These are some of the notable events relating to politics in 2008:
Events
January
- January 3 - The first caucuses in the 2008 U.S. presidential primary season for both Democrats and Republicans were held in Iowa. Then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois won the Democrat contest, whilst former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee won the Republican race.
- January 8 - The second 2008 U.S. presidential primary season nominating contests for both Democrats and Republicans were held in New Hampshire. Then-U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton of New York won the Democrat contest, whilst then-U.S. Senator of Arizona John McCain won the Republican race.
- January 14 - Cyprus, Malta, and Akrotiri and Dhekelia adopt the euro.
- January 15 - Slovenia takes over the presidency of the European Union as the first of new member states.
- January 17 - The Venezuelan bolÃÂvar, as a result of a government decree issued on March 7, 2007, is revalued at a ratio of 1 to 1000 and renamed the BolÃÂvar fuerte (ISO 4217 code: VEF).
- January 21 - The 30th Dakar Rally is canceled due to international political tension and the murder of four French tourists on December 24, 2007.
- January 22 - An attempted assassination of Maldivian president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is thwarted after a Boy Scout grabbed the attacker's knife. The Boy Scout was injured, but after a scuffle ensued police arrested the attacker.
- January 22 - The Kuomintang (KMT)-led Pan-Blue Coalition wins the legislative elections in Taiwan with over 70% of the votes.
- January 22 - The South Korean Presidential Transition Team announces a plan to merge the Ministry of Unification, which works toward unification with North Korea, with the Foreign Ministry, but does not follow through on the idea.
- January 23 - Presidential election in Serbia.
- January 23 - Legislative elections in Cuba.
- January 24 - A peace deal ends the Kivu conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- January 24 - Peter Hain resigns as British Wales Secretary and British Work and Pensions Secretary after the Electoral Commission refers the failure to report donations to the Metropolitan Police Service. Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for a quick cabinet shuffle.
February
- February 17 - Kosovo formally declares independence from Serbia, despite opposition from Serbia, Russia, China, Spain, Romania, and other nations. However Albania, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, U.K., and United States express support after an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
- February 17 - Presidential election in Cyprus.
- February 18 - General election is held in Pakistan, delayed from January 8 due to riots in the wake of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Opposition parties, including Bhutto's, take more than half of the seats, while President Pervez Musharraf's party suffers a huge defeat.
- February 19 - Presidential election in Armenia.
- February 19 - After 49 years in office, Fidel Castro announces his resignation as President of Cuba.
- February 21 - Hundreds of thousands of Serbs take to the streets in Belgrade to protest against Kosovo's declaration of independence and the partial international recognition of it.
- February 22 â 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.
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
November
December
Deaths
January
- January 1 - Thiyagarajah Maheswaran, Sri Lankan Tamil politician (born 1960)
- January 2 - Lee S. Dreyfus, American politician (born 1926)
- January 3 - Werner Dollinger, German politician (born 1918)
- January 3 - Petru Dugulescu, Romanian Baptist pastor, poet, and politician (born 1945)
- January 5 - Giovanni Rinaldo Coronas, Italian politician (born 1919)
- January 5 - Raymond Forni, French politician (born 1941)
- January 5 - ðhsan Saraçlar, Turkish lawyer and politician (born 1928)
- January 6 - Alekos Michaelides, Cypriot politician (born 1933)
- January 7 - Alwyn Schlebusch, South African politician (born 1917)
- January 10 - Andrés Henestrosa, Mexican writer and politician (born 1906)
- January 13 - Walter Zimper, Austrian politician (born 1942)
- January 14 - Vincenz Liechtenstein, Austrian politician (born 1950)
- January 16 - Nikola Kljusev, Macedonian Prime Minister (born 1927)
- January 17 - Trevor Sprigg, Australian politician (born 1946)
- January 26 - George Habash, Palestinian politician (born 1926)
- January 26 - Aziz Sedki, Egyptian Prime Minister (born 1920)
- January 27 - Botho Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein, German politician (born 1927)
- January 27 - Suharto, 2nd President of Indonesia (born 1921)
February
- February 2 - Ahmad Bourghani, Iranian politician (b. c. 1959)
- February 2 - Earl Butz, American government official (born 1909)
- February 7 - Hoang Minh Chinh, Vietnamese politician and dissident (born 1922)
- February 11 - Tom Lantos, American politician (born 1928)
- February 16 - Hans Leussink, German politician (born 1912)
- February 19 - Jean-Michel Bertrand, French politician (born 1943)
- February 21 - Sufi Abu Taleb, Acting President of Egypt (born 1925)
- February 23 - Joaquim Pinto de Andrade, Angolan politician (born 1926)
- February 23 - Janez DrnovÃ
¡ek, 2nd President and 2nd Prime Minister of Slovenia (born 1950)
- February 26 - Tyronne Fernando, Sri Lankan politician (born 1941)
- February 27 - William F. Buckley, Jr., American author and conservative commentator (born 1925)
March
- March 3 - Annemarie Renger, German politician (born 1919)
- March 6 - Gustaw Holoubek, Polish actor, director, and politician (born 1923)
- March 7 - IsaÃÂas Carrasco, Basque politician (born 1964)
- March 7 - Francis Pym, British politician (born 1922)
- March 12 - Károly Németh, Hungarian politician (born 1922)
- March 12 - Howard Metzenbaum, American politician (born 1917)
- March 14 - Clyde Cameron, Australian politician (born 1913)
- March 16 - Anura Bandaranaike, Sri Lankan politician (born 1949)
- March 21 - Gabriel ParÃÂs Gordillo, Colombian President and military governor (born 1910)
April
- April 4 - Wu Xueqian, Chinese politician (born 1921)
- April 12 - Patrick Hillery, 6th President of Ireland (born 1923)
- April 17 - Aimé Césaire, French Martinican poet, author, and politician (born 1913)
- April 29 - Charles Tilly, American sociologist, historian, and political scientist (born 1929)
- April 30 - Juancho Evertsz, Dutch Antillean politician (born 1923)
May
- May 1 - Anthony Mamo, 1st President of Malta (born 1909)
- May 3 - Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo, 74th Prime Minister of Spain (born 1926)
- May 7 - Thijs Wöltgens, Dutch politician (born 1943)
- May 13 - Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (born 1930)
- May 17 - Sophan Sophiaan, Indonesian actor and politician (born 1944)
- May 17 - Lionel Van Deerlin, American politician (born 1914)
- May 20 - Crispin Beltran, Filipino politician and labor leader (born 1933)
- May 20 - Hamilton Jordan, American politician (born 1944)
- May 23 - Utah Phillips, American folk singer and political activist (born 1935)
- May 24 - Isaac Lipschits, Dutch political scientist and historian (born 1930)
June
July
August
September
See also
Footnotes