These are some of the notable events relating to

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

in 2008:

Events

January

* January 3 - The first

caucus A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...

es in the 2008 U.S. presidential primary season for both Democrats and Republicans were held in

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. Then-U.S. Senator

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

won the Democrat contest, whilst former

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

Governor

Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (, born August 24, 1955) is an American diplomat, political commentator, Baptist minister, and politician serving as the 29th United States Ambassador to Israel, United States ambassador to Israel since 2025. A member of ...

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 New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. Then-U.S. Senator

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

won the Democrat contest, whilst then-U.S. Senator of

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

won the Republican race. * January 14 -

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, and

Akrotiri and Dhekelia Akrotiri and Dhekelia (), officially the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (SBA), is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory made of two non-contiguous areas on the island of Geography of Cyprus, Cyprus. The area ...

adopt the

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

. * January 15 -

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

takes over the presidency of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

as the first of new member states. * January 17 - The

Venezuelan bolívar The bolívar is the official currency of Venezuela. Named after the hero of South American independence Simón Bolívar, it was introduced by President Antonio Guzmán Blanco, Guzman Blanco via the monetary reform of 1879, before which the Vene ...

, 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 ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that defines alpha codes and numeric codes for the representation of currencies and provides information about the relationships between individ ...

code: VEF). * January 21 - The 30th

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally () or simply "The Dakar" (), formerly known as the Paris–Dakar Rally (), is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). It is an off-road endurance event traversing terrain much tougher than convent ...

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 Maumoon Abdul Gayoom ( ; born Abdulla Maumoon Khairi; 29 December 1937) is a Maldivian politician, statesman, diplomat and scholar who served as the 3rd president of the Maldives from 1978 to 2008. He previously served as the Minister of Tra ...

is thwarted after a

Boy Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...

grabbed the attacker's knife. The Boy Scout was injured, but after a scuffle ensued police arrested the attacker. * January 22 - The

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

(KMT)-led

Pan-Blue Coalition The Pan-Blue coalition, Pan-Blue force or Pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and You ...

wins the

legislative elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

with over 70% of the votes. * January 22 - The

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

n Presidential Transition Team announces a plan to merge the

Ministry of Unification The Ministry of Unification () is an executive department of the South Korean government aimed at promoting Korean reunification. It was first established in 1969 as the ''National Unification Board'', under the rule of Park Chung Hee. It gaine ...

, which works toward unification with

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, with the Foreign Ministry, but does not follow through on the idea. * January 23 -

Presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. * January 23 -

Legislative elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. * January 24 - A peace deal ends the

Kivu conflict The Kivu conflict is an umbrella term for a series of protracted armed conflicts in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo which have occurred since the end of the Second Congo War. Including ...

in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

* January 24 -

Peter Hain Peter Gerald Hain, Baron Hain, (born 16 February 1950), is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2005 to 2007, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2007 to 2008 and twice as Secretary of State ...

resigns as British Wales Secretary and British

Work and Pensions Secretary The secretary of state for work and pensions, also referred to as the work and pensions secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the busin ...

after the

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

refers the failure to report donations to the Metropolitan Police Service.

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

called for a quick

cabinet shuffle A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the head of state changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parliam ...

* January 24 -

Iraqi Parliament The Council of Representatives is the '' de facto'' unicameral legislature of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, it is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the country. As of 2020, it comprises 329 seats and meets in Baghd ...

adopts a new

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...

, removing three stars associated with the Baath Party; a permanent design is expected within the next year. * January 24 -

Prime Minister of Italy The prime minister of Italy, officially the president of the Council of Ministers (), is the head of government of the Italy, Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is established by articles 92–96 of the Co ...

Romano Prodi Romano Prodi (; born 9 August 1939) is an Italian politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004 and twice as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1996 to 1998, and again from 2006 to 2008. Prodi is considered the fo ...

resigns his post after losing the

vote of confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...

in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. * January 30 - King

Bhumibol Adulyadej Bhumibol Adulyadej (5 December 192713 October 2016), titled Rama IX, was King of Thailand from 1946 until Death and funeral of Bhumibol Adulyadej, his death in 2016. His reign of 70 years and 126 days is the longest of any List of Thai mo ...

swears in

Samak Sundaravej Samak Sundaravej (, , ; 13 June 1935 – 24 November 2009) was a Thai politician who briefly served as the Prime Minister of Thailand and Minister of Defence in 2008, as well as the leader of the People's Power Party in 2008. Early life and fa ...

as the new

Prime Minister of Thailand The prime minister of Thailand (, , ; literally 'chief minister of state') is the head of government of Thailand. The prime minister is also the chair of the cabinet of Thailand. The post has existed since the Siamese Revolution of 1932, when ...

February

* February 2 - Rebels attack the capital of

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

N'Djamena N'Djamena ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Chad, largest city of Chad. It is also a Provinces of Chad, special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements'', similar to the city of Paris. Originally calle ...

