2008 in politics explained
These are some of the notable events relating to politics in 2008:
Events
January
- January 3 - The first caucuses in the 2008 U.S. presidential primary season for both Democrats and Republicans were held in Iowa. Then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois won the Democrat contest, whilst former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee won the Republican race.
- January 8 - The second 2008 U.S. presidential primary season nominating contests for both Democrats and Republicans were held in New Hampshire. Then-U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton of New York won the Democrat contest, whilst then-U.S. Senator of Arizona John McCain won the Republican race.
- January 14 - Cyprus, Malta, and Akrotiri and Dhekelia adopt the euro.[1] [2]
- January 15 - Slovenia takes over the presidency of the European Union as the first of new member states.[3]
- January 17 - 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 21 - The 30th Dakar Rally is canceled due to international political tension and the murder of four French tourists on December 24, 2007.
- January 22 - 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 22 - The Kuomintang (KMT)-led Pan-Blue Coalition wins the legislative elections in Taiwan with over 70% of the votes.
- January 22 - 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 23 - Presidential election in Serbia.
- January 23 - 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.
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 United States express support after an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.[10]
- 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.[11]
- 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.[12]
March
April
May
June
July
August
- August 18 - The President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf resigned from the presidency after impeachment pressures by coalition government of Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League.
- August 25–August 28 - The Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado nominates Barack Obama for President of the United States, and Joe Biden for vice president.
September
November
December
- December 9 - Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is arrested by FBI agents, and charged with trying to sell the United States Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.
- December 30 - Embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich names Roland Burris to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the United States Senate.
Deaths
January
- January 1 - Thiyagarajah Maheswaran, Sri Lankan Tamil politician (born 1960)
- January 2 - Lee S. Dreyfus, American politician (born 1926)
- January 3 - Werner Dollinger, German politician (born 1918)
- January 3 - Petru Dugulescu, Romanian Baptist pastor, poet, and politician (born 1945)
- January 5 - Giovanni Rinaldo Coronas, Italian politician (born 1919)
- January 5 - Raymond Forni, French politician (born 1941)
- January 5 - İhsan Saraçlar, Turkish lawyer and politician (born 1928)
- January 6 - Alekos Michaelides, Cypriot politician (born 1933)
- January 7 - Alwyn Schlebusch, South African politician (born 1917)
- January 10 - Andrés Henestrosa, Mexican writer and politician (born 1906)
- January 13 - Walter Zimper, Austrian politician (born 1942)
- January 14 - Vincenz Liechtenstein, Austrian politician (born 1950)
- January 16 - Nikola Kljusev, Macedonian Prime Minister (born 1927)
- January 17 - Trevor Sprigg, Australian politician (born 1946)
- January 26 - George Habash, Palestinian politician (born 1926)
- January 26 - Aziz Sedki, Egyptian Prime Minister (born 1920)
- January 27 - Botho Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein, German politician (born 1927)
- January 27 - Suharto, 2nd President of Indonesia (born 1921)
February
- February 2 - Ahmad Bourghani, Iranian politician (b. c. 1959)
- February 2 - Earl Butz, American government official (born 1909)
- February 7 - Hoang Minh Chinh, Vietnamese politician and dissident (born 1922)
- February 11 - Tom Lantos, American politician (born 1928)
- February 16 - Hans Leussink, German politician (born 1912)
- February 19 - Jean-Michel Bertrand, French politician (born 1943)
- February 21 - Sufi Abu Taleb, Acting President of Egypt (born 1925)
- February 23 - Joaquim Pinto de Andrade, Angolan politician (born 1926)
- February 23 - Janez Drnovšek, 2nd President and 2nd Prime Minister of Slovenia (born 1950)
- February 26 - Tyronne Fernando, Sri Lankan politician (born 1941)
- February 27 - William F. Buckley, Jr., American author and conservative commentator (born 1925)
March
- March 3 - Annemarie Renger, German politician (born 1919)
- March 6 - Gustaw Holoubek, Polish actor, director, and politician (born 1923)
- March 7 - Isaías Carrasco, Basque politician (born 1964)
- March 7 - Francis Pym, British politician (born 1922)
- March 12 - Károly Németh, Hungarian politician (born 1922)
- March 12 - Howard Metzenbaum, American politician (born 1917)
- March 14 - Clyde Cameron, Australian politician (born 1913)
- March 16 - Anura Bandaranaike, Sri Lankan politician (born 1949)
- March 21 - Gabriel París Gordillo, Colombian President and military governor (born 1910)
April
- April 4 - Wu Xueqian, Chinese politician (born 1921)
- April 12 - Patrick Hillery, 6th President of Ireland (born 1923)
- April 17 - Aimé Césaire, French Martinican poet, author, and politician (born 1913)
- April 29 - Charles Tilly, American sociologist, historian, and political scientist (born 1929)
- April 30 - Juancho Evertsz, Dutch Antillean politician (born 1923)
May
- May 1 - Anthony Mamo, 1st President of Malta (born 1909)
- May 3 - Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo, 74th Prime Minister of Spain (born 1926)
- May 7 - Thijs Wöltgens, Dutch politician (born 1943)
- May 13 - Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (born 1930)
- May 17 - Sophan Sophiaan, Indonesian actor and politician (born 1944)
- May 17 - Lionel Van Deerlin, American politician (born 1914)
- May 20 - Crispin Beltran, Filipino politician and labor leader (born 1933)
- May 20 - Hamilton Jordan, American politician (born 1944)
- May 23 - Utah Phillips, American folk singer and political activist (born 1935)
- May 24 - Isaac Lipschits, Dutch political scientist and historian (born 1930)
June
July
- July 1 - Mogens Glistrup, Danish politician and lawyer (born 1926)
- July 4 - Jesse Helms, American politician (born 1921)
- July 5 - René Harris, President of Nauru (born 1947)
- July 7 - Clem McSpadden, American politician (born 1925)
- July 9 - Séamus Brennan, Irish politician (born 1948)
- July 12 - Tony Snow, American political commentator (born 1955)
- July 13 - Bronisław Geremek, Polish social historian and politician (born 1932)
- July 23 - Kurt Furgler, Swiss politician (born 1924)
- July 23 - Ahmet Hadžipašić, Bosnian politician (born 1952)
August
September
See also
Notes and References
- http://www.euractiv.com/en/euro/cyprus-malta-set-join-eurozone-2008/article-163836 Cyprus and Malta set to join eurozone in 2008
- Web site: Britain to adopt the euro - on its bases in Cyprus. EUbusiness (ISO 4217 code: VEF) . https://web.archive.org/web/20080229110600/http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/1198764121.53/ . 2008-02-29 .
