The 1990s

Africa

1. 🇧🇯BEN

   Benin · Politics & Power · December 1990

   Multiparty constitution adopted

   Voters approved a new democratic constitution by referendum, establishing a multiparty presidential republic and ending the Marxist one-party state.

   The National Conference and modern Benin

   Sources: Constitution of Benin (Wikipedia) · Benin — Period of democratic transition, 1990–1991 (Freedom House)

2. 🇧🇯BEN

   Benin · Politics & Power · 19–28 February 1990

   The National Conference

   A sovereign National Conference of the nation's 'living forces' met in Cotonou, stripped Kérékou of power and launched a transitional government — a pioneering model of peaceful democratic transition for Africa.

   The National Conference and modern Benin

   Sources: The national conference as a model for democratic transition: Benin and Nigeria (IFRA-Nigeria / OpenEdition Books) · Benin — Period of democratic transition, 1990–1991 (Freedom House) · People's Republic of Benin (Wikipedia)

3. 🇨🇻CPV

   Cape Verde · Politics & Power · April–September 1990

   End of one-party rule

   Amid rising pressure for pluralism, the opposition Movement for Democracy (MpD) formed in April 1990 and the National Assembly abolished single-party rule that September, clearing the way for free elections.

   The broken union and the turn to democracy

   Sources: Background Note: Cape Verde (U.S. Department of State) · History of Cape Verde (Wikipedia)

4. 🇹🇩TCD

   Chad · Politics & Power · Dec 1990

   Idriss Déby seizes power

   Leading the Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) from Sudan, Déby overthrew Habré and installed himself as president, beginning a thirty-year rule.

   The Déby era and its legacy

   Sources: Idriss Déby (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) (Wikipedia)

5. 🇨🇮CIV

   Ivory Coast · Religion · 10 September 1990

   Basilica of Our Lady of Peace consecrated

   The vast basilica at Yamoussoukro, modelled on St Peter's in Rome and recognised as the largest church in the world, was consecrated by Pope John Paul II amid controversy over its enormous cost.

   The Ivorian miracle and the long Houphouët-Boigny era

   Sources: Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro Basilica (1989– ) (BlackPast.org)

6. 🇨🇮CIV

   Ivory Coast · Politics & Power · October 1990

   First multiparty election

   Under domestic and international pressure Houphouët-Boigny legalised opposition parties and won the country's first multiparty presidential election against the historian Laurent Gbagbo.

   The Ivorian miracle and the long Houphouët-Boigny era

   Sources: History of Ivory Coast (1960–99) (Wikipedia) · History of Côte d'Ivoire (Encyclopædia Britannica)

7. 🇱🇷LBR

   Liberia · War & Rupture · September 1990

   Samuel Doe captured and killed

   President Samuel Doe was captured, tortured, and killed by a rival rebel faction, and a West African ECOMOG force deployed in an attempt to contain the spreading conflict.

   The civil wars and Charles Taylor

   Sources: Samuel K. Doe (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Liberian Civil War (World Without Genocide (Mitchell Hamline School of Law))

8. 🇳🇦NAM

   Namibia · Independence · 21 March 1990

   Independence and Nujoma's inauguration

   At midnight on 21 March 1990 the Namibian flag was raised in Windhoek, ending South African rule, and Sam Nujoma was sworn in as the first president of the independent Republic of Namibia.

   Independent Namibia since 1990

   Sources: Namibia (Wikipedia) · Namibia (country, history and government) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

9. 🇳🇪NER

   Niger · War & Rupture · 1990–1995

   First Tuareg rebellion

   Tuareg fighters in the north rebelled over marginalisation and the distribution of uranium wealth; the rising was ended by a 1995 peace accord promising decentralisation.

   Democracy, Tuareg rebellions and the cycle of coups

   Sources: Tuareg rebellion (1990–1995) (Wikipedia) · Tuareg in Niger (Minority Rights Group)

10. 🇷🇼RWA

    Rwanda · War & Rupture · 1 October 1990

    RPF invasion begins the civil war

    The Rwandan Patriotic Front, composed largely of Tutsi exiles from Uganda, invades northern Rwanda, igniting a civil war and intensifying official anti-Tutsi propaganda.

    Habyarimana, Civil War and Arusha

    Sources: Outreach Programme on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda — Historical Background (United Nations) · Massacre of the Tutsi Minority (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)

11. 🇸🇹STP

    São Tomé and Príncipe · Politics & Power · August 1990

    Multiparty constitution adopted

    Amid economic crisis, a referendum approved a new constitution introducing multiparty democracy and presidential term limits, making São Tomé an early African democratiser.

    One-party state, democracy and the modern republic

    Sources: São Tomé and Príncipe — After independence (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · São Tomé and Príncipe (Wikipedia)

12. 🇿🇦ZAF

    South Africa · Politics & Power · 11 February 1990

    Mandela freed and the ANC unbanned

    President F. W. de Klerk unbanned the ANC, PAC and other organisations and released Nelson Mandela from prison, opening the way to negotiations that would dismantle apartheid.

    Apartheid and the liberation struggle

    Sources: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (South African History Online) · Nelson Mandela (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Apartheid (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Asia

1. 🇰🇼KWT

   Kuwait · War & Rupture · 2 August 1990

   Iraq invades and annexes Kuwait

   About one hundred thousand Iraqi troops overran Kuwait in hours; Saddam Hussein declared the country annexed, and the ruling family fled to Saudi Arabia.

   The Iraqi Invasion and the Liberation of 1991

   Sources: The Gulf War, 1991 (Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations) (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian) · The First Gulf War (Short History) (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)

2. 🇰🇼KWT

   Kuwait · Politics & Power · August-November 1990

   The UN condemns and authorizes force

   The Security Council passed Resolution 660 demanding withdrawal and Resolution 678 authorizing all necessary means to expel Iraq if it did not leave by 15 January 1991.

   The Iraqi Invasion and the Liberation of 1991

   Sources: The Gulf War, 1991 (Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations) (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)

3. 🇰🇬KGZ

   Kyrgyzstan · Politics & Power

   Akayev chosen to lead the republic

   Amid Gorbachev's reforms and rising ethnic tension in the south, the physicist Askar Akayev was elected head of the Kirghiz SSR, the leader who would guide the republic to independence.

   Soviet Kirghizia

   Sources: Askar Akayev (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Kyrgyzstan: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

4. 🇲🇳MNG

   Mongolia · Politics & Power

   Peaceful democratic revolution

   Demonstrations and hunger strikes in the capital lead the ruling party's leadership to resign in March 1990, ending one-party communist rule and opening the way to multiparty elections held that year.

   Democratic Mongolia

   Sources: Mongolia: Reform and the birth of democracy (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · History of Mongolia: Mongolia since 1990 (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

5. 🇲🇲MMR

   Myanmar · Politics & Power · 1990 CE

   Annulled NLD election victory

   Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy wins elections in a landslide, but the junta ignores the result and detains her for years.

   Independence, Ne Win, and Decades of Military Rule

   Sources: Aung San Suu Kyi (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Myanmar since 1988 (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

6. 🇳🇵NPL

   Nepal · Politics & Power

   People's Movement restores democracy

   Nationwide protests force King Birendra to legalise political parties and accept a multiparty parliamentary system, ending the panchayat era.

   The Rana Century and the Return of the Crown

   Sources: Nepal — Fall of the monarchy (Encyclopædia Britannica)

7. 🇾🇪YEM

   Yemen · Formation · 22 May 1990

   Unification of the Republic of Yemen

   North and South Yemen merged into the Republic of Yemen with Sanaa as capital and Ali Abdullah Saleh as president, ending more than two decades of partition.

   Unification and the Republic of Yemen

   Sources: A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations, by Country, since 1776: Yemen (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian) · Yemen: History (ancient kingdoms, Islam, the imamate, unification and war) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Europe

1. 🇩🇪DEU

   Germany · Politics & Power · 3 Oct 1990

   German reunification

   The German Democratic Republic acceded to the Federal Republic, reuniting Germany as a single democratic state, now commemorated annually as the Day of German Unity.

   Division, the Federal Republic and Reunification

   Sources: Day of German Unity: Facts and History (Federal Foreign Office (deutschland.de)) · Germany (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. 🇱🇻LVA

   Latvia · Independence · 4 May 1990

   Declaration on the Restoration of Independence

   The Supreme Council of Latvia adopted the declaration restoring independence, reaffirming the 1918 constitution and declaring the 1940 Soviet occupation illegal.

   Soviet Rule, Restoration and the Return to Europe

   Sources: May 4th: Latvia's Path to Independence (Latvia.eu (Latvian Institute)) · About the Museum (Museum of the Occupation of Latvia)

3. 🇱🇮LIE

   Liechtenstein · Politics & Power · 18 Sep 1990

   Admission to the United Nations

   Liechtenstein was admitted as the 160th member state of the United Nations, marking the small principality's full emergence as a recognised actor in international affairs.

   A Wealthy Microstate: Finance, the ICJ Case and the Modern Constitution

   Sources: History of Liechtenstein (Embassy of the Principality of Liechtenstein, Washington D.C.) · The History of the Princely House of Liechtenstein (Fürstenhaus von Liechtenstein (official Princely House)) · Liechtenstein: History (Alpine, Principality, Sovereignty) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

4. 🇱🇹LTU

   Lithuania · Independence · 11 Mar 1990

   Restoration of independence

   The Supreme Council adopted the Act on the Re-establishment of the State of Lithuania, making Lithuania the first Soviet republic to declare the restoration of its independence.

   Restoration of Independence and a European Lithuania

   Sources: March the 11th: path to the restoration of the independent State of Lithuania (Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (lrs.lt)) · History of Lithuania (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

5. 🇸🇮SVN

   Slovenia · Politics & Power · 23 Dec 1990

   Plebiscite on independence

   In a plebiscite with 93.2 per cent turnout, some 88.5 per cent of all eligible Slovene voters chose independence from Yugoslavia, providing the mandate for statehood.

   Socialist Yugoslavia and the Road to Independence

   Sources: Independence and Unity Day (the 1990 plebiscite) (Government of Slovenia (gov.si)) · History of Slovenia (Government of Slovenia (gov.si))

North America

1. 🇭🇹HTI

   Haiti · Politics & Power · Dec 1990

   Aristide elected

   Jean-Bertrand Aristide wins Haiti's first free presidential election; he is overthrown in 1991 and restored in 1994.

   Democracy, Disaster, and Collapse

   Sources: Jean-Bertrand Aristide (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. 🇳🇮NIC

   Nicaragua · Politics & Power · 25 Feb 1990

   Chamorro defeats Ortega

   Violeta Barrios de Chamorro wins the presidency for an opposition coalition; Ortega cedes power in a peaceful transfer that ends the war.

   Revolution and the Contra War

   Sources: Daniel Ortega (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Nicaragua: The Sandinista government (Encyclopædia Britannica)

3. 🇹🇹TTO

   Trinidad and Tobago · Politics & Power · 27 July 1990

   The Jamaat al-Muslimeen coup attempt

   The Islamist group Jamaat al-Muslimeen seized Parliament and the state television station, taking the prime minister and others hostage for six days in a failed coup that left more than twenty people dead.

   A modern energy nation

   Sources: Jamaat al-Muslimeen: The Growth and Decline of Islamist Militancy in Trinidad and Tobago (The Jamestown Foundation) · Trinidad and Tobago: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

South America

1. 🇨🇱CHL

   Chile · Politics & Power · 11 March 1990

   Return to democracy

   Patricio Aylwin is inaugurated president, restoring civilian democratic rule and soon creating the Rettig Commission to investigate the dictatorship's crimes.

   Return to Democracy and Modern Chile

   Sources: History of Chile (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Truth Commission: Chile (National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation, Rettig report) (United States Institute of Peace)

Africa

1. 🇦🇴AGO

   Angola · Politics & Power

   Bicesse Accords

   A ceasefire under the Bicesse Accords legalised UNITA as a party and set the stage for multiparty elections, briefly raising hopes of an end to the war.

   The long civil war

   Sources: Angolan Civil War (Wikipedia) · The Angolan Civil War (1975–2002): A Brief History (South African History Online)

2. 🇧🇯BEN

   Benin · Politics & Power

   Soglo defeats Kérékou at the polls

   Nicéphore Soglo won the presidential election, and Kérékou peacefully handed over power — a rare democratic alternation in the Africa of the time.

   The National Conference and modern Benin

   Sources: Nicéphore Soglo (Wikipedia) · Benin — Period of democratic transition, 1990–1991 (Freedom House)

3. 🇨🇻CPV

   Cape Verde · Politics & Power · January–February 1991

   First multiparty elections

   In Cape Verde's first free elections the MpD won a parliamentary majority, and António Mascarenhas Monteiro defeated President Aristides Pereira with about 73 per cent of the vote; the PAICV ceded power peacefully.

   The broken union and the turn to democracy

   Sources: 1991 Cape Verdean presidential election (Wikipedia) · Background Note: Cape Verde (U.S. Department of State) · History of Cape Verde (Wikipedia)

4. 🇨🇬COG

   Congo · Politics & Power

   National conference opens democracy

   After the PCT dropped Marxism-Leninism in 1990, a sovereign national conference in 1991 stripped Sassou Nguesso of executive power, made him a ceremonial head of state and set the Congo on a path to multiparty elections.

   Independence, Youlou, and the Marxist People's Republic

   Sources: Republic of the Congo (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Denis Sassou Nguesso (Wikipedia) · Republic of the Congo (1960–present) (University of Central Arkansas, DADM Project)

5. 🇩🇯DJI

   Djibouti · War & Rupture · 1991–1994

   Civil war with the FRUD rebellion

   The Afar-based Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy launches an insurgency in 1991; the civil war runs until a 1994 accord with the movement's moderate wing largely ends it.