. * February 3 -

Boris Tadić Boris Tadić, (born 15 January 1958) is a Serbian politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2004 to 2012. Born in Sarajevo, he graduated from the University of Belgrade with a degree in psychology. He later worked as a journalist ...

is reelected in the second round of the Serbian presidential elections. * February 3 -

Parliamentary elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

. * February 4 - A

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

suicide bomber A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is ofte ...

kills one and wounds thirteen in a

Dimona Dimona (, ) is an Israeli city in the Negev desert, to the south-east of Beersheba and west of the Dead Sea above the Arabah, Arava valley in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel. In , its population was . The Shimon Pere ...

, Israel shopping center. Image-Super Duper Tuesday 2008

* February 5 -

Super Tuesday Super Tuesday is the United States presidential primary election day in February or March when the greatest number of U.S. states hold primary elections and caucuses. Approximately one-third of all delegates to the presidential nominatin ...

, massive multi-state primary in

U.S. presidential election The election of the president and vice president of the United States is an indirect election in which citizens of the United States who are registered to vote in one of the fifty U.S. states or in Washington, D.C., cast ballots not directl ...

, with primaries and caucuses in 24 states, is held. * January 5 -

Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil "Misha" Saakashvili (born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist. He was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 25 January 2004 to 17 November 2013. He is the founder and former chair ...

is reelected following early

presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. * February 7 - General election called for Belize's 31 House seats; a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

to be held simultaneously to determine whether the

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

should be elected. * February 11 -

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

José Ramos-Horta José Manuel Ramos-Horta GCL GColIH (; born 26 December 1949) is an East Timorese politician. He has been the president of East Timor since 2022, having previously also held the position from 20 May 2007 to 20 May 2012. Previously he was Mini ...

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. * February 13 - Prime Minister

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and June to September 2013. He held office as the Leaders of the Australian Labo ...

of Australia delivers a formal apology to the

Stolen Generations The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Aboriginal Australians, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Gover ...

. * February 13 -

Prime Minister of Malaysia The prime minister of Malaysia (; ) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the Government of Malaysia, federal government. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints the prime minister who is a membe ...

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi (, ; 26 November 1939 – 14 April 2025), also known as Pak Lah, was a Malaysian politician and civil servant who served as the fifth prime minister of Malaysia from 2003 to 2009. A member of UMNO, he was the party's ...

dissolves the

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

n parliament. * February 16 -

Václav Klaus Václav Klaus (; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second president of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. From July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, he served as the second ...

is reelected as the

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

* February 17 -

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

formally declares independence from

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, despite opposition from Serbia, Russia,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, Spain,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, and other nations. However

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, Belgium,

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, France, Germany, Italy,

U.K. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, and United States express support after an emergency meeting of the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

. * February 17 -

. * February 18 -

General election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

is held in Pakistan, delayed from January 8 due to riots in the wake of the

assassination of Benazir Bhutto The assassination of Benazir Bhutto () took place on 27 December 2007 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan and then-leader of the opposition party Pakistan People's Party, had been campaigning ahead o ...

. Opposition parties, including Bhutto's, take more than half of the seats, while

Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf (11 August 1943 – 5 February 2023) was a Pakistani general and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Prior to his career in politics, he was a four-star general and appointed as ...

's party suffers a huge defeat. * February 19 -

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. * February 19 - After 49 years in office,

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

announces his resignation as President of Cuba. * February 21 - Hundreds of thousands of

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

take to the streets in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

against

'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. * February 24 -

Raúl Castro Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz ( ; ; born 3 June 1931) is a Cuban retired politician and general who served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, the most senior position in the One-par ...

is unanimously elected as

President of Cuba The president of Cuba (), officially the president of the Republic of Cuba (), is the head of state of Cuba. The office in its current form was established under the Constitution of 2019. The President is the second-highest office in Cuba and ...

by the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

. * February 24 -

Dimitris Christofias Dimitris (Δημήτρης) is the Modern Greek form of the older forms Demetrios, Dimitrios (Δημήτριος, usually Latinized as Demetrius) and may refer to: * Dimitris Arvanitis (born 1980), Greek professional football defender who plays for ...

is elected

President of Cyprus The president of Cyprus, officially the president of the Republic of Cyprus, is the head of state and the head of government of Cyprus, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Cypriot National Guard. The office was established by the Constitu ...

after the second round of voting in the country's

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

. * February 25 -

Lee Myung-bak Lee Myung-bak (; born 19 December 1941), often referred to by his initials MB, is a South Korean businessman and politician who served as the tenth president of South Korea from 2008 to 2013. Before his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engi ...

starts his five-year term as the 17th

President of South Korea The president of the Republic of Korea (), also known as the president of South Korea (), is the head of state and head of government of South Korea. The president directs the executive branch of the Government of South Korea, government and is ...

. * February 27 -

Jemaah Islamiyah Jemaah Islamiyah (, ''al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmiyyah'', meaning "Islamic Congregation", frequently abbreviated JI) was a Southeast Asian Islamist militant group based in Indonesia, which was dedicated to the establishment of an Islamic state in ...

leader Mas Selamat bin Kastari escapes from a detention center in Singapore. * February 28 - Former

Thaksin Shinawatra Thaksin Shinawatra (, ; born 26 July 1949) is a Thai businessman and politician who was the 23rd prime minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006. Since 2009 he has also been a citizen of Montenegro. Thaksin founded the mobile phone operator A ...

is arrested on corruption charges upon returning to

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

after months of exile.

