1.   They did not belong to the higher party and state hierarchy of the former regime, he declared.

2.   Bush played down any national political implications of his visit with the volunteer group, which has significant influence in the state party hierarchy.

3.   As president of the Constitutional Council, Dumas is the fifth-ranking man in the state hierarchy.

4.   Because Pataki and virtually the entire state GOP hierarchy are backing Bush, most of his delegate slates in big Republican areas are populated with well-known GOP figures.

5.   Top party leaders who had been jockeying with each other for supremacy in the state party hierarchy flanked Mrs. Gandhi as she spoke in a show of unity.

6.   He is also a former National Assembly speaker, the third most senior position in the French state hierarchy, after the president and Senate president.

7.   Also he will not be welcomed by speaker Philippe Seguin, number three in the state hierarchy.