   Civil War, Guelleh and the Republic of Bases

   Sources: Djiboutian Civil War (Wikipedia) · Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (Wikipedia) · Djibouti (country and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

6. 🇪🇷ERI

   Eritrea · Independence · 24 May 1991

   EPLF captures Asmara

   As the Derg regime collapses in Ethiopia, EPLF forces enter Asmara, winning de facto independence and forming a provisional government.

   Federation, Annexation and the Thirty-Year War

   Sources: Eritrean People's Liberation Front (Wikipedia) · Eritrean War of Independence (Wikipedia)

7. 🇪🇹ETH

   Ethiopia · Politics & Power · May 1991

   Fall of the Derg and a new federal order

   The EPRDF captures Addis Ababa and Mengistu flees into exile, ending the civil war and the Derg; a new ethnic-federal constitution follows, and Eritrea votes for independence in 1993, leaving Ethiopia landlocked.

   Haile Selassie, the Derg, Civil War and Modern Ethiopia

   Sources: Fall of the Derg regime (Wikipedia) · 1993 Eritrean independence referendum (Wikipedia)

8. 🇰🇪KEN

   Kenya · Politics & Power

   Return to multiparty politics

   Under domestic and international pressure, Kenya amends its constitution to legalise opposition parties, paving the way for the multiparty elections of 1992.

   The Republic of Kenya

   Sources: History of Kenya (Wikipedia) · U.S. Relations With Kenya / History (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)

9. 🇲🇱MLI

   Mali · Politics & Power · March 1991

   Fall of Moussa Traoré and democratic transition

   After a deadly crackdown on protesters on 22 March, officers led by Amadou Toumani Touré oust Traoré; a transition leads to multiparty rule under Alpha Oumar Konaré in 1992.

   Dictatorship, Democracy and Crisis

   Sources: 1991 Malian coup d'état (Wikipedia) · Mali's March Revolution (1991) (International Center on Nonviolent Conflict) · Timeline: How Mali went from democracy beacon to instability (Al Jazeera)

10. 🇸🇹STP

    São Tomé and Príncipe · Politics & Power

    First free elections

    Free multiparty elections brought Miguel Trovoada, a former prime minister returning from exile, to the presidency as an independent candidate.

    One-party state, democracy and the modern republic

    Sources: São Tomé and Príncipe — After independence (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · São Tomé and Príncipe (Wikipedia)

11. 🇸🇱SLE

    Sierra Leone · War & Rupture · 23 March 1991

    Civil war begins

    The Revolutionary United Front under Foday Sankoh, backed by Liberia's Charles Taylor, invaded from Liberia, beginning an eleven-year civil war marked by atrocities and funded by 'blood diamonds'.

    One-party rule, civil war, and recovery

    Sources: The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002) (BlackPast.org) · Foday Sankoh (Wikipedia)

12. 🇸🇴SOM

    Somalia · Politics & Power · January 1991

    Fall of Siad Barre

    Rebel forces drive Siad Barre from Mogadishu, ending his 21-year dictatorship; with no agreement on a successor, central authority collapses and the country descends into civil war.

    Independence, Union and the Siad Barre Era

    Sources: Somalia (country and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Somalia (CRS In Focus) (U.S. Library of Congress / Congressional Research Service)

13. 🇸🇴SOM

    Somalia · Politics & Power

    State collapse and Somaliland's declaration

    Central government disappears as faction leaders fight for control; the former British Somaliland declares independence as the Republic of Somaliland, which remains internationally unrecognised but largely self-governing.

    State Collapse, Civil War and the Federal Republic

    Sources: Somalia (country and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Somalia (CRS In Focus) (U.S. Library of Congress / Congressional Research Service)

14. SOL

    Somaliland · Independence · 18 May 1991

    Declaration restoring Somaliland's independence

    Meeting at Burao as Somalia collapsed, clan elders and the SNM declared the north's withdrawal from the 1960 union and the restoration of its independence — a declaration that won no international recognition.

    Restoration and the Building of a State

    Sources: Somaliland Declaration of Independence (Wikipedia) · Somaliland at 30: Still unrecognised, but alive and well (African Arguments)

15. 🇿🇲ZMB

    Zambia · Independence

    Return to multiparty democracy

    After food riots and mounting pressure, Kaunda lifted the ban on opposition parties; Frederick Chiluba and the Movement for Multiparty Democracy won the elections, and Kaunda handed over power peacefully.

    The republic: Humanism, multiparty politics and modern Zambia

    Sources: Kenneth Kaunda (New World Encyclopedia) · Zambia Politics: Kaunda (GlobalSecurity.org)

Asia

1. 🇦🇲ARM

   Armenia · Independence · 21 September 1991

   Independence from the Soviet Union

   Armenians approved independence by referendum and the Supreme Council declared secession from the U.S.S.R.; the United States recognised Armenia on 25 December 1991.

   Independent Armenia

   Sources: A Guide to the History of Recognition: Armenia (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian) · Armenia — Caucasus, Soviet Union, Genocide (Modern Armenia) (Encyclopædia Britannica)

2. 🇦🇿AZE

   Azerbaijan · Independence · 18 October 1991

   Independence restored

   Azerbaijan adopted the Constitutional Act on State Independence, declaring itself successor to the 1918 republic; the US recognised it on 25 December 1991.

   Independence, the Aliyev era and Karabakh

   Sources: Azerbaijan: Russian suzerainty and the road to independence (Encyclopædia Britannica) · A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition: Azerbaijan (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)

3. 🇧🇹BTN

   Bhutan · Peoples & Migration · early 1990s

   Exodus of the Lhotshampa

   Amid 'one nation, one people' measures and stricter citizenship rules, tens of thousands of southern Bhutanese of Nepali origin leave or are expelled, and more than 100,000 end up in UNHCR camps in eastern Nepal.

   Democracy and the Modern Kingdom

   Sources: Resettlement of Bhutanese refugees surpasses 100,000 mark (UNHCR — UN Refugee Agency) · Nepal and Bhutan: Country Studies (Federal Research Division, Library of Congress)

4. 🇰🇭KHM

   Cambodia · Politics & Power · 23 October 1991

   Paris Peace Agreements signed

   The Cambodian factions sign the Paris Agreements on a Comprehensive Political Settlement, ending the war and delegating transitional authority to the United Nations.

   Occupation, the UN Transition, and the Restored Kingdom

   Sources: Agreement on a Comprehensive Political Settlement of the Cambodia Conflict (Paris Agreement, 1991) (United Nations Peacemaker) · United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) (United Nations Peacekeeping)

5. 🇬🇪GEO

   Georgia · Independence · 9 April 1991

   Independence restored

   Following a referendum on 31 March, the Supreme Council adopted the Act restoring Georgia's independence on 9 April 1991, two years after the April 9 tragedy.

   Republic, Soviet Conquest and the Georgian SSR

   Sources: Georgia: Independent Georgia (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations, by Country: Georgia (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)

6. 🇮🇶IRQ

   Iraq · War & Rupture · 1990–1991

   Invasion of Kuwait and the Persian Gulf War

   Iraq invades and annexes Kuwait in August 1990; a United States-led coalition of many nations expels Iraqi forces in early 1991, after which Iraq is placed under severe international sanctions.

   The Republic, Saddam Hussein and the Wars

   Sources: Persian Gulf War (Encyclopædia Britannica)

7. 🇰🇿KAZ

   Kazakhstan · Independence · 16 December 1991

   Kazakhstan declares independence

   Kazakhstan proclaims itself a sovereign, independent state, the last of the Soviet republics to declare independence, with Nursultan Nazarbayev as president; the USSR formally dissolves days later.

   Independent Kazakhstan

   Sources: Kazakhstan: Independent Kazakhstan (Encyclopædia Britannica) · History of Kazakhstan (Encyclopædia Britannica)

8. 🇰🇼KWT

   Kuwait · War & Rupture · 16 January - 28 February 1991

   Operation Desert Storm liberates Kuwait

   A U.S.-led coalition launched an air campaign in mid-January and a ground assault on 24 February, expelling Iraqi forces and liberating Kuwait by late February.

   The Iraqi Invasion and the Liberation of 1991

   Sources: The Gulf War, 1991 (Milestones in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations) (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian) · The First Gulf War (Short History) (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)

9. 🇰🇼KWT

   Kuwait · Economy & Trade · 1991-1992

   Rapid post-war reconstruction

   International teams capped the burning wells and Kuwait restored oil output to pre-war capacity within about a year, while the UN set up a commission for Iraqi reparations.

   Reconstruction and Modern Kuwait

   Sources: Towering Infernos: The Kuwait Oil Fires (Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training) · Kuwait: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

10. 🇰🇼KWT

    Kuwait · Catastrophe · February-November 1991

    Retreating Iraqis torch the oil fields

    As they withdrew, Iraqi forces set fire to and damaged over 700 Kuwaiti oil wells, causing a vast environmental disaster that took until November to fully extinguish.

    The Iraqi Invasion and the Liberation of 1991

    Sources: Towering Infernos: The Kuwait Oil Fires (Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training)

11. 🇰🇬KGZ

    Kyrgyzstan · Independence · 31 Aug 1991

    Kyrgyzstan declares independence

    As the Soviet Union collapsed, the Supreme Soviet of the republic declared Kyrgyzstan's independence; Askar Akayev became the first president of the sovereign state, with its capital at Bishkek.

    Independence and the Akayev Years

    Sources: Kyrgyzstan: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Askar Akayev (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

12. 🇰🇬KGZ

    Kyrgyzstan · Politics & Power · 25 Dec 1991

    U.S. recognition and diplomatic relations

    The United States established diplomatic relations with independent Kyrgyzstan on 25 December 1991, opening its embassy in Bishkek in February 1992 as the Soviet Union was dissolved.

    Independence and the Akayev Years

    Sources: A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations, by Country: Kyrgyzstan (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)

13. 🇰🇵PRK

    North Korea · Politics & Power · 17 September 1991

    North and South Korea join the UN

    Both Korean states are admitted to the United Nations with separate seats, an acknowledgment of the durability of the two-state division.

    The Juche State

    Sources: United Nations Member States (admission of the two Koreas, 1991) (United Nations) · History of North Korea (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

14. 🇹🇯TJK

    Tajikistan · Independence · 9 September 1991

    Declaration of independence

    As the Soviet Union disintegrates, the Supreme Soviet of the Tajik SSR declares the state independence of the Republic of Tajikistan — the country's founding moment and national day.

    Russian Conquest and the Soviet Republic

    Sources: Tajikistan — Independence (Encyclopædia Britannica) · History of Tajikistan (Encyclopædia Britannica)

15. 🇹🇱TLS

    Timor-Leste · War & Rupture · 12 November 1991

    Santa Cruz massacre

    Indonesian troops fire on a peaceful pro-independence procession at Dili's Santa Cruz cemetery, killing at least 250; smuggled video footage brings the occupation to global attention.

    Occupation and the Long Resistance

    Sources: Santa Cruz massacre (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · East Timor (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

16. 🇹🇲TKM

    Turkmenistan · Independence · 27 October 1991

    Independence declared

    Turkmenistan declared independence from the Soviet Union, with Saparmurat Niyazov as its first president; the United States recognised the new state in December 1991 and opened relations in 1992.

    Independence and the Neutral Republic

    Sources: A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations, by Country: Turkmenistan (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian) · Turkmenistan (Encyclopædia Britannica)

17. 🇺🇿UZB

    Uzbekistan · Independence · 1 September 1991

    Uzbekistan declares independence

    The Supreme Council of the Uzbek SSR declares independence on 31 August 1991; 1 September becomes Independence Day, and a December referendum confirms it with Islam Karimov as first president.

    Independent Uzbekistan

    Sources: Uzbekistan — Countries (U.S. recognition and relations) (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian) · Islam Karimov — Central Asian leader (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Europe

1. 🇦🇱ALB

   Albania · Politics & Power · Mar 1991

   End of one-party rule

   After the Tirana student protests of December 1990, Albania held its first multiparty elections in March 1991, and the Party of Labour's monopoly on power ended with the 1992 elections.

   Transition, the 1997 Crisis, NATO and Europe

   Sources: History of Albania (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Albania (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. 🇦🇱ALB

   Albania · Politics & Power · 15 Mar 1991

   US-Albania relations resumed

   The United States and Albania resumed diplomatic relations on 15 March 1991 after a break of more than half a century dating to the Italian takeover of 1939.

   Transition, the 1997 Crisis, NATO and Europe

   Sources: A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations: Albania (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)

3. 🇧🇾BLR

   Belarus · Politics & Power · 8 Dec 1991

   Belavezha Accords dissolve the USSR

   In the Belavezha forest in Belarus, part of the UNESCO-listed Belovezhskaya Pushcha, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, including Stanislau Shushkevich, signed accords declaring that the USSR had ceased to exist and founding the Commonwealth of Independent States.

   Chernobyl, Independence and the Lukashenka Era

   Sources: Belavezha Agreement (1991) (Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine) · Bialowieza Forest (Belovezhskaya Pushcha) (UNESCO World Heritage Centre) · Belarus: The emergence of the Belorussian S.S.R. (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

4. 🇧🇾BLR

   Belarus · Independence · 25 Aug 1991

   Independence of Belarus

   After declaring sovereignty on 27 July 1990, the Supreme Soviet gave the declaration constitutional force on 25 August 1991 in the wake of the Moscow coup, proclaiming the independent Republic of Belarus.