March

* March 1 - In

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

at least 52 Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers are killed in the most intense Israeli air strikes since 2005. * March 2 -

2008 Russian presidential election 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. Etymology English ''eight'', from Old English '', æhta'', Proto-Germanic ''*ahto'' is a direct continuation of Proto-Indo-European '' *oḱtṓ(w)-'', and as such cognate wi ...

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia since 2020. Medvedev was also President of Russia between 2008 and 2012 and Prime Mini ...

is elected

President of Russia The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the State Council (Russia), Federal State Council and the President of Russia#Commander-in-ch ...

with about 70% of the vote. He is scheduled to succeed

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

in May. * March 2 -

2008 Andean diplomatic crisis The 2008 Andean diplomatic crisis was a diplomatic stand-off involving the South American countries of Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. It began with an incursion into Ecuadorian territory across the Putumayo River by the Military of Colombia, Co ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

and

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

move troops to the

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

n border following a Colombian raid against

FARC The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army (, FARC–EP or FARC) was a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict starting in 1964. The FARC-EP was officially founded in 1966 from peasan ...

guerrillas inside Ecuador's national territory in which senior commander

Raúl Reyes Luis Edgar Devia Silva (30 September 1948 – 1 March 2008), better known by his ''nom de guerre'' Raúl Reyes, was a leader, Secretariat member, spokesperson, and advisor to the Southern Bloc of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia–P ...

was killed. * March 3 -

passes Resolution 1803, enacting new

sanctions against Iran There have been a number of international sanctions against Iran imposed by a number of countries, especially the United States, and international entities. Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world until it was surpassed by Russia, follo ...

in response to the country's nuclear program and

uranium enrichment Enriched uranium is a type of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 (written 235U) has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Naturally occurring uranium is composed of three major isotopes: uranium-238 (23 ...

. The vote passes 14–0, and marks the first time that trade with Iran in goods that have both civilian and military uses is banned. * March 4 -

secures the 2008 U.S. Republican Party presidential nomination after winning

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

s in Texas, Vermont, Ohio, and Rhode Island. * March 6 - Eight

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i civilians are killed and nine wounded when a lone

attacker opens fire at the

Mercaz HaRav Mercaz HaRav (officially, , "The Center of Rabbi ook- the Central Universal Yeshiva") is a national-religious ( Hardal) yeshiva in Jerusalem, founded in 1924 by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. Located in the city's Kiryat Moshe neighbo ...

Jewish seminary in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. * March 8 -

: First time since the 1969 elections that the

Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional (BN; ) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1974 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties to succeed the Alliance Party. It is the third largest political coalition with 30 seats in ...

coalition fails to win a two-thirds supermajority in the

Dewan Rakyat The Dewan Rakyat (; Jawi script, Jawi: ), is the lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Malaysia, Parliament which is the federal legislature of Malaysia. The chamber and its powers are established by Article 44 of the Constitu ...

. * March 8 -

. * March 9 - Medical and higher education fees referendum in Hungary. * March 9 -

in Spain: The governing

PSOE The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * List of political parties in Spain, political party ...

led by Prime Minister

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. O ...

is reelected with the most seats in the

Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies () is the lower house of the , Spain's legislative branch, the upper house being the Senate of Spain, Senate. The Congress meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid, Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. Congress has ...

. * March 13 -

New York Governor The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ha ...

Eliot Spitzer Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 54th governor of New York from 2007 until his resignation in 2008 after a prostitution scandal. A member of the Democratic Party, he was also ...

announces his resignation effective March 17 days after being linked to a high-priced prostitution ring. * March 14 -

2008 Tibetan unrest The 2008 Tibetan unrest, also referred to as the 2008 Tibetan uprising in Tibetan media, was a series of protests and demonstrations over the Government of China, Chinese government's treatment and persecution of Tibetan people, Tibetans. Protes ...

: Demonstrations by Tibetan separatists turn violent as rioters target government and

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

-owned buildings. * March 14 - Iranian legislative election. * March 14 - By a recorded vote of 39 in favour to 7 against the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

adopted Resolution 62/243, demanding the immediate withdrawal of all

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

forces from the occupied territories of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. * March 20 - A permanent coalition government agreement is reached in Belgium, ending a nine-month stalemate, as

Yves Leterme Yves Camille Désiré Leterme (; born 6 October 1960) is a Belgian politician, a leader of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V). He was the prime minister of Belgium from March 2008 to December 2008, and later from November 2009 ...

is sworn in as

. * March 22 - Republic of China presidential election is held in

. The

(KMT) nominee

Ma Ying-jeou Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, t=馬英九; pinyin: ''Mǎ Yīngjiǔ''; ; born 13 July 1950) is a Taiwanese politician, lawyer, and legal scholar who served as the sixth president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. A member of the Kuomintang (KMT ...

won. * March 24 -

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

holds its first-ever elections to its

. * March 25 -

Yousaf Raza Gillani Yusuf Raza Gilani (born 9 June 1952) is a Pakistani politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Pakistan from 2008 to 2012. He is currently serving as the Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan since 2024. Chairman Gilani served as the acti ...

becomes the 27th

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Cabinet of Pakistan, cabinet, desp ...

