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 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 1998, the United Kingdom profile contained a sentence that asserted the UK had gained independence on 1 January 1801.

Before the 1970s, community colleges in the United States were more commonly referred to as junior colleges, and that term is still used at some institutions.

Before civil rights laws were passed in the United States, Benjamin Mays noted that African Americans were the ‘ untouchables ’ of America.

Before the Supreme Court of the United States, De Forest was granted the regeneration patent in what is today widely regarded as a misunderstanding of the technical facts by the Supreme Court justices.

Before the founding of the Federal Reserve, the United States underwent several financial crises.

Before the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act was passed in the wake of the September 11 attacks, the FBI director would directly brief the President of the United States on any issues that arise from within the FBI.

Before the military buildup began in fiscal year ( FY ) 1980, United States military assistance to Honduras was less than US $ 4 million.

Before helping to create science fiction, Gernsback was an entrepreneur in the electronics industry, importing radio parts from Europe to the United States and helping to popularize amateur " wireless.

Before the establishment of ICANN, the Government of the United States controlled the domain name system of the Internet.

Before becoming the UN Ambassador he was the Attorney General of Missouri and United States Senator from Missouri.

Before the Persian Gulf War, Kuwait maintained a small military force with equipment supplied by the United Kingdom and the United States.

Before the 1987 – 88 season, Dalglish signed a number of new players: Peter Beardsley from Newcastle, John Aldridge from Oxford United ( who replaced Ian Rush ); winger John Barnes from Watford ; and Oxford United midfielder Ray Houghton.

Before 1929, different countries had different definitions, and the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States did not immediately accept the international value.

Before the 19th century, the first use of the word " police " recorded in government documents in the United Kingdom was the appointment of Commissioners of Police for Scotland in 1714 and the creation of the Marine Police in 1798 ( set up to protect merchandise at the Port of London ).

Before the Second World War, researchers in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States, independently and in great secrecy, developed technologies that led to the modern version of radar.

Before the attacks, FBI agent Robert Wright, Jr. had written vigorous criticisms of FBI's alleged incompetence in investigating terrorists residing within the United States.

Before the onset of the Second World War, the United Kingdom drew on its First World War experience to prepare legislation that would allow immediate mobilization of the economy for war, should future hostilities break out.

Before the 1980s, the North American phrase " trick-or-treat " was little known in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland and when introduced was often regarded as an unusual and even unwelcome import.

Before 1972, Zambia had three significant political parties — UNIP, the Northern Rhodesian African National Congress, and the United Progressive Party ( UPP ).

Before World War II, many European architects moved to the United States, where modern architecture continued to develop.

Before 1970, cohabitation was illegal in the United States.