   Chernobyl, Independence and the Lukashenka Era

   Sources: Declaration of State Sovereignty of Belarus (1990) (International Constitutional Law / University of Bern) · Belarus: The emergence of the Belorussian S.S.R. (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

5. 🇭🇷HRV

   Croatia · Independence · 25 Jun 1991

   Declaration of independence

   The Croatian Sabor declared independence from Yugoslavia on 25 June 1991; rebel Serbs backed by the Yugoslav army seized nearly a third of the country and proclaimed the Republic of Serbian Krajina, igniting war.

   Independence, the War and the Modern Republic

   Sources: Franjo Tudjman (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · The Conflicts (former Yugoslavia) (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia)

6. 🇭🇷HRV

   Croatia · War & Rupture · 18 Nov 1991

   The fall of Vukovar

   After a siege of some three months, Vukovar fell to the Yugoslav army and Serb forces on 18 November 1991; two days later 194 people taken from the hospital were killed at the Ovcara farm, a crime later prosecuted at the ICTY.

   Independence, the War and the Modern Republic

   Sources: Vukovar Crimes (International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (UN)) · The Conflicts (former Yugoslavia) (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia)

7. 🇪🇪EST

   Estonia · Independence · 20 Aug 1991

   Restoration of independence

   The Supreme Council voted to restore Estonian independence on the basis of legal continuity with the 1918 republic during the failed Moscow coup; recognition and UN membership swiftly followed.

   The Singing Revolution, Restoration and the Return to Europe

   Sources: Taking back what was theirs: the restoration of Estonia's independence in August 1991 (ERR (Estonian Public Broadcasting)) · What Made the Restoration of Estonian Independence Possible? (non-recognition and state continuity) (International Centre for Defence and Security (ICDS))

8. 🇽🇰KOS

   Kosovo · Politics & Power · 1989–1998

   The Albanian parallel state

   Led by Ibrahim Rugova and the Democratic League of Kosovo, Kosovo's Albanians boycotted Serbian institutions and ran their own parallel schools, clinics and administration in a decade of nonviolent resistance.

   Yugoslav Kosovo: Autonomy, Revocation and Parallel State

   Sources: Ibrahim Rugova, Sakharov Prize 1998 (European Parliament)

9. 🇱🇻LVA

   Latvia · Independence · 21 Aug 1991

   Full restoration of independence

   After the collapse of the Moscow coup, the Supreme Council adopted a constitutional law fully restoring the independence of the Republic of Latvia, soon recognised internationally.

   Soviet Rule, Restoration and the Return to Europe

   Sources: May 4th: Latvia's Path to Independence (Latvia.eu (Latvian Institute)) · History of Latvia (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia)

10. 🇱🇹LTU

    Lithuania · War & Rupture · 13 Jan 1991

    The January events in Vilnius

    Soviet forces stormed the Vilnius television tower and broadcasting centre, killing fourteen unarmed civilians; the defenders held parliament and the crackdown discredited Moscow.

    Restoration of Independence and a European Lithuania

    Sources: January 13, 1991: the night when Soviets stormed LRT (LRT (Lithuanian National Radio and Television)) · March the 11th: path to the restoration of the independent State of Lithuania (Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania (lrs.lt))

11. 🇲🇩MDA

    Moldova · Independence · 27 Aug 1991

    Declaration of Independence

    Moldova's parliament declared independence from the Soviet Union on 27 August 1991, in the wake of the failed Moscow coup, with Mircea Snegur as the new state's first president.

    Independence, the Transnistria Conflict and the Road to Europe

    Sources: Mircea Snegur, Who Led Moldova's Independence Drive and Became President, Dies at 83 (Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty) · Moldova: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

12. 🇲🇰MKD

    North Macedonia · Independence · 8 Sep 1991

    Independence referendum

    Citizens voted by some 96 percent for independence, and the republic seceded peacefully from Yugoslavia under President Kiro Gligorov, alone among the Yugoslav republics in avoiding war.

    Independence and the Name Dispute with Greece

    Sources: North Macedonia: Independence (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition: North Macedonia (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)

13. 🇷🇴ROU

    Romania · Independence · 27 Aug 1991

    Moldova's independence and the Romanian bond

    As the Soviet Union dissolved, the former Bessarabia declared independence as the Republic of Moldova, immediately recognised by Romania, with which it shares the Romanian language and a common history.

    Revolution, democracy and the European turn

    Sources: Moldova (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Moldova and Romania: A Long and Complicated Relationship (Origins (Ohio State University / Miami University))

14. 🇷🇺RUS

    Russia · Independence · December 1991

    Birth of the Russian Federation

    As the USSR dissolves, the Russian Federation becomes its principal successor state, inheriting the Soviet UN Security Council seat and nuclear arsenal, with Boris Yeltsin as its first president.

    Post-Soviet Russia

    Sources: Russia (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · The collapse of the Soviet Union (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

15. 🇷🇺RUS

    Russia · Independence · 25 December 1991

    Dissolution of the Soviet Union

    Weakened by economic stagnation, nationalist movements, and a failed August coup, the USSR is dissolved; Mikhail Gorbachev resigns on 25 December 1991 and the Soviet flag is lowered over the Kremlin for the last time.

    The Soviet Union

    Sources: The collapse of the Soviet Union (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Soviet Union (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

16. 🇷🇸SRB

    Serbia · War & Rupture · 1991–1995

    Wars in Croatia and Bosnia

    As Yugoslavia disintegrated, war engulfed Croatia and Bosnia amid ethnic cleansing and atrocity, with Belgrade backing Serb forces and the federation collapsing into a rump Yugoslavia.

    The Breakup of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo War

    Sources: Serbia: The Ten Years' War (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Slobodan Milošević (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

17. 🇸🇮SVN

    Slovenia · Independence · 25 Jun – 7 Jul 1991

    Independence and the Ten-Day War

    Slovenia declared independence on 25 June 1991; the Yugoslav army's intervention sparked the Ten-Day War, which the Slovenes won, leading to the Brioni Declaration of 7 July and the withdrawal of federal forces.

    Socialist Yugoslavia and the Road to Independence

    Sources: Independence and Unity Day (the 1990 plebiscite) (Government of Slovenia (gov.si)) · Slovenia since 1918 (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Brioni Agreement and the end of the Ten-Day War (Zentrum fur Osteuropa- und internationale Studien (ZOiS))

18. 🇺🇦UKR

    Ukraine · Independence · 24 Aug 1991

    Declaration of independence

    Amid the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine's parliament declared independence on 24 August 1991, confirmed by referendum on 1 December with over 90 percent voting in favour.

    Soviet Ukraine, the Holodomor and the Second World War

    Sources: History of Ukraine (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

North America

1. 🇨🇺CUB

   Cuba · Economy & Trade · 1991 CE

   The Special Period begins

   The Soviet collapse ends Cuba's subsidies and trade; Castro declares a special period of rationing and austerity as GDP contracts sharply.

   Special Period, Thaw, and the Present

   Sources: Cuba since 1991 (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. 🇺🇸USA

   United States · Politics & Power

   End of the Cold War

   The dissolution of the Soviet Union left the United States as the world's sole superpower and reshaped the international order.

   Superpower, civil rights, and the modern era

   Sources: Abraham Lincoln and Emancipation; U.S. History Collections (Library of Congress)

Africa

1. 🇩🇿DZA

   Algeria · War & Rupture · January 1992

   Elections cancelled; civil war begins

   After the Islamic Salvation Front leads the December 1991 vote, the army cancels the elections and ousts the president, triggering the civil war of the 1990s.

   Independent Algeria: Revolution, Civil War and Hirak

   Sources: Algeria: Civil war—the Islamists versus the army (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · 1992 Algerian coup d'état (Wikipedia)

2. 🇦🇴AGO

   Angola · Politics & Power

   Disputed elections and renewed war

   The MPLA's dos Santos led UNITA's Savimbi in Angola's first multiparty elections, but Savimbi rejected the result and returned to war, plunging the country back into conflict.

   The long civil war

   Sources: Angolan Civil War (1975–2002) (BlackPast.org) · Angolan Civil War (Wikipedia)

3. 🇧🇮BDI

   Burundi · Politics & Power

   Multiparty constitution

   A new constitution approved by referendum and promulgated in 1992 opens the way to multiparty competition under President Buyoya.

   Democracy, Assassination and Civil War

   Sources: History of Burundi (Wikipedia) · Burundi: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

4. 🇨🇲CMR

   Cameroon · Politics & Power · 1990–1992

   Return to multiparty politics

   Biya legalised opposition parties in 1990 and held the first multiparty presidential election in 1992, which he won amid allegations of irregularities.

   The Biya era and the Anglophone crisis

   Sources: Paul Biya (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Cameroon (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

5. 🇨🇬COG

   Congo · Politics & Power · August 1992

   Lissouba wins multiparty election

   Pascal Lissouba of UPADS won the Congo's first multiparty presidential election in August 1992, ending the PCT's monopoly and inaugurating a brief democratic period.

   Democracy, civil war, and the return of Sassou Nguesso

   Sources: Pascal Lissouba (Wikipedia) · Republic of the Congo (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Republic of the Congo (1960–present) (University of Central Arkansas, DADM Project)

6. 🇲🇺MUS

   Mauritius · Politics & Power · 12 March 1992

   Mauritius becomes a republic

   The island replaces the British monarch with a Mauritian president as head of state, retaining its parliamentary democracy.

   Republic & African Success Story

   Sources: Mauritius — Independence, Economy, Culture (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Mauritius (Wikipedia)

7. 🇲🇿MOZ

   Mozambique · Politics & Power · 4 October 1992

   Rome General Peace Accords

   Mediated by the Community of Sant'Egidio, President Chissano and RENAMO leader Afonso Dhlakama sign a peace agreement in Rome, ending a war that killed about a million people.

   Civil War, Peace and Modern Mozambique

   Sources: Rome General Peace Accords (Wikipedia) · Historical context: War and peace in Mozambique (Conciliation Resources (Accord)) · Mozambique: 29 years after the peace accords that ended the civil war (Vatican News)

8. 🇸🇴SOM

   Somalia · Catastrophe

   Famine and Operation Restore Hope

   Drought and civil war cause a famine that kills several hundred thousand people; the UN sets up UNOSOM and a US-led force launches Operation Restore Hope in December to safeguard relief.

   State Collapse, Civil War and the Federal Republic

   Sources: 1992 famine in Somalia (Wikipedia) · Unified Task Force (Operation Restore Hope) (Wikipedia)

9. 🇹🇿TZA

   Tanzania · Politics & Power

   Return to multiparty politics

   Tanzania amends its constitution to permit multiple parties, ending decades of one-party rule; the first multiparty elections follow in 1995.

   Modern Tanzania

   Sources: History of Tanzania (Wikipedia) · President of Tanzania (Wikipedia)

10. 🇹🇬TGO

    Togo · Politics & Power · 1990–1992

    Pro-democracy pressure and a new constitution

    A wave of unrest forced Eyadéma to accept a multiparty constitution in 1992, but he retained power through disputed elections and the loyalty of the army.

    The Eyadéma era and the Gnassingbé dynasty

    Sources: Togo (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Gnassingbé Eyadéma (Wikipedia)

Asia

1. 🇦🇫AFG

   Afghanistan · War & Rupture · 1992–1996

   Collapse of the communist government and civil war

   Najibullah's government falls in 1992 and rival mujahideen factions turn on one another, devastating Kabul in a civil war that opens the way for the Taliban.

   Revolution, the Soviet War and Civil War

   Sources: Afghanistan: A Country Study (Library of Congress, Federal Research Division) · Mohammad Omar — Biography & Facts (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. 🇰🇭KHM

   Cambodia · Politics & Power · 1992-1993

   UNTAC mission

   The UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia repatriates over 300,000 refugees and organizes national elections, one of the largest peacekeeping operations of its era.

   Occupation, the UN Transition, and the Restored Kingdom

   Sources: United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) (United Nations Peacekeeping) · Cambodia: Vietnamese intervention (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

3. 🇬🇪GEO

   Georgia · War & Rupture · 1992–93

   War in Abkhazia

   Fighting between Georgian forces and Abkhaz separatists, with outside support, ended in Georgian defeat and the displacement of much of the ethnic Georgian population; casualty figures are disputed estimates.

   Independent Georgia: Conflicts, the Rose Revolution and the Western Turn

   Sources: Abkhazia (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Georgia: Independent Georgia (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

4. 🇲🇳MNG

   Mongolia · Politics & Power

   Democratic constitution adopted

   A new constitution transforms Mongolia from a people's republic into a multiparty parliamentary democracy with an elected president and the State Great Khural, and commits the country to a market economy.

   Democratic Mongolia

   Sources: History of Mongolia: Mongolia since 1990 (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Mongolia (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

5. 🇹🇯TJK

   Tajikistan · War & Rupture · 1992–1997

   The Tajik civil war

   Civil war erupts between the post-communist government and an Islamic-democratic opposition alliance; it causes massive displacement and a death toll that remains contested and is best treated as an estimate.

   Independence and Civil War

   Sources: Tajikistan — Independence (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan: Country Studies (Federal Research Division, Library of Congress)

6. 🇹🇱TLS

   Timor-Leste · War & Rupture · 20 November 1992

   Capture of Xanana Gusmao

   Indonesian forces capture resistance commander Xanana Gusmao in Dili; tried and sentenced to a long prison term in Jakarta, he continues to lead the movement from prison.