* March 25 -

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

and

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

forces invade the rebel-held island of

Anjouan Anjouan () is an autonomous volcanic island in the Comoro Islands in the southwestern Indian Ocean, part of the Comoros, Union of the Comoros. It is known in Comorian languages, Shikomori as Ndzuani, Ndzuwani or Nzwani, and, until the early twentie ...

. * March 29 - Zimbabwe presidential election. * March–April - Rising food and fuel prices trigger riots and unrest in the

Third World The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Southern Cone, NATO, Western European countries and oth ...

April

* April 2 - Senior Leader of Nepali Congress Bal Chandra Poudel seriously injured during an attacked by Maoists of Nepal on the ongoing electoral period of

2008 Nepalese Constituent Assembly election Constituent Assembly elections were held in Nepal on 10 April 2008,

. * April 2 - The 20th NATO summit begins in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

. * April 3 -

and

are invited to join

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

in 2009. The membership bid of the

Republic of Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

is rejected due to opposition by Greece.

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

and

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

engage in an

Intensified Dialogue NATO is a military alliance of thirty-two European and North American countries that constitutes a system of collective defense. The process of joining the alliance is governed by Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which allows for the ...

with NATO. * April 6 -

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

. * April 8 -

Sark Sark (Sercquiais: or , ) is an island in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, and part of the archipelago of the Channel Islands. It is a self-governing British Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency, with its own set o ...

dismantled its

feudal system Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring socie ...

to comply with the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is a Supranational law, supranational convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Draf ...

. The Privy Council approved the Sark law reforms, and the first

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

s under the new law will be held in December 2008 and the new chamber will first convene in January 2009. * April 10 - Assembly elections in

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

Maoists Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China and later the People's Re ...

win a plurality of seats in the Assembly in the first election in Nepal in nine years. * April 13 -

Elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

in Italy: The

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...

-led coalition, which consists of

The People of Freedom The People of Freedom (, PdL) was a centre-right political party in Italy. The PdL launched by Silvio Berlusconi as an electoral list, including and National Alliance, on 27 February for the 2008 Italian general election. The list was later t ...

Lega Nord Lega Nord (LN; ), whose complete name is (), is a right-wing politics, right-wing, federalism, federalist, populism, populist and conservatism, conservative list of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy. In the run-up to the 201 ...

, and

Movement for Autonomy Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger ...

parties, wins a majority of seats in both the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

and the

. * April 20 -

Fernando Lugo Fernando Armindo Lugo Méndez (; born 30 May 1951) is a Paraguayan politician and Loss of clerical state, laicized Bishops in the Catholic Church, Catholic bishop who was President of Paraguay from 2008 to 2012. Previously, he was a Roman Cath ...

is elected

President of Paraguay The president of Paraguay (), officially known as the president of the Republic of Paraguay (), is the head of the executive branch of the government of Paraguay, serving as both head of state and head of government according to the Constitu ...

. This is the first time in 61 years that the Colorado Party has lost a

. * April 24 - Teachers in England and Wales stage the first national strike in more than 20 years over issues of pay. * April 27 - The

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

attempts to assassinate

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

President

Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan politician who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from 2002 to 2014, including as the first president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from 2004 to 2014. He previously served a ...

in a military parade in

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

May

* May 1 -

Local elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

, for 137 English councils and all Welsh councils in the United Kingdom. * May 1 - Elections for the

London Mayor The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current m ...

and

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...

take place with

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

becoming the second

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...

. * May 2 - May 3 - The Presidents of Central European States

meet Meet may refer to: People with the name * Janek Meet (born 1974), Estonian footballer * Meet Mukhi (born 2005), Indian child actor Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Meet'' (TV series), an Australian television series * '' Meet: Badlegi Duniya K ...

Ohrid Ohrid ( ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inhabitants as of ...

. * May 7 -

Brian Cowen Brian Bernard Cowen (born 10 January 1960) is an Irish former politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2008 to 2011. Cowen served as a TD for the constituency of Laois–Offaly from 1984 to 2011 and served in several ...

is elected the 11th

Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

(Prime Minister) of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, succeeding

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, and as Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008. A Teachta Dála (TD) from 1977 to 2011, he served ...

, after a vote in the

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

. * May 7 -

is sworn in as the

. * May 8 -

is confirmed as the 10th

Prime Minister of Russia The prime minister of the Russian Federation, also domestically stylized as the chairman of the government of the Russian Federation and widely recognized as the prime minister, is the head of government of Russia and the second highest ranking ...

after a vote in the

State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...

. * May 8 -

is sworn in as the 81st

. * May 10 -

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

holds a

constitutional referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or advis ...