- https://archive.today/20070516193607/http://www.svlr.gov.si/en/eu_presidency/ Slovenian EU presidency
- Web site: Unification Ministry Will Be Retained . 10 February 2008 . The Korea Times . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20130913150008/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/02/116_18645.html . 2013-09-13.
- http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2008/01/30/2003399477 Thai king endorses new PM
- Web site: Suicide Attack in Israel Kills One . New York Times via Associated Press . 5 February 2008 . 12 February 2017.
- http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/attack-on-ramoshorta/2008/02/11/1202578640733.html Gunmen attack Timor leader Ramos-Horta
- http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/rudd-says-sorry/2008/02/13/1202760342960.html "Rudd says sorry"
- News: Malaysian PM dissolves parliament . BBC News . February 13, 2008 . April 22, 2010.
- https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=anGy1wIN83Sg&refer=home Bloomberg.com: Worldwide
- News: Musharraf rules out resignation . BBC News . February 20, 2008 . April 22, 2010.
- http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/wheres-kevin-day-pm-was-flat-out/2008/02/22/1203467388856.html Report in Sydney Morning Herald
- News: Qaeda Suspect Escapes . 2008-02-28 . The New York Times . Raymond . Bonner . February 28, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20120606205257/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/world/asia/28singapore.html?ref=asia. June 6, 2012. live.
- Web site: Thaksin Out on Bail in Thailand . The Associated Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20080302200738/http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iGyl8id3WaUZT4V3dWbNkTxKe42QD8V372VG0 . 2008-03-02.
- Web site: Russia's Presidential Election Set for March, 2008 . December 14, 2006 . mosnews.com . 6 March 2008 . http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090708060923/http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/12/14/presedentialelection.shtml . 8 July 2009 . dead .
- https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/sc9268.doc.htm Security Council Tightens Restrictions On Iran's Proliferation-Sensitive Nuclear Activities, Increases Vigilance Over Iranian Banks, Has States Inspect Cargo
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/mar/03/iran.unitednations UN votes for new sanctions against Iran
- http://www.france24.com/en/20080324-bhutan-votes-status-quo-jigmi-thinley-election-parliament&navi=MONDE "Bhutan votes for status quo"
- Web site: Election Date Finally Fixed As March 29, 2008. 5 March 2008 .
- Book: Nepal, Observation Constituent Assembly Election, 2008: Comprehensive Report. National Election Observation Committee. 2008. 978-9937-2-0754-6. 54.
- News: NATO chief welcomes Albania and Croatia for 2009 . 2008-06-24 . . 2008-04-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080408004314/http://www.radionetherlands.nl/news/international/5716368/NATO-chief-welcomes-Albania-and-Croatia-for-2009 . 2008-04-08.
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/guernsey/7339172.stm Sark democracy plans are approved
- https://web.archive.org/web/20080119205907/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1704703,00.html A Revolution Not Televised
- http://podcast.timesonline.co.uk/serve.php/1503/thebugle13.mp3 After 443 years, Sark gets democracy
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/guernsey/7258214.stm Sark agrees switch to democracy
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7369540.stm Karzai unhurt after parade attack
- http://news.bahai.org/story/632 Six Baháʼí leaders arrested in Iran; pattern matches deadly sweeps of early 1980s
- https://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=4866721 ABC News: Calif. Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage, Sparks Celebration, Outrage
- News: Obama: I will be the Democratic nominee - CNN.com . CNN . April 22, 2010 . June 4, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100112011028/http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/03/election.democrats/index.html . January 12, 2010 . live .
- Web site: 50,000 South Koreans protest against U.S. beef - World news - Asia-Pacific . NBC News . 5 July 2008 . 3 November 2018.