   Occupation and the Long Resistance

   Sources: Biography: Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao (Government of Timor-Leste) · Xanana Gusmao (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Europe

1. 🇧🇦BIH

   Bosnia and Herzegovina · War & Rupture · 1992–1995

   Ethnic cleansing and the Bosnian War

   Campaigns to expel and destroy rival communities through killings, deportation, detention camps and sexual violence devastated Bosnia, crimes later prosecuted before the ICTY.

   Independence, the Bosnian War and the Srebrenica Genocide

   Sources: The Breakup of Yugoslavia, 1990–1992 (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian) · Radislav Krstić: first ICTY conviction for genocide (Srebrenica) (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (UN-IRMCT))

2. 🇧🇦BIH

   Bosnia and Herzegovina · Independence · 29 Feb – 1 Mar 1992

   Independence referendum

   Bosnians voted overwhelmingly for independence in a referendum largely boycotted by Serbs; the country was recognised internationally and joined the UN on 22 May 1992.

   Independence, the Bosnian War and the Srebrenica Genocide

   Sources: The Breakup of Yugoslavia, 1990–1992 (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian) · Siege of Sarajevo (1992–96) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

3. 🇧🇦BIH

   Bosnia and Herzegovina · War & Rupture · 5 Apr 1992

   Siege of Sarajevo begins

   Bosnian Serb forces encircled and shelled the capital from the surrounding hills; lasting about 1,425 days, it became the longest siege of a capital city in modern history.

   Independence, the Bosnian War and the Srebrenica Genocide

   Sources: Siege of Sarajevo (1992–96) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

4. 🇭🇷HRV

   Croatia · Independence

   International recognition

   Croatia won international recognition as a sovereign state in 1992; the United States recognised it on 7 April 1992, and the country was admitted to the United Nations.

   Independence, the War and the Modern Republic

   Sources: A Guide to U.S. History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations: Croatia (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian) · The Conflicts (former Yugoslavia) (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia)

5. 🇲🇩MDA

   Moldova · War & Rupture · 21 Jul 1992

   The Transnistria war and ceasefire

   War with the Russian-backed Transnistrian separatists peaked in the battle for Bender; the intervention of the Russian 14th Army proved decisive, and a ceasefire on 21 July 1992 froze the conflict, leaving Russian troops in place.

   Independence, the Transnistria Conflict and the Road to Europe

   Sources: Twenty Years of Russian 'Peacekeeping' in Moldova (The Jamestown Foundation) · Conflict prevention and resolution (5+2 format) (OSCE Mission to Moldova)

6. 🇲🇪MNE

   Montenegro · Politics & Power

   Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

   As the other republics broke away, Montenegro joined Serbia in forming the rump Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, remaining bound to Belgrade through the wars and sanctions of the 1990s.

   Rump Yugoslavia, the State Union and the Road to the 2006 Referendum

   Sources: Montenegro: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Montenegro: federation, State Union and referendum (Princeton Encyclopedia of Self-Determination)

7. 🇸🇲SMR

   San Marino · Independence · 2 Mar 1992

   Admission to the United Nations

   On the recommendation of Security Council Resolution 744 (25 February 1992), San Marino was admitted to the United Nations on 2 March 1992 as a full member state.

   The Modern Republic: the UN, Europe and the Euro

   Sources: Growth in United Nations Membership (United Nations) · Security Council Resolution 744 (1992): Admission of San Marino (United Nations Security Council) · San Marino (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

North America

1. 🇧🇸BHS

   Bahamas · Politics & Power

   First peaceful change of government

   Hubert Ingraham's Free National Movement defeated the PLP in 1992, ending Lynden Pindling's twenty-five years in power in the country's first democratic alternation of government.

   Tourism, finance and the age of hurricanes

   Sources: The Bahamas — Independence (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Background Note: The Bahamas (U.S. Department of State)

2. 🇸🇻SLV

   El Salvador · Politics & Power · 16 January 1992

   Chapultepec Peace Accords

   The government and the FMLN sign the UN-brokered Chapultepec Peace Accords in Mexico City, ending the civil war, reforming the armed forces and turning the FMLN into a political party.

   The Civil War

   Sources: Chapultepec Peace Accords (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Chapultepec Agreement (1992) (United Nations Peacemaker)

South America

1. 🇬🇾GUY

   Guyana · Politics & Power · Oct 1992

   Return of Jagan and free elections

   Internationally observed elections return Cheddi Jagan and the PPP to power after 28 years, restoring multiparty democracy; his widow Janet Jagan later becomes Guyana's first woman president.

   The Burnham Era and the Shadow of Jonestown

   Sources: Cheddi Jagan (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Janet Jagan (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. 🇵🇾PRY

   Paraguay · Politics & Power · 20 Jun 1992

   New democratic constitution

   A Constituent Assembly enacts a constitution establishing a presidential republic and making Guarani co-official with Spanish.

   The Stroessner Era, Democracy and Itaipu

   Sources: History of Paraguay (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Guarani language (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

3. 🇵🇪PER

   Peru · War & Rupture · 12 Sept 1992

   Capture of Abimael Guzman

   Police capture the Shining Path leader Abimael Guzman in Lima; he is sentenced to life imprisonment and the insurgency is broken.

   Reform, the Shining Path, and Modern Peru

   Sources: Abimael Guzman (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Shining Path (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

4. 🇻🇪VEN

   Venezuela · Politics & Power · Feb 1992

   Chavez's failed coup

   Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Chavez leads a failed military coup against the government; jailed and later pardoned, he becomes a national political figure.

   The Petro-State and the Democratic Era

   Sources: Hugo Chavez (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Venezuela (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Oceania

1. 🇦🇺AUS

   Australia · Politics & Power · 3 June 1992

   Mabo decision overturns terra nullius

   The High Court ruled in Mabo v Queensland that the continent had not been terra nullius and that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples could hold native title, leading to the Native Title Act 1993.

   Modern Australia: multiculturalism, reconciliation, and the apology

   Sources: The Mabo Case (Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)) · Australia (country) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Africa

1. 🇧🇮BDI

   Burundi · War & Rupture · 21 Oct 1993

   Assassination of Ndadaye; civil war begins

   Ndadaye is assassinated by soldiers after months in office, igniting reciprocal massacres and a civil war that would kill an estimated 300,000 people.

   Democracy, Assassination and Civil War

   Sources: Melchior Ndadaye (Wikipedia) · History of Burundi (Wikipedia) · Burundi Under Siege (International Crisis Group (via Refworld))

2. 🇧🇮BDI

   Burundi · Politics & Power · June 1993

   Ndadaye elected first Hutu president

   Melchior Ndadaye of FRODEBU defeats Buyoya to become Burundi's first democratically elected and first Hutu head of state.

   Democracy, Assassination and Civil War

   Sources: Melchior Ndadaye (Wikipedia) · History of Burundi (Wikipedia)

3. 🇨🇬COG

   Congo · War & Rupture · 1993–1994

   Militia clashes over disputed elections

   Disputes over the 1993 legislative elections sparked armed clashes between political militias in Brazzaville, fracturing the new democracy along factional and regional lines.

   Democracy, civil war, and the return of Sassou Nguesso

   Sources: Republic of the Congo Civil War (1993–1994) (Wikipedia) · Republic of the Congo (1960–present) (University of Central Arkansas, DADM Project)

4. 🇪🇷ERI

   Eritrea · Formation · 24 May 1993

   Formal independence

   Eritrea proclaims itself a sovereign state and is admitted to the United Nations days later; Isaias Afwerki becomes its first president.

   Independence, Border War and the Closed State

   Sources: 1993 Eritrean independence referendum (Wikipedia) · A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition: Eritrea (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)

5. 🇪🇷ERI

   Eritrea · Independence · 23-25 April 1993

   Independence referendum

   Eritreans vote overwhelmingly for independence in a UN-monitored referendum, with near-unanimous approval on a high turnout.

   Independence, Border War and the Closed State

   Sources: 1993 Eritrean independence referendum (Wikipedia) · A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition: Eritrea (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)

6. 🇬🇭GHA

   Ghana · Politics & Power · 7 January 1993

   The Fourth Republic begins

   A new constitution, approved by referendum in 1992, took effect on 7 January 1993, ending military rule; Rawlings, now an elected president, inaugurated Ghana's enduring Fourth Republic.

   Coups, republics, and modern democracy

   Sources: Ghana (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Rawlings Wins Reelection to Ghana's Presidency (EBSCO Research Starters)

7. 🇨🇮CIV

   Ivory Coast · Politics & Power · 7 December 1993

   Death of Houphouët-Boigny

   The country's founding president died in office after more than three decades in power, leaving a celebrated record of stability and growth but no clearly prepared successor.

   The Ivorian miracle and the long Houphouët-Boigny era

   Sources: Félix Houphouët-Boigny (Wikipedia) · Félix Houphouët-Boigny (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Félix Houphouët-Boigny (1905–1993), first President of Côte d'Ivoire (Qiraat Africa)

8. 🇲🇼MWI

   Malawi · Politics & Power · 14 June 1993

   Referendum ends the one-party state

   Malawians voted by roughly two to one to abandon single-party rule and adopt multiparty democracy, opening the way to free elections.

   The Banda regime and the democratic transition

   Sources: 1993 Malawian democracy referendum (Wikipedia) · Malawi (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

9. 🇳🇪NER

   Niger · Politics & Power · 1991–1993

   Transition to multiparty democracy

   A 1991 national conference opened Niger's politics; elections in 1993 brought the first freely chosen government, beginning a turbulent experiment in multiparty rule.

   Democracy, Tuareg rebellions and the cycle of coups

   Sources: History of Niger (Wikipedia) · Niger (country) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

10. 🇳🇬NGA

    Nigeria · Politics & Power

    Annulled election and Abacha's rule

    The military annulled the 1993 presidential election, widely believed won by Moshood Abiola, ushering in the repressive regime of General Sani Abacha until his death in 1998.

    Independence, the Biafran civil war and military rule

    Sources: Abacha, Abiola, and Nigeria's 1999 Transition to Civilian Rule (Council on Foreign Relations) · Nigeria (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

11. 🇷🇼RWA

    Rwanda · Politics & Power · August 1993

    Arusha Accords signed

    Government and RPF sign the Arusha peace agreement promising power-sharing and refugee return; a UN force (UNAMIR) deploys, but extremists reject the deal and plan genocide.

    Habyarimana, Civil War and Arusha

    Sources: Outreach Programme on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda — Historical Background (United Nations) · Massacre of the Tutsi Minority (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)

12. 🇸🇨SYC

    Seychelles · Politics & Power

    Return to multiparty democracy

    A new constitution restored multiparty politics; the first competitive presidential elections were held, won by René.

    Democracy and Prosperity

    Sources: Seychelles (1976–present) (University of Central Arkansas, DADM Project) · James Mancham (African Studies Centre Leiden)

13. 🇸🇴SOM

    Somalia · War & Rupture · 3–4 October 1993

    Battle of Mogadishu ('Black Hawk Down')

    A US raid against a faction leader turns into a fierce urban battle that kills 18 American and many Somali fighters and civilians, hastening the withdrawal of foreign forces by 1995.

    State Collapse, Civil War and the Federal Republic

    Sources: Operation Gothic Serpent (Battle of Mogadishu) (Wikipedia) · Somalia (CRS In Focus) (U.S. Library of Congress / Congressional Research Service)

14. SOL

    Somaliland · Politics & Power

    Borama conference and the Guurti

    A months-long clan reconciliation conference at Borama produced a national charter, institutionalised the House of Elders (Guurti), and elected Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal president, anchoring the new polity in indigenous institutions.

    Restoration and the Building of a State

    Sources: Unrecognized Vote: Somaliland's Democratic Journey (Heinrich Boll Stiftung) · Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal (Wikipedia)

15. 🇺🇬UGA

    Uganda · Culture & Ideas

    Cultural kingdoms restored

    Museveni's government restores the kingdoms in a cultural, non-political form; a new kabaka of Buganda, Ronald Mutebi II, is enthroned.

    The Bush War, Museveni and the Northern Insurgency

    Sources: History of Uganda (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Ebyafayo — History of Buganda (Buganda Kingdom (official))

Asia

1. 🇰🇭KHM

   Cambodia · Politics & Power · 1993 CE

   Constitutional monarchy restored

   UN-supervised elections produce a new constitution restoring the kingdom, and Norodom Sihanouk returns to the throne as constitutional monarch.

   Occupation, the UN Transition, and the Restored Kingdom

   Sources: United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) (United Nations Peacekeeping) · Cambodia (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. 🇵🇸PSE

   Palestine · Politics & Power

   Oslo Accords

   Israel and the PLO exchanged mutual recognition and agreed a framework for Palestinian interim self-government, creating the Palestinian Authority.

   Occupation, Dispossession, and the Present

   Sources: Palestine - region, history (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

3. 🇾🇪YEM

   Yemen · Culture & Ideas · inscribed 1993

   Zabid recognised as a centre of Islamic learning

   The historic town of Zabid, capital of Yemen under the Rasulids and a celebrated centre of Islamic scholarship from the 13th to 15th centuries, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

   Islam and the Long Zaidi Imamate

   Sources: Historic Town of Zabid (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)

Europe

1. 🇦🇩AND

   Andorra · Independence · 28 Jul 1993

   Admission to the United Nations

   Andorra was admitted as a member state of the United Nations, taking its place in the international community as a fully recognised sovereign state.

   A Sovereign Democracy in the Heart of Europe

   Sources: Member States (Andorra admitted 28 July 1993) (United Nations) · Andorra: Member state (Council of Europe)

2. 🇦🇩AND

   Andorra · Independence · 14 Mar 1993

   The first written constitution

   Andorrans approved by referendum a constitution that made Andorra a sovereign parliamentary democracy, with the two co-princes reduced to constitutional heads of state and power vested in an elected government and council.

