2008 in politics

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Years: 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

These are some of the notable events relating to politics in 2008:

Events[]

January[]

  • 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 first caucuses in the 2008 U.S. presidential primary season for both Democrats and Republicans were held in Iowa.
  • 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.
The new flag of Iraq.
  • January 24 - Iraqi Parliament adopts a new national flag, removing three stars associated with the Baath Party; a permanent design is expected within the next year.
  • January 24 - Prime Minister of Italy Romano Prodi resigns his post after losing the vote of confidence in the Senate.

<I'm not sure if this should be on the politics' page *January 25 - China's worst snowstorm since 1954 kills 133, delays traffic, and causes massive power outages in central and southern parts of the country.[5]/>

  • January 30 - King Bhumibol Adulyadej swears in Samak Sundaravej as the new Prime Minister of Thailand.[6]

February[]

Primaries and caucuses in U.S. presidential election are held in 24 states.
  • February 5 - Super Tuesday, massive multi-state primary in U.S. presidential election, with primaries and caucuses in 24 states, is held.
  • January 5 - Mikheil Saakashvili is reelected following early presidential elections in Georgia.
  • February 7 - General election called for Belize's 31 House seats; a referendum to be held simultaneously to determine whether the upper house should be elected.
  • February 11 - President of East Timor José Ramos-Horta is seriously wounded in an attack on his home by rebel soldiers. Rebel leader Alfredo Reinado is killed by Ramos-Horta's security guards during the attack.[8]
  • February 13 - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia delivers a formal apology to the Stolen Generations.[9]
  • February 13 - Prime Minister of Malaysia Abdullah Ahmad Badawi dissolves the Malaysian parliament.[10]
  • February 16 - Václav Klaus is reelected as the President of the Czech Republic.
Flag of Kosovo
  • 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.[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]
Raúl Castro
  • February 24 - Raúl Castro is unanimously elected as President of Cuba by the National Assembly.
  • February 24 - Dimitris Christofias is elected President of Cyprus after the second round of voting in the country's presidential election.
  • February 25 - Lee Myung-bak starts his five-year term as the 17th President of South Korea.
  • February 27 - Jemaah Islamiyah leader Mas Selamat bin Kastari escapes from a detention center in Singapore.[14]
  • February 28 - Former Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra is arrested on corruption charges upon returning to Thailand after months of exile.[15]

March[]

Dmitry Medvedev
Invasion of Anjouan
  • March 25 - African Union and Comoros forces invade the rebel-held island of Anjouan.
  • March 29 - Zimbabwe presidential election.[20]
  • March–April - Rising food and fuel prices trigger riots and unrest in the Third World.

April[]

May[]

  • May 1 - Local elections, for 137 English councils and all Welsh councils in the United Kingdom.
  • May 1 - Elections for the London Mayor and London Assembly take place with Boris Johnson becoming the second Mayor of London.
  • May 2 - May 3 - The Presidents of Central European States meet in Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia.
  • May 7 - Brian Cowen is elected the 11th Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland, succeeding Bertie Ahern, after a vote in the Dáil Éireann.
  • May 7 - Dmitry Medvedev is sworn in as the President of Russia.
  • May 8 - Vladimir Putin is confirmed as the 10th Prime Minister of Russia after a vote in the State Duma.
  • May 8 - Silvio Berlusconi is sworn in as the 81st Prime Minister of Italy.
  • May 10 - Myanmar holds a constitutional referendum.
  • May 11 - Local and parliamentary elections in Serbia.
  • May 14 - Six Iranian Baháʼí Faith leaders are arrested in Iran.[28]
  • May 15 - California becomes the second U.S. state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage after the state's Supreme Court rules a previous ban unconstitutional.[29]
  • May 16 - Presidential election in the Dominican Republic.
  • May 16 - The fifth Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union Summit is held in Lima, Peru.
  • May 17 - Parliamentary elections are held in Kuwait.
  • May 20 - Chen Shui-bian steps down after eight years as Taiwan's president due to term limits and is replaced by Ma Ying-jeou who was elected two months earlier.
  • May 21 - Legislative elections are held in Georgia.
  • May 22 - Council of the Presidents of Ukraine and Azerbaijan is formed.
  • May 23 - The Union of South American Nations, a supranational union, is created by a union between the Andean Community and Mercosur.
  • May 23 - The International Court of Justice awards Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca to Singapore, ending a 29-year territorial dispute between the two countries.
  • May 25 - Michel Suleiman is elected President of Lebanon by the Parliament. The election had been postponed 19 times due to a parliamentary stalemate.
  • May 28 - The Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal is established after the Assembly votes overwhelmingly in favor of abolishing the country's 240-year-old monarchy. Girija Prasad Koirala becomes temporary Head of state.

June[]

  • June 1 - Parliamentary elections in the Republic of Macedonia.
  • June 1 - Referendum on the process of naturalization fails by a wide margin in Switzerland, leaving in place a system in which applicants are approved by elected bodies rather than popular votes.
  • June 3 - Barack Obama becomes the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party, becoming the first African American to do so in a major U.S. political party.[30]
  • June 11 - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologizes to Canada's First Nations for the Canadian residential school system.
  • June 12 - Ireland votes to reject the Treaty of Lisbon, in the only referendum to be held by a European Union member state on the treaty.
  • June 27 - President Robert Mugabe is reelected with 85.5% of the vote in the second round of the controversial Zimbabwean presidential election.
  • June 27 - Two ministers of the Guatemalan government are killed in a helicopter crash in Alta Verapaz.
  • June 29 - Legislative elections are held in Mongolia.

