokespersons alongside the members of the Bureau. The Board of Spokespersons main role deals with committee assignments as well as the flow of bills from the committees to the Plenary Assembly.

Secretariat General
La Oficialía Mayor, or Secretariat General, is the body of personnel led by the Secretary-General. It is responsible for assisting all members of Congress with daily managerial tasks. The Secretary-General is chosen and serves under the direction of the Bureau and Executive Council.

Procedure

Committees
Standing Committees are in charge of the study and report of routine business of the calendar, especially in the legislative and oversight function. The President of Congress, in coordination with Parliamentary Groups or upon consultation with the Executive Council, proposes the number of Standing Committees. Each party is allocated seats on committees in proportion to its overall strength.

Most committee work is performed by 24 standing committees. They examine matters within their jurisdiction of the corresponding government departments and ministries. They may also impede bills from reaching the Plenary Assembly.

There are two independent committees, the Permanent Assembly and the Parliamentary Ethics Committee.

Investigative and Special Committees
Investigative committee are in charge of investigating a specific topic as directed by Article 97 of the Constitution. Appearances before investigative committees are compulsory, under the same requirements as judicial proceedings. Investigative committee have the power to access any information necessary, including non-intrusive private information such as tax filings and bank financial statements. Investigative committees final reports are non-binding to judicial bodies.
Special committees are set up for ceremonial purposes or for the realization of special study or joint work with other government organizations or amongst congressional committees. They disband after they fulfill their assigned tasks.

The Permanent Assembly
The Permanent Assembly, or Comisión Permanente, fulfills the basic functions of Congress when it is under recess or break. It is not dissolved even if Congress is dissolved by the President. It also fulfills some Constitutional functions while Congress is in session similar to what an upper-chamber would. It has the responsibility of appointing high-ranking government officers and commencing the removal process of them as well as the heads of the two other branches of government. The Plenary Assembly may assign this committee special responsibilities excluding constitutional reform measures, approval of international treaties, organic acts, the budget, and the General Account of the Republic Act.
The Assembly consist of twenty-five percent of the total number of congressmen elected proportionally to the number of seats each party holds in Congress. They are installed within the first 15 days of the first session of Congress' term.

Parliamentary Ethics Committee
Congressmen must follow the Congress' code of ethics which is part of its self-established Standing Rules of Congress. La Comisión de Ética Parlamentaria, or Parliamentary Ethics Committee, is in charge of enforcing the code and punishing violators. Discipline consists of (a) private, written admonishments; (b) public admonishments through a Congressional resolution; (c) suspension from 3 to 120 days from their legislative functions.

Functions
Article 102 of the Peruvian Constitution delineated ten specific functions of Congress which deal with both its legislative power as well as its role as a check and a balance to the other branches of government:
 To pass laws and legislative resolutions, as well as to interpret, amend, or repeal existing laws.
 To ensure respect for the Constitution and the laws; and to do whatever is necessary to hold violators responsible.
 To conclude treaties, in accordance with the Constitution.
 To pass the Budget and the General Account.
 To authorize loans, in accordance with the Constitution.
 To exercise the right to amnesty.
 To approve the territorial demarcation proposed by the Executive Branch.
 To consent to the entry of foreign troops into the territory, whenever it does not affect, in any manner, national sovereignty.
 To authorize the President of the Republic to leave the country.
 To perform any other duties as provided in the Constitution and those inherent in the legislative function.

Current composition and election results

After widespread protests the previous year, the 2021 election saw a surge in support for the new left-wing Free Peru, which also won the presidential election with Pedro Castillo on the same day. However, a coalition of right-wing parties holds the majority of Congress and have been strongly opposed to President Castillo. One bloc of far-right parties comprises about one-third of seats in Congress, with the bloc including the Fujimorist Popular Force, Popular Renewal of Rafael López Aliaga and Go on Country. Popular Force, which had dominated the legislature during the reign of Keiko Fujimori, regained 9 seats since their poor performance in the 2020 election, making them the second largest party. Popular Renewal party would also gain 13 seats while Go on Country won 7 seats.

The previously dominant center-right parties Popular Action and Alliance for Progress both lost some seats. The new or previously minor parties that had gained ground in the 2020 election, Purple Party, We Are Peru and Podemos Perú also all lost seats, while the Ethnocacerist Union for Peru, leftist Broad Front and Agrarian Agricultural People's Front all failed to win any seats. Contigo, the successor to former president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski's Peruvians for Change party, also failed to win a seat and continued its downwards trend of the previous election, receiving only around 0.05% of the vote.

Possible Reform
Peruvian ex-president Martín Vizcarra proposed a series of political reforms as a response to the CNM audios scandal during his Independence Day message on 28 July 2018. One of his proposals was the establishment of a bicameral legislature similar to the one that existed in Peru before the 1993 Constitution.

Congress passed a version of Vizcarra's bicameralism proposal on 3 October 2018. Legislators were to be elected by direct elections similar to the ones held now for Congress for a period of five years. The presidency of Congress would alternate annually between the presidency of each one of the Chambers. Each chamber would take on special duties and responsibilities unique to their chamber. The Senate would approve treaties, authorize the mobilization of foreign troops into the national territory, and have the final say on accusations of high-ranking officials made by the Chamber of Deputies. The Chamber of Deputies would approve the budget, delegate legislative faculties to the executive, and conduct investigations. The proposal was modified by the Popular Force majority in Congress to weaken the power of the presidency and President Vizcarra quickly withdrew his support for creating a bicameral congress.

A referendum on the bicameralism proposal, as well as three other constitutional amendment proposals, was held on 9 December 2018. The bicameralism proposal was rejected by 90.52% of the voters as consequence of Vizcarra withdrawal of support for the proposal.

Congressman Omar Chehade presented a new bicameralism constitutional amendment in November 2020 which has so far not been approved by Congress.

Public opinion
Congress is one of the most disapproved entities in Peru, recently seeing its lowest approval since the early 2000s. Following the 2021 Peruvian general election, disapproval of Congress increased dramatically, from 61% in August 2021 to 91% in March 2023 according to IEP polls.

See also
Politics of Peru
List of legislatures by country

References

External links
Official Peruvian Congress Site
Official Peruvian Congress Site in English
List of Members of Congress (Spanish)

Government of Peru
Peru
Peru

Congress of the Republic of Peru