   A Sovereign Democracy in the Heart of Europe

   Sources: Andorra's Constitution of 1993 (Constitute Project) · Andorra: History, Facts & Points of Interest (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Andorra: Countries (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)

3. 🇧🇪BEL

   Belgium · Politics & Power

   Belgium becomes a federal state

   The fourth state reform amended the constitution to declare Belgium a federal state composed of Communities and Regions, completing the devolution of the once-unitary kingdom.

   A Federal Kingdom at the Heart of Europe

   Sources: Belgium: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Eupen-et-Malmédy (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

4. 🇨🇿CZE

   Czechia · Formation · 1 Jan 1993

   The Velvet Divorce and birth of the Czech Republic

   After a 1992 vote to divide, Czechoslovakia split peacefully on 1 January 1993 into the Czech Republic and Slovakia; the Czech Republic later joined NATO in 1999 and the EU in 2004.

   Expulsion, Communism, the Velvet Revolution and the Modern Republic

   Sources: Velvet Divorce (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · NATO member countries (Czechia joined 12 March 1999) (North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)) · 20 years together: the 2004 EU enlargement (European Commission)

5. 🇲🇩MDA

   Moldova · Politics & Power

   OSCE Mission to Moldova

   The OSCE established its Mission to Moldova to facilitate a comprehensive settlement consolidating Moldova's sovereignty and territorial integrity with a special status for Transnistria, later working through the 5+2 format.

   Independence, the Transnistria Conflict and the Road to Europe

   Sources: About the OSCE Mission to Moldova (OSCE Mission to Moldova) · Conflict prevention and resolution (5+2 format) (OSCE Mission to Moldova)

6. 🇲🇨MCO

   Monaco · Independence · 28 May 1993

   Monaco joins the United Nations

   Monaco was admitted as the 183rd member state of the United Nations, an unambiguous international recognition of its full sovereignty.

   Sovereignty Tied to France and the Making of the Modern Principality

   Sources: United Nations Member States (Monaco admitted 28 May 1993) (United Nations) · The history of Monaco's accession (Permanent Representation of Monaco to the Council of Europe (gouv.mc)) · Monaco: 1815 to Present (GlobalSecurity.org)

7. 🇲🇰MKD

   North Macedonia · Politics & Power

   UN admission as 'FYROM'

   Owing to Greece's objection over the name, the country was admitted to the United Nations under the provisional designation 'the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia'.

   Independence and the Name Dispute with Greece

   Sources: North Macedonia: Independence (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition: North Macedonia (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)

8. 🇷🇺RUS

   Russia · Politics & Power · October 1993

   Constitutional crisis and new constitution

   A standoff between President Yeltsin and parliament ends with the army shelling the legislature; a referendum in December 1993 adopts a new constitution that concentrates power in a strong presidency.

   Post-Soviet Russia

   Sources: Russia (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

9. 🇸🇰SVK

   Slovakia · Independence · 1 Jan 1993

   The Velvet Divorce

   Czechoslovakia split peacefully into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on 1 January 1993, creating, after more than a thousand years, the first fully independent Slovak state.

   Communism, the Velvet Revolution and the Velvet Divorce

   Sources: Czechoslovakia (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · U.S. Relations With Slovakia (U.S. Department of State)

North America

1. 🇸🇻SLV

   El Salvador · Culture & Ideas

   Joya de Ceren named World Heritage

   UNESCO inscribes Joya de Ceren on the World Heritage List as a unique record of pre-Hispanic Maya farming life, the Pompeii of the Americas.

   The Pipil, the Maya, and the Land of the Jewel

   Sources: Joya de Ceren Archaeological Site (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)

2. 🇸🇻SLV

   El Salvador · Politics & Power · 15 March 1993

   Truth Commission report

   The UN Commission on the Truth for El Salvador issues its report, From Madness to Hope, documenting wartime atrocities in a conflict in which more than 75,000 people are estimated to have died.

   The Civil War

   Sources: From Madness to Hope: Report of the Commission on the Truth for El Salvador (United Nations) · El Salvador: Civil war (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Oceania

1. 🇳🇿NZL

   New Zealand · Culture & Ideas · 1990 / 1993

   UNESCO World Heritage recognition

   Tongariro National Park — inscribed for its dual natural and Māori cultural significance — and Te Wahipounamu in the south were recognised by UNESCO, honouring both landscape and Māori heritage.

   The Māori renaissance and bicultural New Zealand

   Sources: Tongariro National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Centre) · Te Wahipounamu — South West New Zealand (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)

Africa

1. 🇹🇩TCD

   Chad · War & Rupture · 3 February 1994

   ICJ awards Aouzou Strip to Chad

   The International Court of Justice ruled that the disputed Aouzou Strip belonged to Chad; Libyan forces withdrew by the end of May 1994.

   The Déby era and its legacy

   Sources: Territorial Dispute (Libya/Chad), Judgment of 3 February 1994 (International Court of Justice)

2. 🇨🇩COD

   DR Congo · Peoples & Migration

   Rwandan refugee crisis in the Kivus

   The Rwandan genocide drives over a million refugees into eastern Zaire, destabilising the Kivu provinces.

   Mobutu's Zaire

   Sources: Second Congo War (Wikipedia) · Mobutu Sese Seko, president of Zaire (Encyclopædia Britannica)

3. 🇬🇲GMB

   Gambia · Politics & Power · 22 July 1994

   Jammeh's coup ends the Jawara era

   Lieutenant Yahya Jammeh and fellow officers overthrew President Dawda Jawara in a bloodless coup, installing a military council and ending the only government independent Gambia had known.

   The Jammeh era and the 2017 transition

   Sources: Yahya Jammeh (Wikipedia) · The Gambia (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

4. 🇬🇼GNB

   Guinea-Bissau · Politics & Power

   First multi-party elections

   After the introduction of multi-party politics in 1991, Guinea-Bissau held its first competitive elections in 1994, which confirmed Vieira as president — though military factionalism persisted.

   Instability, civil war and the cocaine route

   Sources: History of Guinea-Bissau (Wikipedia) · Guinea-Bissau (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

5. 🇲🇼MWI

   Malawi · Politics & Power · 17 May 1994

   First multiparty elections; Banda defeated

   In the first multiparty general election since independence, Bakili Muluzi of the United Democratic Front defeated Hastings Banda, who peacefully gave up power after three decades.

   The Banda regime and the democratic transition

   Sources: 1994 Malawian general election (Wikipedia) · Hastings Kamuzu Banda (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

6. 🇲🇿MOZ

   Mozambique · Politics & Power

   First multiparty elections

   Under UN supervision Mozambique holds its first multiparty elections, won by FRELIMO; the following year the country joins the Commonwealth.

   Civil War, Peace and Modern Mozambique

   Sources: Historical context: War and peace in Mozambique (Conciliation Resources (Accord)) · History of Mozambique (Wikipedia)

7. 🇳🇦NAM

   Namibia · Politics & Power · 1 March 1994

   Reincorporation of Walvis Bay

   South Africa transferred the port enclave of Walvis Bay and the offshore islands to Namibia, completing the country's territory and giving it sovereignty over its only deep-water harbour.

   Independent Namibia since 1990

   Sources: Namibia (Wikipedia) · Namibia (country, history and government) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

8. 🇷🇼RWA

   Rwanda · Catastrophe · April–July 1994

   Genocide against the Tutsi

   Over roughly 100 days an estimated 800,000 to one million people, overwhelmingly Tutsi, are systematically murdered, and an estimated 150,000–250,000 women are raped.

   The Genocide against the Tutsi

   Sources: Outreach Programme on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and the United Nations (United Nations) · Outreach Programme on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda — Historical Background (United Nations) · Massacre of the Tutsi Minority (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) · The Genocide (United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (IRMCT))

9. 🇷🇼RWA

   Rwanda · War & Rupture · 6 April 1994

   Habyarimana's plane shot down

   A surface-to-air missile downs the plane carrying President Habyarimana and Burundi's president over Kigali, killing all aboard; extremists seize on it to unleash the genocide.

   Habyarimana, Civil War and Arusha

   Sources: Massacre of the Tutsi Minority (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) · Outreach Programme on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and the United Nations (United Nations) · Juvénal Habyarimana (Encyclopædia Britannica)

10. 🇷🇼RWA

    Rwanda · Politics & Power · November 1994

    International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

    The UN Security Council establishes the ICTR in Arusha, which indicts 93 people and delivers landmark genocide convictions before closing in 2015.

    Aftermath, Justice and Reconstruction

    Sources: The Genocide (United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (IRMCT)) · Outreach Programme on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and the United Nations (United Nations)

11. 🇷🇼RWA

    Rwanda · Peoples & Migration · 1994 onward

    Refugee crisis and the Congo wars

    Over a million Hutu flee to camps in Zaire and beyond; the presence of armed génocidaires there draws Rwanda into the Congo wars from 1996, which kill millions across the region.

    Aftermath, Justice and Reconstruction

    Sources: Outreach Programme on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda — Historical Background (United Nations) · History of Rwanda (Wikipedia)

12. 🇷🇼RWA

    Rwanda · War & Rupture · July 1994

    RPF victory ends the genocide

    Paul Kagame's Rwandan Patriotic Front captures Kigali and most of the country by mid-July, defeating the genocidal regime and halting the mass killing.

    The Genocide against the Tutsi

    Sources: Outreach Programme on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda — Historical Background (United Nations) · Massacre of the Tutsi Minority (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) · History of Rwanda (Wikipedia)

13. 🇷🇼RWA

    Rwanda · Catastrophe · 7 April 1994

    The killing begins

    Within hours of the plane crash, the Presidential Guard and Interahamwe militias begin murdering Tutsi and moderate Hutu in Kigali, using roadblocks and prepared lists; the violence spreads nationwide.

    The Genocide against the Tutsi

    Sources: Outreach Programme on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and the United Nations (United Nations) · Massacre of the Tutsi Minority (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum) · The Genocide (United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (IRMCT))

14. 🇿🇦ZAF

    South Africa · Independence · 26–29 April 1994

    First democratic election

    South Africans of all races voted together for the first time; the ANC won about 62.65 percent of the vote on an 86.9 percent turnout, ending apartheid rule. The main polling day, 27 April, is marked as Freedom Day.

    Democratic South Africa since 1994

    Sources: The South African general elections: 1994 (South African History Online) · 1994 Election (Apartheid Museum) · South Africa (country, history and government) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

15. 🇿🇦ZAF

    South Africa · Politics & Power · 10 May 1994

    Mandela inaugurated as president

    Nelson Mandela was sworn in as the first president of a democratic South Africa, leading a Government of National Unity and symbolising reconciliation across the country's racial divide.

    Democratic South Africa since 1994

    Sources: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (South African History Online) · Nelson Mandela (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Asia

1. 🇦🇲ARM

   Armenia · War & Rupture

   First Nagorno-Karabakh War ceasefire

   After fighting that left roughly 30,000 dead (estimate) and hundreds of thousands displaced, a 1994 ceasefire left Armenian forces in de facto control of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent districts.

   Independent Armenia

   Sources: Nagorno-Karabakh (Encyclopædia Britannica)

2. 🇦🇿AZE

   Azerbaijan · War & Rupture

   First Karabakh war ends in ceasefire

   A 1994 ceasefire halted the first Nagorno-Karabakh war, leaving Armenian forces in de facto control of the region and surrounding districts, with large displacement on both sides (figures are estimates).

   Independence, the Aliyev era and Karabakh

   Sources: Nagorno-Karabakh: conflicts, map and people (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Heydar Aliyev, president of Azerbaijan (Encyclopædia Britannica)

3. 🇯🇴JOR

   Jordan · Politics & Power · 26 October 1994

   Peace treaty with Israel

   King Hussein signed the Wadi Araba treaty with Israel, ending the state of war and making Jordan the second Arab country, after Egypt, to conclude a formal peace with Israel.

   Modern Jordan: Hussein, the Wars, Peace and Abdullah II

   Sources: Hussein: King of Jordan, Biography and Facts (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · King Hussein bin Talal (1935-1999) (The Royal Hashemite Court)

4. 🇰🇵PRK

   North Korea · Politics & Power · 8 July 1994

   Death of Kim Il Sung

   Kim Il Sung dies after ruling for nearly five decades; he is declared Eternal President and power passes to his son Kim Jong Il.

   The Juche State

   Sources: Kim Il-Sung (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Kim Jong Il (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

5. 🇰🇵PRK

   North Korea · Catastrophe · 1994-1999

   The Arduous March famine

   A famine driven by the loss of Soviet support, reduced Chinese aid and flooding kills an estimated several hundred thousand or more North Koreans, a defining national trauma.

   Famine and the Second Succession

   Sources: History of North Korea (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · North Korea: A Country Study (U.S. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division)

6. 🇹🇯TJK

   Tajikistan · Politics & Power · 1994 CE

   Emomali Rahmon elected president; UNMOT established

   Emomali Rahmon, leader of the government side since 1992, is elected president; the UN establishes the Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT) to monitor the ceasefire.

   Independence and Civil War

   Sources: Emomali Rahmon — president of Tajikistan (Encyclopædia Britannica) · UNMOT — United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (United Nations Peacekeeping)

7. 🇾🇪YEM

   Yemen · War & Rupture · May–July 1994

   Civil war and the defeat of southern secession

   Southern leaders declared secession, but northern forces took Aden in July 1994 and crushed the breakaway attempt, consolidating Saleh's control over a unified Yemen.

