Before the election Lincoln served as a captain in the Illinois Militia during the Black Hawk War.

Before the 2002 election FC Bayern General Manager Uli Hoeneß expressed his support for Stoiber and the CSU.

Before election to the papacy, Pacelli served as secretary of the Department of Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, papal nuncio to Germany ( 1917 – 1929 ), and Cardinal Secretary of State, in which capacity he worked to conclude treaties with European and Latin American nations, most notably the Reichskonkordat with Nazi Germany.

Before his election as Pope, he served as Bishop of Caere, which made his election controversial, because, at this stage of history, a bishop was expected never to leave office to move to another see.

Before his election to the papacy, he had previously served as Bishop of Sutri.

Before his papal election, Cardinal della Rovere was renowned for his unworldliness and had even written learned treatises entitled On the Blood of Christ and On the Power of God.

Before the election, he founded the Young Nationalists as his party's youth wing and served as its first president.

Before Reagan's election, supply side policy was considered unconventional by the moderate wing of the Republican Party.

Before the 2008 presidential election he said, " On social issues, I lean Libertarian, minus the crazy stuff ," but said in December 2011 that if he were president he would do whatever Bill Clinton advised him to do because that " would lead to policies that are a sensible middle ground.

Before Harding's election, the nation had been adrift ; President Woodrow Wilson had been ill by a debilitating stroke for eighteen months and before that Wilson had been in Europe for several months attempting to negotiate a peace settlement after World War I.

Before John XXII's election a contest had begun for the imperial crown between Louis IV of Bavaria and his opponent, Frederick I of Austria.

Before his royal election, he was by inheritance Duke of Swabia ( 1147 – 1152, as Frederick III ).

Before this election, the United States had no chief executive.

Before the election, the War Democrats joined the Republicans to form the National Union Party.

Before the 1923 election, he resolved his dispute with Asquith, allowing the Liberals to run a united ticket against Stanley Baldwin's policy of tariffs ( although there was speculation that Baldwin had adopted such a policy in order to forestall Lloyd George from doing so ).

Before Clay's election as Speaker of the House, the position had been that of a rule enforcer and mediator.

Before the 1966 election, the widow ’ s pension was tripled and redundancy payments for laid-off workers were introduced.

Before and shortly after this election, the HZDS supported the creation of a looser federation — a confederation — between the two republics.

Before the 2002 election, former Moderate Party MP Sten Andersson defected to SD, citing that the party had gotten rid of its extreme right elements.

Before the election of 2004, Karzai led the country after being chosen by delegates of the Bonn Conference in December 2001 to head an interim government after the removal of the Taliban Emirate.

Before 2010, commissioners were elected on a nonpartisan basis, but Sullivan County's commission election became a partisan election in 2010 after the county Republican Party decided to conduct a primary election for commission seats.

Before the 2010 United Kingdom general election it was divided into three constituencies contained wholly within the borough-Brent South, Brent East and Brent North.

Before the Labour Party rose in British politics the Liberal Party was the other major political party along with the Conservatives.

Before that date, however, the Liberal Government of William Ewart Gladstone fell.

Before graduating in 1886, he played football for his college, took a first-class degree in Classics, and was one of the rare Liberal presidents of the Oxford Union, becoming known as a good speaker.

Before the formation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government in May 2010, the leader of the third largest parliamentary party ( usually the leader of the Liberal Party, or Liberal Democrats ) would then ask two questions.

Before 1960, the Liberal Party of Belgium was barely organised.

Before the 2007 general election, the VLD participated in a cartel with Vivant and Liberal Appeal.

Before becoming an MP he was a local councillor in Romford on Havering Council, winning the Chase Cross and Havering-atte-Bower ward from the Liberal Democrats in 1990.

Before the 2011 election SF announced that its goal was to be part of a cabinet consisting of SF, the Social Democrats and the Social Liberal Party.

Before the 2007 elections, PGS has announced coalition ( joint electoral ticket ) with Croatian Peasant Party and Croatian Social Liberal Party.

Before the 2007 parliamentary elections, HSS announced a coalition with opposition parties Alliance of Primorje-Gorski Kotar and Croatian Social Liberal Party.

Before the 1874 general election, he was overlooked as the Liberal candidate for Morpeth in favour of miners ' leader Thomas Burt.

Before the Labour Party had been formed, various candidates stood for Parliament with backing of the Liberal Party and the Labour Representation League, including Thomas Burt, Harry Broadhurst and Alexander Macdonald.

Before the return of Parliament in September 2010, Ignatieff shuffled his Shadow Cabinet and appointed LeBlanc as the Liberal critic for national defence.

Before leaving UDC in February 2008 in order to join the PdL, Giovanardi and Barbieri organized their faction as Liberal Populars.

Note: Before 1919, the leaders of the Ontario Liberal Party were chosen by the party's elected Members of the Legislative Assembly.

Before the party leaders ' debate, a Winnipeg Free Press poll indicated that 40 % of voters considered Liberal leader Sharon Carstairs as the best choice for Premier, with 24 % favouring Progressive Conservative Gary Filmon and 19 % favouring NDP leader Gary Doer.

Before entering politics, he was a teacher in public secondary schools in Northern Tasmania and adviser to Guy Barnett, Liberal Senator for Tasmania.

Before leaving the party, O ' Brien was often considered as representing the right-wing of the Liberal party.

Before entering political life himself, he was an assistant to Liberal politicians Robert Andras, Stuart Smith and Joe Comuzzi.

Before 1943 it was a Country Party seat, but since 1949 it has usually been held by the Liberal Party.

Before the Quebec Liberal Party took power in the 2003 election, Fournier at various moments served as the chief whip of the official opposition, critic for Canadian intergovernmental affairs, as well as critic for health.

Before his election as MEP Jules Maaten was Secretary General of the world union of liberal parties, the Liberal International, in London ( 1992 – 1999 ), during which time he was involved among others in supporting democratic movements in Asia, Latin America, Africa and Central and Eastern Europe.

Before his appointment to the Senate, he was a British Columbia Liberal Party Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1991 to 2008, serving as Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources in the cabinet of Gordon Campbell.