July[]

  • July 2 - Íngrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages are rescued from FARC by Colombian security forces.
  • July 5 - Tens of thousands of South Koreans continue to protest against the Lee Myung-bak administration's decision to allow U.S. beef imports to resume.[31]
  • July 7–July 9 - 34th G8 summit held in Tōyako, Hokkaidō in Japan

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[]

  • September 1–September 4 - The Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota nominates John McCain for President of the United States, and Sarah Palin for Vice President.

November[]

  • November 4 - Barack Obama was elected as the 44th President of the United States, becoming the first African American elected to the office. Congressional elections for the House of Representatives and one third of the Senators (second class) were also held.
  • November 4 - Gubernatorial election slated in Puerto Rico to elect the governor of the island.
  • November 8 - New Zealand held a general election, which John Key's right-wing National Party won, with deals from the ACT, United Future, and Māori parties.
  • November 25 - Greenland holds an election for increased autonomy from Denmark.
  • November 28 - Legislative election in Romania.

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[]

Suharto

February[]

Janez Drnovšek
  • 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[]

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[]

June[]

  • June 1 - Tommy Lapid, Israeli television presenter, journalist and politician (born 1931)
  • June 2 - Sheriff Mustapha Dibba, Gambian politician (b. unknown)
  • June 4 - Ivan Herasymov, Ukrainian politician (born 1921)
  • June 7 - Joseph Kabui, Papua New Guinean secessionist (born 1954)
  • June 8 - Danilo Lagbas, Filipino politician (born 1952)
  • June 11 - Võ Văn Kiệt, Vietnamese prime minister (born 1922)
  • June 23 - Arthur Chung, President of Guyana (born 1918)

July[]

Jesse Helms

August[]

Levy Mwanawasa

September[]

See also[]

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ Cyprus and Malta set to join eurozone in 2008 Archived 2009-01-30 at the Wayback Machine, EurActiv
  2. ^ "Britain to adopt the euro - on its bases in Cyprus". EUbusiness (ISO 4217 code: VEF). Archived from the original on 2008-02-29.
  3. ^ Slovenian EU presidency
  4. ^ "Unification Ministry Will Be Retained". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on 2013-09-13.
  5. ^ Bloomberg.com: Worldwide
  6. ^ Thai king endorses new PM. Taipei Times website. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  7. ^ "Suicide Attack in Israel Kills One". New York Times via Associated Press. 5 February 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  8. ^ Gunmen attack Timor leader Ramos-Horta, The Sydney Morning Herald, February 11, 2008.
  9. ^ "Rudd says sorry", Dylan Welch, Sydney Morning Herald, February 13, 2008
  10. ^ "Malaysian PM dissolves parliament". BBC News. February 13, 2008. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
  11. ^ Bloomberg.com: Worldwide
  12. ^ "Musharraf rules out resignation". BBC News. February 20, 2008. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
  13. ^ Report in Sydney Morning Herald
  14. ^ Bonner, Raymond (February 28, 2008). "Qaeda Suspect Escapes". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 6, 2012. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
  15. ^ "Thaksin Out on Bail in Thailand". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2008-03-02.
  16. ^ "Russia's Presidential Election Set for March, 2008". mosnews.com. December 14, 2006. Archived from the original on 8 July 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
  17. ^ Security Council Tightens Restrictions On Iran's Proliferation-Sensitive Nuclear Activities, Increases Vigilance Over Iranian Banks, Has States Inspect Cargo (press release), United Nations Security Council (March 3, 2008).
  18. ^ UN votes for new sanctions against Iran, Associated Press (March 3, 2008).
  19. ^ "Bhutan votes for status quo" Archived April 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, France 24, March 24, 2008
  20. ^ "Election Date Finally Fixed As March 29, 2008". Retrieved 5 March 2008.
  21. ^ Nepal, Observation Constituent Assembly Election, 2008: Comprehensive Report. National Election Observation Committee. 2008. p. 54. ISBN 978-9937-2-0754-6.
  22. ^ "NATO chief welcomes Albania and Croatia for 2009". Radio Netherlands Worldwide. 2008-04-03. Archived from the original on 2008-04-08. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  23. ^ Sark democracy plans are approved, BBC News Online, 9 April 2008
  24. ^ A Revolution Not Televised, Time.com, January 17, 2008
  25. ^ After 443 years, Sark gets democracy Archived June 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, The Bugle, Episode 13, January 2008. The Bugle is a satirical podcast of the Times Online.
  26. ^ Sark agrees switch to democracy, BBC News Online, 22 February 2008
  27. ^ Karzai unhurt after parade attack, BBC News
  28. ^ Six Baháʼí leaders arrested in Iran; pattern matches deadly sweeps of early 1980s, Baháʼí World News Service
  29. ^ ABC News: Calif. Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage, Sparks Celebration, Outrage
  30. ^ "Obama: I will be the Democratic nominee - CNN.com". CNN. June 4, 2008. Archived from the original on January 10, 2010. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
  31. ^ "50,000 South Koreans protest against U.S. beef - World news - Asia-Pacific | NBC News". NBC News. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
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