. * May 11 -

Local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

and

parliamentary elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. * May 14 - Six Iranian

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

leaders are arrested in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. * May 15 -

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

becomes the second

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

after

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

in 2004 to legalize

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

after the state's Supreme Court rules a previous ban unconstitutional. * May 16 -

in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. * May 16 - The fifth

Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union Summit The European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean Summit (EU–LAC) is a biennial meeting of heads of state and government of Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union. History In the first EU–LAC summit, held in Rio de Janeiro bet ...

is held in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. * May 17 -

are held in

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

. * May 20 -

Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian ( zh, t=陳水扁; born 12 October 1950) is a Taiwanese former politician and lawyer who served as the fifth president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progres ...

steps down after eight years as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

due to

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potential for monopoly, w ...

s and is replaced by

who was elected two months earlier. * May 21 -

are held in

. * May 22 - Council of the Presidents of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and

is formed. * May 23 - The

Union of South American Nations The Union of South American Nations (USAN), sometimes also referred to as the South American Union, abbreviated in Spanish as UNASUR and in Portuguese as UNASUL, is an intergovernmental regional organization. It was set up by Hugo Chavez to ...

, a

supranational union A supranational union is a type of international organization and political union that is empowered to directly exercise some of the powers and functions otherwise reserved to State (polity), states. A supranational organization involves a g ...

, is created by a union between the

Andean Community The Andean Community (, CAN) is a free trade area with the objective of creating a customs union comprising the South American countries (Andean states) of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The trade bloc was called the Andean Pact until 1 ...

and

Mercosur The Southern Common Market (commonly known by abbreviation ''Mercosur'' in Spanish and ''Mercosul'' in Portuguese) is a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994. Its full me ...

. * May 23 - The

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

awards

Middle Rocks The Middle Rocks (; Jawi: باتون تڠه; ) are two uninhabited small rocks separated by of open water at the eastern opening of the Strait of Singapore on the western edge of the South China Sea. The islands were disputed territory betw ...

and Pedra Branca to

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, ending a 29-year

territorial dispute A territorial dispute or boundary dispute is a disagreement over the possession (law), possession or control of territories (land, maritime territory, water or airspace) between two or more political entities. Context and definitions Territorial ...

between the two countries. * May 25 -

Michel Suleiman Michel Suleiman ( ; born 21 November 1948) is a Lebanese politician who served as the 12th president of Lebanon from 2008 to 2014. Before becoming president, he served as commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces from 1998 to 2008. After Lebanese A ...

is elected

President of Lebanon The president of the Lebanese Republic () is the head of state of Lebanon. The president is elected by the parliament for a term of six years, which cannot be renewed immediately because they can only be renewed non-consecutively. By convention, ...

by the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. The election had been postponed 19 times due to a parliamentary stalemate. * May 28 - The

Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China ...

is established after the Assembly votes overwhelmingly in favor of abolishing the country's 240-year-old monarchy.

Girija Prasad Koirala Nepal Ratna Girija Prasad Koirala ( ; 4 July 1924 – 20 March 2010), affectionately known as Girija Babu, was a Nepalese politician. He headed the Nepali Congress and served as the Prime Minister of Nepal on four occasions: from 1991 to 1994, ...

becomes temporary

Head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

June

* June 1 -

in the

. * June 1 -

Referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

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 -

becomes the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party, becoming the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

to do so in a major U.S. political party. * June 11 -

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

Prime Minister

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...

apologizes to Canada's

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

for the Canadian residential school system. * June 12 -

votes to reject the

Treaty of Lisbon The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is a European agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by all EU member states o ...

, in the only

to be held by a

member state on the treaty. * June 27 - President

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of th ...

is reelected with 85.5% of the vote in the

second round The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

of the controversial

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

. * June 27 - Two ministers of the

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

n government are killed in a helicopter crash in

Alta Verapaz Alta Verapaz () is a department in the north central part of Guatemala. The capital and chief city of the department is Cobán. Verapaz is bordered to the north by El Petén, to the east by Izabal, to the south by Zacapa, El Progreso, and ...

. * June 29 -

are held in

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

July

* July 2 -

Íngrid Betancourt Íngrid Betancourt Pulecio (; born 25 December 1961) is a Colombian-French politician, former senator, and anti-corruption activist. She gained international prominence after being kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) i ...

and 14 other hostages are rescued from

n security forces. * July 5 - Tens of thousands of

ns continue to protest against the

administration's decision to allow U.S. beef imports to resume. * July 7–July 9 -

34th G8 summit The 34th G8 summit was held in the town of Tōyako, Hokkaido, Japan, on July 7–9, 2008. The locations of previous summits hosted by Japan include Tokyo (1979, 1986, 1993) and Nago, Okinawa (2000). The G8 summit has evolved beyond being a gat ...

held in Tōyako, Hokkaidō in Japan

August

* August 18 - The

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

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 Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

nominates

for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

, and

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

for vice president.

September

* September 1–September 4 - The Republican National Convention in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

nominates

for

, and

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, and author who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nomi ...

for vice president.

