AC/AO

Companion/Officer of the Order of Australia

ADC

Aide de camp

AIDS

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

a.k.a.

also known as

ALP

Australian Labor Party

BAFTA

British Academy of Film and Television Arts

BBC

British Broadcasting Corporation

BEF

British Expeditionary Force

CC/OC

Companion/Officer of the Order of Canada

CCP

Chinese Communist Party

CERN

Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire

CH

Companion of Honour

CIA

Central Intelligence Agency

C-in-C

Commander-in-Chief

CNRS

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

CPSU

Communist Party of the Soviet Union

DFC

Distinguished Flying Cross

DSO

Distinguished Service Order

EC

European Community

EIC

East India Company

EU

European Union

FAA

Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science

FBA

Fellow of the British Academy

FBI

Federal Bureau of Investigation

FRCP

Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians

FRS

Fellow of the Royal Society

FRSA

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts

GBE/KBE/DBE/CBE

Grand Cross/Knight Commander/Dame Commander/Companion of the Order of the British Empire

GCB/KCB/CB

Grand Cross/Knight Commander/Companion of the Order of the Bath

GCMG/KCMG/DCMG/CMG

Grand Cross/Knight Commander/Dame Commander/Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George

GCSI/KCSI/CSI

Grand Cross/Knight Commander/Dame Commander/Companion of the Order of the Star of India

GCVO/KCVO/DCVO/CVO

Grand Cross/Knight Commander/Dame Commander/Companion of the Royal Victorian Order

GOC

General Officer Commanding

ILO

International Labour Organization

KC/QC

King’s/Queen’s Counsel

KG/LG

Knight/Lady of the Order of the Garter

KGB

Committee of State Security (former USSR)

KP

Knight of St Patrick

KT

Knight of the Thistle

MEP

Member of the European Parliament

MIT

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MP

Member of Parliament

NASA

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

OM

Order of Merit

PC

Privy Counsellor

RA

Royal Academician, London

RAF

Royal Air Force

SDP

Social Democratic Party

SI

International System of Units (Système international d’unités)

SPD

Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands

UK

United Kingdom

UN

United Nations

UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

US(A)

United States (of America)

USSR

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

VC

Victoria Cross

WHO

World Health Organization