[edit] Events [edit] January - January 1 - Cyprus, Malta, and Akrotiri and Dhekelia adopt the euro.[1][2]
- January 1 - Slovenia takes over the presidency of the European Union as the first of new member states.[3]
- January 1 - The Venezuelan bolívar, as a result of a government decree issued on March 7, 2007, is revalued at a ratio of 1 to 1000 and renamed the Bolívar fuerte (ISO 4217 code: VEF).
- January 3 - The first caucuses in the 2008 U.S. presidential primary season for both Democrats and Republicans were held in Iowa.
- January 4 - The 30th Dakar Rally is canceled due to international political tension and the murder of four French tourists on December 24, 2007.
- January 8 - An attempted assassination of Maldivian president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is thwarted after a Boy Scout grabbed the attacker's knife. The Boy Scout was injured, but after a scuffle ensued police arrested the attacker.
- January 12 - The Kuomintang (KMT)-led Pan-Blue Coalition wins the legislative elections in Taiwan with over 70% of the votes.
- January 16 - The South Korean Presidential Transition Team announces a plan to merge the Ministry of Unification, which works toward unification with North Korea, with the Foreign Ministry, but does not follow through on the idea.[4]
- January 20 - Presidential election in Serbia.
- January 20 - Legislative elections in Cuba.
- January 24 - A peace deal ends the Kivu conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- January 24 - Peter Hain resigns as British Wales Secretary and British Work and Pensions Secretary after the Electoral Commission refers the failure to report donations to the Metropolitan Police Service. Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for a quick cabinet shuffle.
[edit] February - February 17 - Kosovo formally declares independence from Serbia, despite opposition from Serbia, Russia, China, Spain, Romania, and other nations. However Albania, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, U.K., and U.S. express support after an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.[11]
- February 17 - Presidential election in Cyprus.
- February 18 - General election is held in Pakistan, delayed from January 8 due to riots in the wake of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Opposition parties, including Bhutto's, take more than half of the seats, while President Pervez Musharraf's party suffers a huge defeat.[12]
- February 19 - Presidential election in Armenia.
- February 19 - After 49 years in office, Fidel Castro announces his resignation as President of Cuba.
- February 21 - Hundreds of thousands of Serbs take to the streets in Belgrade to protest against Kosovo's declaration of independence and the partial international recognition of it.
- February 22 – The Australian Parliament descends into chaos with opposition frontbenchers ejected, question time suspended, and speakers unable to control the house. A cardboard cut-out of the Prime Minister is brought into the parliament by opposition members angry about sitting time on a Friday.[13]
[edit] August [edit] September [edit] November [edit] December [edit] Deaths [edit] January - January 1 - Thiyagarajah Maheswaran, Sri Lankan Tamil politician (b. 1960)
- January 2 - Lee S. Dreyfus, American politician (b. 1926)
- January 3 - Werner Dollinger, German politician (b. 1918)
- January 3 - Petru Dugulescu, Romanian Baptist pastor, poet, and politician (b. 1945)
- January 5 - Giovanni Rinaldo Coronas, Italian politician (b. 1919)
- January 5 - Raymond Forni, French politician (b. 1941)
- January 5 - İhsan Saraçlar, Turkish lawyer and politician (b. 1928)
- January 6 - Alekos Michaelides, Cypriot politician (b. 1933)
- January 7 - Alwyn Schlebusch, South African politician (b. 1917)
- January 10 - Andrés Henestrosa, Mexican writer and politician (b. 1906)
- January 13 - Walter Zimper, Austrian politician (b. 1942)
- January 14 - Vincenz Liechtenstein, Austrian politician (b. 1950)
- January 16 - Nikola Kljusev, Macedonian Prime Minister (b. 1927)
- January 17 - Trevor Sprigg, Australian politician (b. 1946)
- January 26 - George Habash, Palestinian politician (b. 1926)
- January 26 - Aziz Sedki, Egyptian Prime Minister (b. 1920)
- January 27 - Botho Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein, German politician (b. 1927)
- January 27 - Suharto, 2nd President of Indonesia (b. 1921)
[edit] February - February 2 - Ahmad Bourghani, Iranian politician (b. circa 1959)
- February 2 - Earl Butz, American government official (b. 1909)
- February 7 - Hoang Minh Chinh, Vietnamese politician and dissident (b. 1922)