November

* November 4 -

was elected as the 44th

, becoming the first

elected to the office. Congressional elections for the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

and one third of the Senators (second class) were also held. * November 4 -

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

election slated in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

to elect the

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the island. * November 8 - New Zealand held a

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

, which

John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as leader of the National Party from 2006 to 2016. Following his father's death when ...

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

won, with deals from the ACT,

United Future United Future New Zealand, usually known as United Future, was a Centrism, centrist List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand. The party was in government between 2005 and 2017, first alongside New Zealand Labou ...

, and

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

parties. * November 25 -

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

holds an election for increased autonomy from Denmark. * November 28 -

Legislative election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

December

* December 9 -

Governor

Rod Blagojevich Rod R. Blagojevich ( ; born December 10, 1956), often referred to by his nickname "Blago", is an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Blagojevich previously worked ...

is arrested by FBI agents, and charged with trying to sell the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

seat vacated by President-elect

. * December 30 - Embattled

Governor

names

Roland Burris Roland Wallace Burris (born August 3, 1937) is an American politician and attorney who served as Attorney General of Illinois from 1991 to 1995 and as a United States senator from Illinois from 2009 until 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, ...

to replace President-elect

in the

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 Werner Dollinger (10 October 1918 – 3 January 2008) was a German politician and economist, a member of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU). He served as Federal Minister for the Treasury from 1962 to 1966, Federal Minister for Econom ...

, 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 Alekos Michaelides (13 August 1933 – 6 January 2008) was a Cypriot politician. He served as Foreign Minister, and as President of the House of Representatives from 1977 to 1981. Biography Alekos Michaelides was born on August 13, 1933, in Mil ...

, Cypriot politician (born 1933) * January 7 -

Alwyn Schlebusch Alwyn Louis Schlebusch (16 September 1917 – 7 January 2008) was a South African politician, the only holder of the title Vice State President of South Africa from 1 January 1981 to 14 September 1984. He was an Afrikaner with a surname ...

, South African politician (born 1917) * January 10 -

Andrés Henestrosa Andrés Henestrosa Morales (November 25, 1906 – January 10, 2008) was a Mexican literature, Mexican writer and politician. In addition to his prose and poetry, Henestrosa was elected to the Congress of Mexico, federal legislature, serving th ...

, Mexican writer and politician (born 1906) * January 13 - Walter Zimper, Austrian politician (born 1942) * January 14 -

Vincenz Liechtenstein Prince Vincenz of Liechtenstein (''Vincenz Karl Alfred Maria Michael''; 30 July 1950 – 14 January 2008), known in Austria as Vincenz Liechtenstein, was an Austrian politician and member of the Austrian People's Party. He was a grandson of Charl ...

, Austrian politician (born 1950) * January 16 -

Nikola Kljusev Nikola Kljusev (; October 2, 1927 – January 16, 2008) was a Macedonian politician and professor of economics who served as the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia) from March 20, 1991, to September 4, ...

, Macedonian Prime Minister (born 1927) * January 17 - Trevor Sprigg, Australian politician (born 1946) * January 26 -

George Habash George Habash (1 August 1926 – 26 January 2008) was a Palestinian politician and physician who was the founder and first general-secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) from 1967 to 2000. Habash was born in Ly ...

, 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 Suharto (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian Officer (armed forces), military officer and politician, and dictator, who was the second and longest serving president of Indonesia, serving from 1967 to 1998. His 32 years rule, cha ...

, 2nd President of Indonesia (born 1921)

February

* February 2 - Ahmad Bourghani, Iranian politician (b. c. 1959) * February 2 -

Earl Butz Earl Lauer "Rusty" Butz (July 3, 1909 – February 2, 2008) was a United States government official who served as the secretary of agriculture under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. His policies favored large-scale corporate farming ...

, American government official (born 1909) * February 7 -

Hoang Minh Chinh Huang (; zh, t=黃, s=黄, c=, p=, first=t) is a Chinese surname. While ''Huáng'' is the pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Han ...

, Vietnamese politician and dissident (born 1922) * February 11 -

Tom Lantos Thomas Peter Lantos (born Tamás Péter Lantos; February 1, 1928 – February 11, 2008) was a Hungarian-born American politician who served as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from California from 1981 until his deat ...

, American politician (born 1928) * February 16 - Hans Leussink, German politician (born 1912) * February 19 -

Jean-Michel Bertrand Jean-Michel Bertrand (6 June 1943 at Baccarat, Meurthe-et-Moselle – 19 February 2008 at the Hôpital Saint-Louis in Paris) was a French politician of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). Biography A pharmacist by occupation, Jean-Michel ...

, French politician (born 1943) * February 21 -

Sufi Abu Taleb Sufi Abu Taleb (; January 27, 1925 – February 21, 2008) was an Egyptian politician. He served as Speaker of the People's of Assembly from 1978 to 1983 and, following the assassination of Anwar Sadat on 6 October 1981, assumed the duties of ...

, Acting President of Egypt (born 1925) * February 23 - Joaquim Pinto de Andrade, Angolan politician (born 1926) * February 23 -

Janez Drnovšek Janez Drnovšek (; 17 May 1950 – 23 February 2008) was a Slovenian liberal politician, President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia (1989–1990), Prime Minister of Slovenia (1992–2002, with a short break in 2000) and President of Slovenia (20 ...