   Unification and the Republic of Yemen

   Sources: Yemen: History (ancient kingdoms, Islam, the imamate, unification and war) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Yemeni Civil War (Houthi conflict and Saudi-led intervention) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Europe

1. 🇦🇩AND

   Andorra · Politics & Power

   Member of the Council of Europe

   Andorra joined the Council of Europe, committing the new democracy to European standards of human rights and the rule of law.

   A Sovereign Democracy in the Heart of Europe

   Sources: Andorra: Member state (Council of Europe)

2. 🇧🇾BLR

   Belarus · Politics & Power

   Lukashenka elected president

   Alyaksandr Lukashenka won Belarus's first presidential election on an anti-corruption platform and went on to consolidate authoritarian rule and forge ever-deeper ties with Russia.

   Chernobyl, Independence and the Lukashenka Era

   Sources: Alexander Lukashenko (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

3. 🇲🇩MDA

   Moldova · Politics & Power

   Autonomy for Gagauzia

   A Moldovan law granted broad self-government to the Turkic-speaking Gagauz of the south, creating the autonomous territorial unit of Gagauzia and peacefully resolving their bid for separation.

   Independence, the Transnistria Conflict and the Road to Europe

   Sources: Rule of law (work on Gagauzia's autonomy) (OSCE Mission to Moldova)

4. 🇳🇴NOR

   Norway · Politics & Power · 28 Nov 1994

   Second referendum rejects the European Union

   A majority of 52.2 per cent again rejected membership, this time of the European Union; Norway remained outside the EU while joining its single market through the EEA.

   Oil Wealth, the European Question and the Arctic Boundary

   Sources: Norway and the EU: Historical overview (Mission of Norway to the EU (norway.no))

5. 🇺🇦UKR

   Ukraine · Politics & Power · 5 Dec 1994

   Budapest Memorandum

   Ukraine agreed to surrender its nuclear arsenal and join the Non-Proliferation Treaty; Russia, the US and the UK pledged to respect its sovereignty and existing borders and to refrain from the use of force against it.

   Independent Ukraine, Revolutions and the Defence of Sovereignty

   Sources: Budapest Memorandum on security assurances (Ukraine's accession to the NPT), 5 December 1994 (United Nations Treaty Collection)

North America

1. 🇲🇽MEX

   Mexico · Economy & Trade · 1 Jan 1994

   NAFTA and the Zapatista uprising

   The North American Free Trade Agreement takes effect as the Zapatistas rise in Chiapas; a peso crisis follows that December.

   Modern Mexico: The PRI Era to Today

   Sources: Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

South America

1. 🇧🇷BRA

   Brazil · Economy & Trade · 1994 CE

   Plano Real ends hyperinflation

   A new currency and stabilisation plan tame runaway inflation, reshaping the economy and politics of the 1990s.

   Modern Democratic Brazil

   Sources: Brazil (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Africa

1. 🇰🇲COM

   Comoros · Politics & Power · September–October 1995

   Operation Kaskari and French intervention

   Bob Denard seizes Moroni with mercenaries in his final coup attempt; France intervenes in 'Operation Azalée' and removes him within days.

   Coups, Mercenaries and Instability

   Sources: Bob Denard (Wikipedia) · Comoros: History (Encyclopædia Britannica)

2. 🇬🇶GNQ

   Equatorial Guinea · Economy & Trade · March 1995

   Zafiro oil field discovered

   Mobil and partners discovered the major Zafiro oil field offshore Bioko Island in March 1995, the find that opened Equatorial Guinea's petroleum era.

   Obiang, oil, and inequality

   Sources: Zafiro Oil Field, Bioko Island, Gulf of Guinea (NS Energy) · Equatorial Guinea becomes an oil producer (Oil & Gas Journal)

3. 🇨🇮CIV

   Ivory Coast · Politics & Power · 1990s

   The politics of 'Ivoirité'

   President Bédié promoted 'Ivoirité', a doctrine of authentic Ivorian belonging used to exclude rivals such as Alassane Ouattara and to question the citizenship of northerners and immigrants, deepening a north–south rift.

   Ivoirité, civil war, and recovery

   Sources: History of Ivory Coast (Wikipedia) · Côte d'Ivoire Post-Gbagbo: Crisis Recovery (Congressional Research Service) · Côte d'Ivoire's Post-Electoral Crisis: Ouattara Rules but Can He Govern? (Journal of African Elections (EISA))

Asia

1. 🇱🇦LAO

   Laos · Culture & Ideas · 1995 CE

   Luang Prabang inscribed by UNESCO

   The former royal capital of Luang Prabang, a fusion of Lao and French colonial architecture at the meeting of the Mekong and Nam Khan, is added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

   The Lao People's Democratic Republic

   Sources: Town of Luang Prabang (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)

2. 🇶🇦QAT

   Qatar · Politics & Power · 27 June 1995

   Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa takes power

   Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani became emir in 1995, launching reforms and the development of Qatar's natural gas wealth that would make it one of the richest states in the world.

   The Gas Boom: Hamad, Al Jazeera and New Wealth

   Sources: Sheikh Hamad ibn Khalifa Al Thani (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Qatar: History (Persian Gulf, Oil, Gas) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

3. 🇹🇲TKM

   Turkmenistan · Politics & Power · 12 December 1995

   Permanent neutrality recognised by the UN

   The UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 50/80 welcoming Turkmenistan's declared permanent neutrality, the basis of its non-aligned foreign policy and a status unique in being recognised by a UN resolution.

   Independence and the Neutral Republic

   Sources: Permanent neutrality of Turkmenistan — General Assembly Resolution 50/80 (1995) (United Nations Digital Library) · Turkmenistan (Encyclopædia Britannica)

4. 🇻🇳VNM

   Vietnam · Politics & Power · 1995 CE

   Normalization with the U.S. and ASEAN membership

   Vietnam restores diplomatic relations with the United States and joins the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ending decades of isolation.

   Doi Moi Reforms and Modern Vietnam

   Sources: Vietnam (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Europe

1. 🇦🇹AUT

   Austria · Politics & Power · 1 Jan 1995

   Accession to the European Union

   Following a referendum on 12 June 1994 in which about two-thirds voted in favour, Austria joined the European Union on 1 January 1995, integrating the neutral republic into the European mainstream.

   The Second Republic: Neutrality, South Tyrol and Europe

   Sources: Austria in the EU (Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (BMEIA))

2. 🇧🇦BIH

   Bosnia and Herzegovina · Politics & Power · 21 Nov 1995

   Dayton Agreement initialled

   After negotiations led by Richard Holbrooke, the General Framework Agreement for Peace was initialled at Dayton, Ohio, ending the Bosnian War.

   The Dayton State and the European Path

   Sources: The Dayton Peace Agreement (General Framework Agreement for Peace) (Office of the High Representative (OHR)) · Dayton Accords (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

3. 🇧🇦BIH

   Bosnia and Herzegovina · Politics & Power · 14 Dec 1995

   Dayton Agreement signed in Paris

   The peace agreement was formally signed in Paris, preserving a single Bosnian state divided into two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, with an Office of the High Representative.

   The Dayton State and the European Path

   Sources: The Dayton Peace Agreement (General Framework Agreement for Peace) (Office of the High Representative (OHR)) · Dayton Accords (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

4. 🇧🇦BIH

   Bosnia and Herzegovina · War & Rupture · 11 Jul 1995

   The Srebrenica genocide

   After overrunning the UN 'safe area', Bosnian Serb forces under Ratko Mladić executed up to 8,000 Bosniak men and boys; the ICTY and ICJ ruled the killings genocide.

   Independence, the Bosnian War and the Srebrenica Genocide

   Sources: About the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica (United Nations) · Application of the Genocide Convention (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro) (International Court of Justice) · Radislav Krstić: first ICTY conviction for genocide (Srebrenica) (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (UN-IRMCT))

5. 🇭🇷HRV

   Croatia · War & Rupture · Aug 1995

   Operation Storm

   In August 1995 the Croatian army launched Operation Storm, which within days overran the Republic of Serbian Krajina and ended its existence, accompanied by the flight of tens of thousands of Serbs; generals later tried at the ICTY were acquitted on appeal in 2012.

   Independence, the War and the Modern Republic

   Sources: The Conflicts (former Yugoslavia) (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia) · ICTY Weekly Press Briefing, 21 November 2012 (Gotovina and Markac appeals judgement) (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia)

6. 🇫🇮FIN

   Finland · Politics & Power · 1 Jan 1995

   Finland joins the European Union

   After a 1994 referendum in which about 57 per cent voted yes, Finland joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 with Sweden and Austria, and later adopted the euro.

   Neutrality, the European Union and NATO

   Sources: Main outlines of Finnish history (thisisFINLAND (Finland Promotion Board)) · History of Finland (InfoFinland (Finnish public authorities))

7. 🇮🇪IRL

   Ireland · Economy & Trade · c. 1995–2007

   The Celtic Tiger

   From the mid-1990s, foreign direct investment and the single market fuelled rapid growth, the 'Celtic Tiger', turning one of western Europe's poorer countries into one of its most prosperous.

   The Republic, Europe and the Northern Question

   Sources: Benefits of EU membership for Ireland (European Commission, Representation in Ireland)

8. 🇱🇮LIE

   Liechtenstein · Economy & Trade

   Accession to the European Economic Area

   Liechtenstein joined the European Economic Area, integrating into the European single market as an EFTA state while remaining outside the European Union and preserving its Swiss customs union.

   A Wealthy Microstate: Finance, the ICJ Case and the Modern Constitution

   Sources: History of Liechtenstein (Embassy of the Principality of Liechtenstein, Washington D.C.) · The History of the Princely House of Liechtenstein (Fürstenhaus von Liechtenstein (official Princely House)) · Advantages of the customs and monetary union with Switzerland (Liechtenstein Finance)

9. 🇲🇰MKD

   North Macedonia · Politics & Power · 13 Sep 1995

   The Interim Accord with Greece

   Greece and the country signed an Interim Accord under which Greece agreed not to object to its membership of international bodies referred to by the provisional name.

   Independence and the Name Dispute with Greece

   Sources: Application of the Interim Accord of 13 September 1995 (the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia v. Greece), Judgment of 5 December 2011 (International Court of Justice) · A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition: North Macedonia (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian)

10. 🇸🇪SWE

    Sweden · Politics & Power · 1 Jan 1995

    Accession to the European Union

    After the end of the Cold War made strict neutrality obsolete, Sweden joined the European Union, while choosing to keep its own currency rather than adopt the euro.

    Neutrality, the People's Home and the Road to NATO

    Sources: Sweden: The welfare state (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Sweden: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

North America

1. 🇨🇦CAN

   Canada · Politics & Power · 30 October 1995

   Quebec sovereignty referendum

   Quebec voters narrowly rejected sovereignty in the 1995 referendum, the closest of two votes on independence, underlining the enduring tension over the place of Quebec within Canada.

   Modern Canada — multiculturalism, patriation, and reconciliation

   Sources: Canada (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

South America

1. 🇺🇾URY

   Uruguay · Culture & Ideas · inscribed 1995

   Colonia listed by UNESCO

   The historic quarter of Colonia del Sacramento, blending Portuguese, Spanish and post-colonial architecture, is inscribed as a World Heritage site.

   The Contested Frontier: Colonia and Montevideo

   Sources: Historic Quarter of the City of Colonia del Sacramento (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)

Oceania

1. 🇳🇿NZL

   New Zealand · Politics & Power

   Waikato-Tainui settlement and Crown apology

   The Crown signed a Deed of Settlement with Waikato-Tainui including a formal royal apology for the wars and confiscations of the 1860s, a model for later Treaty settlements such as Ngāi Tahu in 1998.

   The Māori renaissance and bicultural New Zealand

   Sources: Ngā whakataunga tiriti — Treaty of Waitangi settlement process (Te Ara — The Encyclopedia of New Zealand) · Raupatu — land confiscations (NZ History (Manatū Taonga — Ministry for Culture and Heritage))

Africa

1. 🇧🇯BEN

   Benin · Politics & Power

   Kérékou returns by election

   Having peacefully left office, Mathieu Kérékou returned to the presidency by winning the 1996 election, serving until term limits obliged him to step down in 2006.

   The National Conference and modern Benin

   Sources: Kérékou, Ahmed (Mathieu) 1933— (Encyclopedia.com) · Mathieu Kérékou (Wikipedia)

2. 🇨🇩COD

   DR Congo · War & Rupture · 1996–1997

   First Congo War

   A Rwanda- and Uganda-backed rebellion under Laurent-Désiré Kabila advances across the country against the collapsing Mobutu regime.

   Mobutu's Zaire

   Sources: Kabila, Laurent-Désiré (1939–2001) (BlackPast.org) · Mobutu Sese Seko (Wikipedia)

3. 🇬🇶GNQ

   Equatorial Guinea · Economy & Trade · August 1996

   Oil production begins

   The Zafiro field came on-stream in August 1996, less than eighteen months after discovery, launching Equatorial Guinea as an oil producer; output later peaked in the hundreds of thousands of barrels a day.

   Obiang, oil, and inequality

   Sources: Zafiro Oil Field, Bioko Island, Gulf of Guinea (NS Energy) · Equatorial Guinea becomes an oil producer (Oil & Gas Journal)

4. 🇬🇲GMB

   Gambia · Politics & Power

   Jammeh elected president

   After a transition to civilian rule under a new constitution, Jammeh was declared winner of the 1996 presidential election and sworn in, beginning a tenure he would extend through further votes in 2001, 2006 and 2011.