- February 11 - Tom Lantos, American politician (b. 1928)
- February 16 - Hans Leussink, German politician (b. 1912)
- February 19 - Jean-Michel Bertrand, French politician (b. 1943)
- February 21 - Sufi Abu Taleb, Acting President of Egypt (b. 1925)
- February 23 - Joaquim Pinto de Andrade, Angolan politician (b. 1926)
- February 23 - Janez Drnovšek, 2nd President and 2nd Prime Minister of Slovenia (b. 1950)
- February 26 - Tyronne Fernando, Sri Lankan politician (b. 1941)
- February 27 - William F. Buckley, Jr., American author and conservative commentator (b. 1925)
- March 3 - Annemarie Renger, German politician (b. 1919)
- March 6 - Gustaw Holoubek, Polish actor, director, and politician (b. 1923)
- March 7 - Isaías Carrasco, Basque politician (b. 1964)
- March 7 - Francis Pym, British politician (b. 1922)
- March 12 - Károly Németh, Hungarian politician (b. 1922)
- March 12 - Howard Metzenbaum, American politician (b. 1917)
- March 14 - Clyde Cameron, Australian politician (b. 1913)
- March 16 - Anura Bandaranaike, Sri Lankan politician (b. 1949)
- March 21 - Gabriel París Gordillo, Colombian President and military governor (b. 1910)
- May 1 - Anthony Mamo, 1st President of Malta (b. 1909)
- May 3 - Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo, 74th Prime Minister of Spain (b. 1926)
- May 7 - Thijs Wöltgens, Dutch politician (b. 1943)
- May 13 - Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1930)
- May 17 - Sophan Sophiaan, Indonesian actor and politician (b. 1944)
- May 17 - Lionel Van Deerlin, American politician (b. 1914)
- May 20 - Crispin Beltran, Filipino politician and labor leader (b. 1933)
- May 20 - Hamilton Jordan, American politician (b. 1944)
- May 23 - Utah Phillips, American folk singer and political activist (b. 1935)
- May 24 - Isaac Lipschits, Dutch political scientist and historian (b. 1930)
[edit] August [edit] September [edit] See also - ^ Cyprus and Malta set to join eurozone in 2008, EurActiv
- ^ Akrotiri and Dhekelia adopt the euro, EUbusiness (ISO 4217 code: VEF).
- ^ Slovenian EU presidency[dead link]
- ^ Unification Ministry Will Be Retained(The Korea Times)
- ^ Bloomberg.com: Worldwide
- ^ Thai king endorses new PM. Taipei Times website. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
- ^ Dimona bombing: Suicide attack in Israel first in a year, Yahoo News via Associated Press[dead link]
- ^ Gunmen attack Timor leader Ramos-Horta, The Sydney Morning Herald, February 11, 2008.
- ^ "Rudd says sorry", Dylan Welch, Sydney Morning Herald, February 13, 2008
- ^ BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Malaysian PM dissolves parliament
- ^ Bloomberg.com: Worldwide
- ^ BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Musharraf rules out resignation
- ^ Report in Sydney Morning Herald
- ^ "Qaeda Suspect Escapes". http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/world/asia/28singapore.html?ref=asia. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
- ^ The Associated Press: Thaksin Out on Bail in Thailand[dead link]
- ^ "Russia’s Presidential Election Set for March, 2008". mosnews.com. December 14, 2006. http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/12/14/presedentialelection.shtml. [dead link]
- ^ [1], UN Security Council
- ^ UN Security Council Resolution 1803 on Iran's Nuclear Program, U.S. Department of State
- ^ Day of Infamy: The March 20, 2008 US Declaration of War on Iran
- ^ "Bhutan votes for status quo", France 24, March 24, 2008
- ^ "Election Date Finally Fixed As March 29, 2008". http://allafrica.com/stories/200801250793.html.
- ^ "NATO chief welcomes Albania and Croatia for 2009". Radio Netherlands Worldwide. 2008-04-03. http://www.radionetherlands.nl/news/international/5716368/NATO-chief-welcomes-Albania-and-Croatia-for-2009. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
- ^ Sark democracy plans are approved, BBC News Online, 9 April 2008
- ^ A Revolution Not Televised, Time.com, January 17, 2008
- ^ After 443 years, Sark gets democracy, The Bugle, Episode 13, January 2008. The Bugle is a satirical podcast of the Times Online.
- ^ Sark agrees switch to democracy, BBC News Online, 22 February 2008
- ^ Karzai unhurt after parade attack, BBC News
- ^ Six Bahá'í leaders arrested in Iran; pattern matches deadly sweeps of early 1980s, Bahá'í World News Service
- ^ ABC News: Calif. Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage, Sparks Celebration, Outrage
- ^ Obama: I will be the Democratic nominee - CNN.com
- ^ Police: 50,000 Koreans Protest U.S. Beef Imports
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