, 2nd President and 2nd Prime Minister of Slovenia (born 1950) * February 26 -

Tyronne Fernando Tyronne Fernando PC ( Sinhala:ටිරොන් ෆර්නැන්ඩො) (8 August 1941 – 26 February 2008) was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician who served as foreign minister from 2001 until 2004. Early life and education Fernando was ...

, Sri Lankan politician (born 1941) * February 27 -

William F. Buckley, Jr. William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American conservative writer, public intellectual, political commentator and novelist. Born in New York City, Buckley spoke Spanish as his ...

, American author and conservative commentator (born 1925)

March

* March 3 - Annemarie Renger, German politician (born 1919) * March 6 -

Gustaw Holoubek Gustaw Teofil Holoubek (21 April 1923 – 6 March 2008) was a Polish actor, director, member of the Polish Sejm, and a senator. Holoubek participated in the September Campaign and was a prisoner of war during the Nazi German Occupation of Pol ...

, Polish actor, director, and politician (born 1923) * March 7 - Isaías Carrasco, Basque politician (born 1964) * March 7 -

Francis Pym Francis Leslie Pym, Baron Pym, (13 February 1922 – 7 March 2008) was a British Conservative Party politician who served in various Cabinet positions in the 1970s and 1980s, including Foreign, Defence and Northern Ireland Secretary, and ...

, British politician (born 1922) * March 12 - Károly Németh, Hungarian politician (born 1922) * March 12 -

Howard Metzenbaum Howard Morton Metzenbaum (June 4, 1917March 12, 2008) was an American politician and businessman who served for almost 20 years as a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from Ohio (1974, 1976–1995). He also served in the Ohio House ...

, American politician (born 1917) * March 14 -

Clyde Cameron Clyde Robert Cameron, (11 February 191314 March 2008) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1980, representing the Division of Hindmarsh. He was ...

, Australian politician (born 1913) * March 16 -

Anura Bandaranaike Anura Bandaranaike (15 February 1949 – 16 March 2008) was a Sri Lankan politician, who served as Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka (2000-2001) and Leader of the Opposition (1983–1988). He held several cabinet ministries: as Foreig ...

, Sri Lankan politician (born 1949) * March 21 -

Gabriel París Gordillo Gabriel París Gordillo (March 8, 1910 – March 21, 2008) was a Colombian military officer and political leader who ruled the country as the chairman of a military junta from May 1957 to August 1958, following the resignation of General Gustavo ...

, Colombian President and military governor (born 1910)

April

* April 4 - Wu Xueqian, Chinese politician (born 1921) * April 12 -

Patrick Hillery Patrick John Hillery (; 2 May 1923 – 12 April 2008) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as the sixth president of Ireland from December 1976 to December 1990. He also served as vice-president of the European Commission and Europea ...

, 6th President of Ireland (born 1923) * April 17 -

Aimé Césaire Aimé Fernand David Césaire (; ; 26 June 1913 – 17 April 2008) was a French poet, author, and politician from Martinique. He was "one of the founders of the Négritude movement in Francophone literature" and coined the word in French. He ...

, French Martinican poet, author, and politician (born 1913) * April 29 -

Charles Tilly Charles Tilly (May 27, 1929 – April 29, 2008) was an American sociologist, political scientist, and historian who wrote on the relationship between politics and society. He was a professor of history, sociology, and social science at the Uni ...

, American sociologist, historian, and political scientist (born 1929) * April 30 -

Juancho Evertsz Juancho Evertsz (8 March 1923 – 30 April 2008), whose full name was Juan Miguel Gregorio Evertsz, was a Dutch Antillean politician who served as the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles between 1973 and 1977. Evertsz was one of the found ...

, 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 Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah () (13 May 1930 – 13 May 2008) was the Emir of Kuwait from 15 January 2006, succeeding Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, until abdicating nine days later on 24 January. Prior to that he had b ...

, Emir of Kuwait (born 1930) * May 17 -

Sophan Sophiaan Sophan Sophiaan (26 April 1944 – 17 May 2008) was an Indonesian film actor and politician. He was a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP). Early life Sophiaan was born in the city of Makassar, South Sulawesi, on 26 April ...

, 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 William Hamilton McWhorter Jordan () (September 21, 1944 – May 20, 2008) was an American politician who served as Chief of Staff to President of the United States Jimmy Carter. Early life Jordan was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, the son ...

, American politician (born 1944) * May 23 -

Utah Phillips Bruce Duncan "Utah" Phillips (May 15, 1935 – May 23, 2008)
, KVMR, Nevada City, California, May 24, 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2008 ...

, American folk singer and political activist (born 1935) * May 24 - Isaac Lipschits, Dutch political scientist and historian (born 1930)

June

* June 1 -

Tommy Lapid Joseph "Tommy" Lapid (; born Tomislav Lampel sr-Cyrl, Томислав Лампел 27 December 1931 – 1 June 2008) was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav-born Israeli radio and television presenter, playwright, journalist, politician and Ca ...