   The Jammeh era and the 2017 transition

   Sources: Yahya Jammeh (Wikipedia) · The Gambia (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

5. 🇱🇸LSO

   Lesotho · Politics & Power · 15 January 1996

   Death of Moshoeshoe II

   After exile and a brief restoration, King Moshoeshoe II dies in a car accident; his son Letsie III returns to the throne.

   The Kingdom in the Sky

   Sources: History of Lesotho (Wikipedia) · Moshoeshoe II (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

6. 🇿🇦ZAF

   South Africa · Politics & Power · signed 10 December 1996

   A new Constitution

   South Africa's final Constitution, with its justiciable Bill of Rights, was signed into law in 1996 and took effect in February 1997, widely regarded as among the most progressive in the world.

   Democratic South Africa since 1994

   Sources: Mandela signs SA Constitution into law (South African History Online) · South Africa (country, history and government) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

7. 🇿🇦ZAF

   South Africa · Politics & Power

   Truth and Reconciliation Commission

   Chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the TRC began public hearings into apartheid-era human rights abuses, offering conditional amnesty in exchange for full disclosure as a model of transitional justice.

   Democratic South Africa since 1994

   Sources: Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa) (Wikipedia) · South Africa Truth and Reconciliation Commission (1996–2002) (African Transitional Justice Hub (CSVR))

8. 🇹🇿TZA

   Tanzania · Politics & Power

   Dodoma confirmed as capital

   Tanzania advances the long-planned move of its capital to the central city of Dodoma, while Dar es Salaam remains the largest city and commercial centre.

   Modern Tanzania

   Sources: History of Tanzania (Wikipedia)

Asia

1. 🇦🇫AFG

   Afghanistan · Politics & Power

   The Taliban capture Kabul

   The Taliban, led by Mullah Omar, seize Kabul and proclaim the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, imposing a severe religious order and isolating the country internationally.

   The Taliban, Intervention and Return

   Sources: Mohammad Omar — Biography & Facts (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Afghanistan — 1996 Human Rights Report (U.S. Department of State)

2. 🇳🇵NPL

   Nepal · War & Rupture · 1996–2006

   Maoist insurgency

   The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) wages a decade-long armed insurgency that kills more than 12,000 people before a 2006 UN-mediated peace accord.

   Insurgency, Republic and Reconstruction

   Sources: Nepal — Fall of the monarchy (Encyclopædia Britannica)

3. 🇴🇲OMN

   Oman · Politics & Power

   Promulgation of the Basic Law

   Sultan Qaboos issued the Basic Law, Oman's first written constitution, defining the organs and guiding principles of the state.

   The Renaissance of Qaboos and Modern Oman

   Sources: Qaboos bin Said: Biography and Facts (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Oman: Restoration of Omani rule (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

4. 🇶🇦QAT

   Qatar · Culture & Ideas · 1 November 1996

   Al Jazeera launched

   Qatar founded Al Jazeera, the first independent Arabic-language satellite news channel, broadcasting from Doha and giving the small state global reach and influence.

   The Gas Boom: Hamad, Al Jazeera and New Wealth

   Sources: Al Jazeera (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Sheikh Hamad ibn Khalifa Al Thani (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

5. 🇹🇼TWN

   Taiwan · Politics & Power

   First direct presidential election

   Lee Teng-hui wins Taiwan's first direct, popular presidential election, becoming its first democratically elected president and completing the democratic transition.

   Democratisation and the Cross-Strait Dispute

   Sources: Lee Teng-hui (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Taiwan: Successors to Chiang Kai-shek (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

6. 🇹🇱TLS

   Timor-Leste · Politics & Power

   Nobel Peace Prize

   Bishop Carlos Belo and Jose Ramos-Horta share the Nobel Peace Prize for their work toward a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor.

   Occupation and the Long Resistance

   Sources: The Nobel Peace Prize 1996: Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and Jose Ramos-Horta (The Nobel Foundation (NobelPrize.org)) · Secretary-General welcomes award of 1996 Nobel Peace Prize to Bishop Belo and Jose Ramos-Horta (United Nations (SG/SM/6075))

North America

1. 🇧🇿BLZ

   Belize · Culture & Ideas

   Barrier Reef made a World Heritage site

   UNESCO inscribed the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System — seven protected areas including the Blue Hole and Half Moon Caye — as a World Heritage site, recognising the largest reef in the Atlantic-Caribbean and second-largest on Earth.

   Independent Belize and the Guatemalan question

   Sources: Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System (UNESCO World Heritage Centre) · Belize (country overview) (Encyclopædia Britannica)

2. 🇩🇴DOM

   Dominican Republic · Politics & Power · 1994-1996

   End of the Balaguer era

   After disputed 1994 elections, pressure forces Balaguer to shorten his term, opening the way to the competitive multiparty democracy of the modern republic.

   Intervention, Balaguer, and Democracy

   Sources: Joaquin Balaguer (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

3. 🇬🇹GTM

   Guatemala · Politics & Power · 29 Dec 1996

   Firm and Lasting Peace accords

   The government and the URNG sign the final peace agreement in Guatemala City, ending the civil war.

   Revolution, Coup, and Civil War

   Sources: Guatemala Peace Agreements, 1996 (Memory of the World) (UNESCO)

Africa

1. 🇰🇲COM

   Comoros · War & Rupture

   Anjouan and Mohéli secede

   Anjouan and Mohéli declare separation from the Comoros; a federal attempt to retake Anjouan by force is defeated, pushing the archipelago towards fragmentation.

   The Union and the Mayotte Question

   Sources: Comoros: History (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Union of Comoros (Encyclopedia.com)

2. 🇨🇬COG

   Congo · War & Rupture · June–October 1997

   Civil war returns Sassou Nguesso to power

   Civil war erupted in June 1997 between forces of President Lissouba and former president Sassou Nguesso; backed by Angolan troops, Sassou Nguesso's forces prevailed by October, Lissouba fled into exile, and Sassou Nguesso declared himself president.

   Democracy, civil war, and the return of Sassou Nguesso

   Sources: Denis Sassou Nguesso (Wikipedia) · Denis Sassou-Nguesso (Encyclopædia Britannica) · 1997 Human Rights Report: Republic of Congo (U.S. Department of State)

3. 🇨🇩COD

   DR Congo · Politics & Power · May 1997

   Mobutu falls; Kabila takes power

   Mobutu flees into exile and dies months later; Kabila seizes Kinshasa and restores the name Democratic Republic of the Congo.

   Mobutu's Zaire

   Sources: Kabila, Laurent-Désiré (1939–2001) (BlackPast.org) · Mobutu Sese Seko, president of Zaire (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Mobutu Sese Seko (Wikipedia)

4. 🇱🇷LBR

   Liberia · Politics & Power

   Charles Taylor elected president

   After a 1996 peace accord, Charles Taylor won the 1997 presidential election amid intimidation and war-weariness, ending the first civil war but not the underlying conflict.

   The civil wars and Charles Taylor

   Sources: Charles Taylor (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Liberia — accountability for civil war atrocities (Center for Justice and Accountability)

Asia

1. 🇰🇿KAZ

   Kazakhstan · Politics & Power

   Capital moved to Astana

   Nazarbayev relocates the capital from Almaty to Akmola on the northern steppe; renamed Astana ('capital') in 1998, it is rebuilt as a planned showcase city of modern architecture.

   Independent Kazakhstan

   Sources: Kazakhstan: Independent Kazakhstan (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Kazakhstan (Encyclopædia Britannica)

2. 🇱🇦LAO

   Laos · Politics & Power · 23 July 1997

   Laos joins ASEAN

   The Lao PDR is admitted to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, cementing its integration into the region after decades of isolation.

   The Lao People's Democratic Republic

   Sources: Lao PDR, ASEAN Member State (Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN))

3. 🇳🇵NPL

   Nepal · Religion

   Lumbini inscribed as World Heritage

   UNESCO inscribes Lumbini on the World Heritage List, recognising it as the birthplace of the Buddha and a centre of Buddhist pilgrimage since the 3rd century BCE.

   Lumbini and the Birth of the Buddha

   Sources: Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)

4. 🇶🇦QAT

   Qatar · Economy & Trade · mid-1990s

   North Field LNG development

   Qatar invested heavily in liquefied natural gas from its offshore North Field, becoming the world's leading LNG exporter and reaching among the highest per-capita incomes globally.

   The Gas Boom: Hamad, Al Jazeera and New Wealth

   Sources: Qatar: History (Persian Gulf, Oil, Gas) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

5. 🇰🇷KOR

   South Korea · Economy & Trade · 1997-1998 CE

   Asian financial crisis and IMF rescue

   A regional financial crisis forces South Korea to seek a major IMF bailout; sweeping reforms follow under President Kim Dae-jung.

   Democratization and Modern South Korea

   Sources: Kim Dae-Jung (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Korea (history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

6. 🇹🇯TJK

   Tajikistan · Politics & Power · 27 June 1997

   UN-brokered General Peace Agreement

   President Rahmon and United Tajik Opposition leader Said Abdullo Nuri sign the General Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and National Accord in Moscow, ending the civil war under UN auspices.

   Independence and Civil War

   Sources: UNMOT — United Nations Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (United Nations Peacekeeping) · Tajikistan — Independence (Encyclopædia Britannica)

Europe

1. 🇦🇱ALB

   Albania · Catastrophe

   Pyramid scheme collapse and unrest

   The collapse of fraudulent pyramid investment schemes in early 1997 wiped out the savings of many Albanians and triggered armed unrest that brought the state close to anarchy before order was restored.

   Transition, the 1997 Crisis, NATO and Europe

   Sources: History of Albania (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Albania (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. 🇸🇰SVK

   Slovakia · Politics & Power · 25 Sep 1997

   ICJ judgment on Gabčíkovo–Nagymaros

   The International Court of Justice ruled in the Gabčíkovo–Nagymaros Project case (Hungary/Slovakia) that both states had breached their obligations over the Danube dam treaty of 1977, ordering them to negotiate in good faith.

   Independent Slovakia in Europe

   Sources: Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros Project (Hungary/Slovakia) (International Court of Justice) · Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros Project, Judgment of 25 September 1997 (International Court of Justice)

Africa

1. 🇧🇫BFA

   Burkina Faso · Politics & Power · December 1998

   Murder of Norbert Zongo

   The investigative journalist Norbert Zongo is killed, a case that becomes a symbol of repression under Compaoré and triggers mass protests.

   Compaoré, Uprising and the Sahel Insurgency

   Sources: Norbert Zongo (Wikipedia) · Blaise Compaoré (Wikipedia)

2. 🇨🇩COD

   DR Congo · War & Rupture · Aug 1998

   Second Congo War begins

   Kabila breaks with Rwanda and Uganda; nine nations and many militias are drawn into 'Africa's World War,' the deadliest conflict since 1945.

   Africa's World War & After

   Sources: Second Congo War (Wikipedia)

3. 🇪🇷ERI

   Eritrea · War & Rupture · May 1998 - June 2000

   Border war with Ethiopia

   A dispute over Badme escalates into a full-scale war that kills tens of thousands and displaces more than a million before a ceasefire.

   Independence, Border War and the Closed State

   Sources: Eritrean-Ethiopian War (1998 invasion of Ethiopia) (Wikipedia) · Algiers Agreement (2000) (Wikipedia)

4. 🇬🇼GNB

   Guinea-Bissau · War & Rupture · 1998–1999

   The civil war

   A military mutiny led by Ansumane Mané escalated into a civil war that drew in Senegalese and Guinean troops, devastated Bissau and displaced hundreds of thousands before Vieira was ousted in May 1999.

   Instability, civil war and the cocaine route

   Sources: History of Guinea-Bissau (Wikipedia) · Guinea-Bissau (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

5. 🇱🇸LSO

   Lesotho · Politics & Power

   Disputed election and SADC intervention

   A contested election sparks unrest and a South African-led SADC military intervention; much of Maseru is left in ruins.

   The Kingdom in the Sky

   Sources: History of Lesotho (Wikipedia)

6. 🇱🇸LSO

   Lesotho · Economy & Trade · 1998–2002

   Katse and Mohale dams completed

   The Katse Dam (Phase 1A) and then the Mohale Dam are completed, sending Lesotho's mountain water to South Africa's Vaal system in exchange for royalties.

   The Kingdom in the Sky

   Sources: The Lesotho Highlands Water Project is 40 years old and going strong (The Conversation) · Lesotho (Wikipedia) · Lesotho Highlands Water Project II — environmental and social assessment (African Development Bank)

Asia

1. 🇰🇭KHM

   Cambodia · War & Rupture · 1998 CE

   Death of Pol Pot and collapse of the Khmer Rouge

   The Khmer Rouge insurgency disintegrates and Pol Pot dies, ending the movement responsible for the genocide of the 1970s.

   Occupation, the UN Transition, and the Restored Kingdom

   Sources: Pol Pot (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Khmer Rouge (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. 🇮🇩IDN

   Indonesia · Politics & Power · 21 May 1998

   Fall of Suharto and Reformasi

   Amid economic collapse and mass protests, Suharto resigns after 32 years in power, launching the Reformasi era of democratic reform and decentralisation.

   Sukarno, the New Order and Democratic Indonesia

   Sources: Fall of Suharto (Wikipedia) · Indonesia (toward independence; Japanese occupation; after Suharto) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

3. 🇵🇰PAK

   Pakistan · War & Rupture · 28 May 1998

   Pakistan conducts nuclear tests

   Following India's tests, Pakistan detonates nuclear devices in Balochistan, openly joining the ranks of nuclear-armed states.

   Bangladesh, Military Rule and the Modern Republic

   Sources: Pakistan: A Country Study (Library of Congress, Federal Research Division)

Europe

1. 🇮🇪IRL

   Ireland · Politics & Power · 10 Apr 1998

   Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement

   The 1998 Agreement settled the conflict over Northern Ireland on the principle of consent and created power-sharing institutions; Ireland amended Articles 2 and 3 of its Constitution to replace its territorial claim with a peaceful aspiration to unity.

   The Republic, Europe and the Northern Question

   Sources: The Agreement Reached in the Multi-Party Negotiations (Good Friday/Belfast Agreement) (PA-X Peace Agreements Database, University of Edinburgh) · The Belfast Agreement / Good Friday Agreement 1998 (Northern Ireland Assembly Education Service)

2. 🇽🇰KOS

   Kosovo · War & Rupture

   KLA insurgency and Serbian crackdown

   The Kosovo Liberation Army's insurgency against Serbian rule met an escalating campaign by Serbian and Yugoslav forces, killing many Albanians and displacing hundreds of thousands during 1998.

   War, NATO Intervention and UN Administration

   Sources: Kosovo conflict (1998-99 war and NATO intervention) (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · NATO's role in Kosovo (KFOR; Operation Allied Force, 1999) (NATO) · Under Orders: War Crimes in Kosovo (1998-99 expulsions and killings) (Human Rights Watch)

North America

1. 🇭🇳HND

   Honduras · Catastrophe · Oct-Nov 1998

   Hurricane Mitch

   One of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes devastates Honduras, killing some 7,000 people and ruining infrastructure and crops.

   Military Rule and the Cold-War Frontier

   Sources: Hurricane Mitch (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Honduras: History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

South America

1. 🇨🇱CHL

   Chile · Politics & Power · 1998 CE

   Pinochet arrested in London

   Augusto Pinochet is detained in London on a foreign warrant for human-rights crimes, a landmark in the pursuit of accountability before his death in 2006.

   Return to Democracy and Modern Chile

   Sources: Augusto Pinochet (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. 🇻🇪VEN

   Venezuela · Politics & Power · Dec 1998

   Chavez elected president

   Hugo Chavez wins the presidency promising to sweep aside the old two-party order, launching the Bolivarian project.

   The Bolivarian Revolution and the Crisis

   Sources: Hugo Chavez (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Venezuela (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Oceania

1. 🇳🇨NCL

   New Caledonia · Politics & Power · 8 November 1998

   Accord ratified by referendum

   New Caledonian voters approved the Nouméa Accord by about 72%, and its provisions were written into the French Constitution (Articles 76–77).

   Matignon and the Nouméa Accord

   Sources: Agreement on New Caledonia signed in Nouméa on 5 May 1998 (Nouméa Accord) (Government of France (Embassy of France)) · New Caledonia — The United Nations and Decolonization (United Nations, Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs)

2. 🇳🇨NCL

   New Caledonia · Formation · 5 May 1998

   Nouméa Accord signed

   The Nouméa Accord set out a gradual, declared-irreversible transfer of powers, recognition of Kanak identity and up to three referendums on full sovereignty, making New Caledonia a sui generis collectivity within the French Republic.

   Matignon and the Nouméa Accord

   Sources: Agreement on New Caledonia signed in Nouméa on 5 May 1998 (Nouméa Accord) (Government of France (Embassy of France)) · New Caledonia — The United Nations and Decolonization (United Nations, Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs) · New Caledonia — History (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

3. 🇸🇧SLB

   Solomon Islands · War & Rupture · 1998–2003

   The Tensions

   Ethnic conflict between Guadalcanal and Malaitan groups around Honiara displaces thousands and, in 2000, topples Prime Minister Ulufa'alu.

   Tensions, Recovery and Great-Power Attention

   Sources: Australian peacekeepers in Solomon Islands, 2000–2017 (Australian Government (Anzac Portal, Dept of Veterans' Affairs)) · History of Solomon Islands (Encyclopædia Britannica)

Africa

1. 🇩🇿DZA

   Algeria · Politics & Power · 1999–2005

   Bouteflika and national reconciliation

   Elected in 1999, Abdelaziz Bouteflika ends the civil war through a Civil Concord and the 2005 Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation.

   Independent Algeria: Revolution, Civil War and Hirak

   Sources: Abdelaziz Bouteflika (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Algeria: Civil war—the Islamists versus the army (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. 🇰🇲COM

   Comoros · Politics & Power

   Azali Assoumani seizes power

   Army chief Azali Assoumani takes power in a coup amid the secession crisis, casting himself as the guarantor of national unity.

   The Union and the Mayotte Question

   Sources: Comoros: History (Encyclopædia Britannica) · Union of Comoros (Encyclopedia.com)

3. 🇩🇯DJI

   Djibouti · Politics & Power

   Ismail Omar Guelleh becomes president

   Gouled steps down and his nephew and chief of staff Ismail Omar Guelleh wins the presidency, beginning a long tenure that continues to the present.

   Civil War, Guelleh and the Republic of Bases

   Sources: Ismaïl Omar Guelleh (Wikipedia) · Djibouti (country and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

4. 🇨🇮CIV

   Ivory Coast · Politics & Power · 24 December 1999

   The first coup d'état

   General Robert Guéï overthrew President Henri Konan Bédié in the country's first military coup, ending the PDCI's unbroken hold on power since independence.

   Ivoirité, civil war, and recovery

   Sources: History of Ivory Coast (Wikipedia) · Côte d'Ivoire Post-Gbagbo: Crisis Recovery (Congressional Research Service)

5. 🇱🇷LBR

   Liberia · War & Rupture

   Second Liberian Civil War begins

   The rebel group LURD launched a new insurgency against Taylor's government from the north, opening a second civil war that would eventually besiege Monrovia.

   The civil wars and Charles Taylor

   Sources: Second Liberian Civil War (1999–2003) (BlackPast.org) · Second Liberian Civil War (Wikipedia)

6. 🇲🇦MAR

   Morocco · Politics & Power

   Accession of Mohammed VI

   Mohammed VI succeeds Hassan II and undertakes gradual reforms, including a revised family law code and major development projects.

   Independence and the Modern Kingdom

   Sources: Muhammad VI (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

7. 🇳🇬NGA

   Nigeria · Politics & Power · 29 May 1999

   Return to civilian rule and the Fourth Republic

   The military handed power to the elected president Olusegun Obasanjo, ending sixteen years of military government and inaugurating the Fourth Republic, Nigeria's longest period of continuous civilian rule.

   The Fourth Republic and modern Nigeria

   Sources: Abacha, Abiola, and Nigeria's 1999 Transition to Civilian Rule (Council on Foreign Relations) · Nigeria (country overview and history) (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Asia

1. 🇰🇭KHM

   Cambodia · Politics & Power · 1999 CE

   Cambodia joins ASEAN

   Cambodia becomes a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, marking its reintegration into regional and international affairs after decades of war and isolation.

   Modern Cambodia: Hun Sen and Hun Manet

   Sources: Cambodia (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. 🇯🇴JOR

   Jordan · Politics & Power · 7 February 1999

   Abdullah II succeeds his father

   On the death of King Hussein, his son Abdullah II ascended the throne, going on to promote economic reform while steering Jordan through war in Iraq, the Arab Spring and a vast refugee influx.

   Modern Jordan: Hussein, the Wars, Peace and Abdullah II

   Sources: Abdullah II: Biography, Education, Family, and Facts (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · King Abdullah II of Jordan (EBSCO Research Starters)

3. 🇹🇱TLS

   Timor-Leste · Independence · 30 August 1999

   Independence referendum

   In a UN-supervised popular consultation, 78.5 per cent of Timorese reject autonomy within Indonesia and choose a transition to independence.

   The Referendum and UN Transitional Administration

   Sources: UNTAET Background (United Nations Peacekeeping) · East Timor (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

4. 🇹🇱TLS

   Timor-Leste · War & Rupture · September 1999

   Post-ballot violence and INTERFET

   Pro-Indonesian militias unleash killings and destruction, displacing some 500,000 people; the Australian-led INTERFET deploys from 20 September to restore order.

   The Referendum and UN Transitional Administration

   Sources: UNTAET Background (United Nations Peacekeeping)

5. 🇹🇱TLS

   Timor-Leste · Politics & Power · 25 October 1999

   UN administration established

   Security Council Resolution 1272 creates UNTAET, granting the United Nations full authority to govern East Timor through the transition to independence.

   The Referendum and UN Transitional Administration

   Sources: UNTAET Background (United Nations Peacekeeping) · UNTAET (United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor) (United Nations Peacekeeping)

6. 🇹🇲TKM

   Turkmenistan · Politics & Power

   Niyazov declared president for life

   Parliament declared Saparmurat Niyazov ('Türkmenbaşy') president for life, the apex of a personality cult that included renaming the calendar and making his Ruhnama compulsory reading.

   Independence and the Neutral Republic

   Sources: Saparmurad Niyazov (Encyclopædia Britannica)

Europe

1. 🇧🇾BLR

   Belarus · Politics & Power · 8 Dec 1999

   Treaty on the Union State with Russia

   Lukashenka and Yeltsin signed a Treaty on the Creation of a Union State, a blueprint for deep Russian-Belarusian integration that has bound the two countries ever closer.

   Chernobyl, Independence and the Lukashenka Era

   Sources: Treaty on the Creation of a Union State (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Alexander Lukashenko (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

2. 🇧🇦BIH

   Bosnia and Herzegovina · Politics & Power

   Brčko District established

   Binding arbitration under Annex 2 created the Brčko District, a self-governing unit held in condominium by both entities under the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

   The Dayton State and the European Path

   Sources: Brčko Arbitration and the establishment of the Brčko District (Office of the High Representative (OHR))

3. 🇽🇰KOS

   Kosovo · Catastrophe · Mar–Jun 1999

   Mass expulsion of Kosovo Albanians

   Serbian and Yugoslav forces forcibly expelled some 862,000 ethnic Albanians from Kosovo, uprooting more than 80 percent of the population, with thousands killed in a systematic campaign later prosecuted as war crimes.

   War, NATO Intervention and UN Administration

   Sources: Under Orders: War Crimes in Kosovo (1998-99 expulsions and killings) (Human Rights Watch)

4. 🇽🇰KOS

   Kosovo · War & Rupture · 24 Mar 1999

   NATO air campaign begins

   After the failure of talks at Rambouillet, NATO launched Operation Allied Force against Yugoslav forces on 24 March 1999, a 78-day air campaign intended to halt the humanitarian catastrophe in Kosovo.

   War, NATO Intervention and UN Administration

   Sources: NATO's role in Kosovo (KFOR; Operation Allied Force, 1999) (NATO)

5. 🇽🇰KOS

   Kosovo · Politics & Power · 10 Jun 1999

   UN Resolution 1244 and UNMIK

   The Security Council adopted Resolution 1244, ending the war, placing Kosovo under UN interim administration (UNMIK) with a NATO-led KFOR security force, while reaffirming Yugoslav sovereignty and deferring final status.

   War, NATO Intervention and UN Administration

   Sources: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (10 June 1999) (United Nations / UNMIK) · NATO's role in Kosovo (KFOR; Operation Allied Force, 1999) (NATO)

6. 🇷🇸SRB

   Serbia · War & Rupture · 24 Mar – Jun 1999

   Kosovo War and NATO bombing

   After fighting between Yugoslav forces and the Kosovo Liberation Army and the displacement of Albanian civilians, NATO bombed Yugoslavia for some eleven weeks until Milošević agreed to withdraw from Kosovo.

   The Breakup of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo War

   Sources: Kosovo conflict (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

7. 🇷🇸SRB

   Serbia · Politics & Power · 10 Jun 1999

   UN Security Council Resolution 1244

   The Security Council placed Kosovo under an international civil (UNMIK) and security presence, granting substantial autonomy while reaffirming the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yugoslavia.

   The Breakup of Yugoslavia and the Kosovo War

   Sources: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) (United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK))

North America

1. 🇬🇹GTM

   Guatemala · Politics & Power · 1999 CE

   Memory of Silence report

   The UN-backed Commission for Historical Clarification publishes its findings, attributing the bulk of wartime atrocities to the state and finding acts of genocide against the Maya.

   Guatemala Since the Peace

   Sources: Guatemala Peace Agreements, 1996 (Memory of the World) (UNESCO)

2. 🇵🇦PAN

   Panama · Politics & Power · 31 Dec 1999

   Canal transferred to Panama

   At noon, the United States hands the Panama Canal to Panama, ending nearly a century of foreign control.

   Torrijos, the Treaties, and Noriega

   Sources: The Panama Canal and the Torrijos-Carter Treaties (U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian) · Panama (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

3. 🇹🇹TTO

   Trinidad and Tobago · Economy & Trade

   Atlantic LNG begins exports

   The Atlantic LNG plant at Point Fortin started production, confirming Trinidad and Tobago's shift from oil to natural gas and making it a major global LNG exporter.

   A modern energy nation

   Sources: Historical Facts on the Petroleum Industry of Trinidad and Tobago (Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries, Trinidad and Tobago)

South America

1. 🇻🇪VEN

   Venezuela · Politics & Power · Dec 1999

   The Bolivarian Constitution

   A new constitution, approved by referendum, renames the country the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and enlarges presidential and state power.

   The Bolivarian Revolution and the Crisis

   Sources: Hugo Chavez (Encyclopaedia Britannica) · Venezuela (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Oceania

1. 🇫🇯FJI

   Fiji · Politics & Power

   First Indo-Fijian prime minister

   Mahendra Chaudhry, leader of the Fiji Labour Party, becomes the country's first Indo-Fijian prime minister after a landslide election.

   Independence Tested: The Cycle of Coups

   Sources: Mahendra Chaudhry — prime minister of Fiji (Encyclopædia Britannica)