, Israeli television presenter, journalist and politician (born 1931) * June 2 -

Sheriff Mustapha Dibba Sheriff Mustapha Dibba (10 January 1937 – 2 June 2008) was a Gambian politician who was the 1st Vice-President of the Gambia (1970–1972) and also served as the country's National Assembly speaker from 2002 to 2006. He was also leader of ...

, Gambian politician (b. unknown) * June 4 - Ivan Herasymov, Ukrainian politician (born 1921) * June 7 -

Joseph Kabui Joseph Canisius Kabui (1954 – 7 June 2008) was a secessionist leader and the first President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, off the coast of Papua New Guinea, from 2005 to 2008. He was also the leader of the Bougainville People's C ...

, Papua New Guinean secessionist (born 1954) * June 8 - Danilo Lagbas, Filipino politician (born 1952) * June 11 -

Võ Văn Kiệt Võ Văn Kiệt (; 23 November 1922 – 11 June 2008"E ...

, Vietnamese prime minister (born 1922) * June 23 -

Arthur Chung Arthur Raymond Chung (10 January 1918 – 23 June 2008) was a Guyanese politician who served as the first president of Guyana from 17 March 1970 to 6 October 1980.

, President of Guyana (born 1918)

July

* July 1 - Mogens Glistrup, Danish politician and lawyer (born 1926) * July 4 -

Jesse Helms Jesse Alexander Helms Jr. (October 18, 1921 – July 4, 2008) was an American politician. A leader in the Conservatism in the United States, conservative movement, he served as a senator from North Carolina from 1973 to 2003. As chairman of the ...

, American politician (born 1921) * July 5 -

René Harris René Reynaldo Harris (11 November 1947 – 5 July 2008) was President of the Republic of Nauru four times between 1999 and 2004. He was a Member of Parliament from 1977 to 2008.Clem McSpadden, American politician (born 1925) * July 9 -

Séamus Brennan Séamus Brennan ( ; 16 February 1948 – 9 July 2008) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism from 2007 to 2008, Minister for Social and Family Affairs from 2004 to 2007, Minister for Transport ...

, Irish politician (born 1948) * July 12 -

Tony Snow Robert Anthony Snow (June 1, 1955 – July 12, 2008) was an American journalist, political commentator, anchor, columnist, musician, and the 25th White House Press Secretary under President George W. Bush, from May 2006 until his resignation ...

, American political commentator (born 1955) * July 13 -

Bronisław Geremek Bronisław Geremek (; born Benjamin Lewertow;

, Polish social historian and politician (born 1932) * July 23 -

Kurt Furgler Kurt Furgler (24 June 1924 – 23 July 2008) was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1972–1986). He was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 8 December 1971 and handed over office on 31 December 1986. He wa ...

, Swiss politician (born 1924) * July 23 -

Ahmet Hadžipašić Ahmet Hadžipašić (1 June 1952 – 23 July 2008) was a Bosnian politician who served as Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2003 to 2007. He was a member of the Party of Democratic Action. Born in Cazin, Hadžipaš ...

, Bosnian politician (born 1952)

August

* August 1 -

Harkishan Singh Surjeet Harkishan Singh Surjeet (23 March 1916 – 1 August 2008) was an Indian Communist politician from Punjab, who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) from 1992 to 2005 and was a member of the party's Polit Bu ...

, Indian politician (born 1916) * August 2 - Helga Gitmark, Norwegian politician (born 1929) * August 2 - John F. Seiberling, American politician (born 1918) * August 8 -

Antonio Gava Antonio Gava (30 July 1930 – 8 August 2008) was an Italian politician and member of Christian Democracy (DC). Son of the 13-time minister Silvio Gava, Antonio was one of the Christian Democratic Party's leading power-brokers in Campania ove ...

, Italian politician (born 1930) * August 11 -

Fred Sinowatz Alfred Sinowatz (5 February 192911 August 2008) was an Austrian historian and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ), who served as Chancellor of Austria from 1983 to 1986. Prior to becoming Chancellor, he had served as Minister of Educ ...

, Austrian politician (born 1929) * August 13 -

Bill Gwatney William Alan Gwatney (August 26, 1959 – August 13, 2008) was an American politician who served as the State Chair of the Democratic Party of Arkansas.

, American politician (born 1959) * August 19 -

Levy Mwanawasa Levy Patrick Mwanawasa (3 September 1948 – 19 August 2008) was the third president of Zambia. He served as president from January 2002 until his death in August 2008. Mwanawasa is credited with having initiated a campaign to rid the corrupti ...

, President of Zambia (born 1948)

September

* September 4 -

Erik Nielsen Erik Hersholt Nielsen (February 24, 1924 – September 4, 2008) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the longtime Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Yukon, and was Leader of the Opposition and the third deputy pr ...

, Canadian politician (born 1924)

Footnotes

{{reflist, colwidth=30em Politics by year 21st century in politics 2000s in politics

Events

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

November

December

Deaths

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

See also

Footnotes