10/30/2022Da Silva wins presidency10/28/2018Bolsonaro elected president09/30/2016Rousseff impeached; Michel Temer assumes presidency09/14/2016Prosecutors file corruption charges against Lula da Silva04/18/2016The House of Representatives impeaches Dilma Rousseff09/07/2014Effects of corruption scandal Operation Car Wash widespread in the government08/18/2011Corruption accusations affecting Rousseff’s administration10/31/2010Dilma Rousseff elected president10/30/2006Lula da Silva wins second term as president06/04/2005Corruption scandal known as Operation Car Wash impacting government10/27/2002Lula da Silva elected president11/13/1998IMF agrees to $41.3 billion bailout for Brazil09/03/1994Fernando Cardoso elected president
06/18/2021Ebrahim Raisi elected president01/02/2020US kills high-ranking Iranian05/08/2019Iran ends some aspects of nuclear agreement04/08/2019US adds sanctions on Iran
10/13/2022New heads of state01/02/2020US kills high-ranking Iranian10/02/2018Abdul Mahdi named prime minister12/08/2017Iraq declares victory over the Islamic State
11/27/2024Ceasefire in Lebanon-Israel conflict12/22/2022Netanyahu forms new government11/03/2022Netanyahu coalition wins election06/20/2022New elections called06/13/2021New coalition government takes office12/22/2020New elections called04/20/2020Agreement on unity government03/26/2020Gantz elected parliament speaker09/17/2019Election produces no majority party
10/31/2021Ruling coalition retains majority09/29/2021Kishida to be prime minister08/25/2020Abe resigns for health reasons07/21/2019Abe reelected with reduced majority
08/01/2021General assumes prime ministership02/01/2021Military resumes control11/09/2020Suu Kyi’s party claims election win10/10/2016Outburst of violence between government and Rohingya Muslim minority
04/07/2022Hadi transfers powers01/05/2021Qatar blockade ended10/09/2018Disappearance of journalist leads to international attention11/04/2017Anti-corruption crackdown
10/24/2023New government formed01/07/2020Sanchez re-elected prime minister04/28/2019Socialists win plurality06/01/2018Socialists eject Rajoy and take control of government
12/08/2024Government falls12/08/2024Government falls01/03/2020US kills high-ranking Iranian12/18/2018US announces withdrawal of troops from Syria09/04/2018Assault on Idlib09/26/2016Government attempt to retake Aleppo.09/09/2016Ceasefire08/24/2016Turkish troops enter Syria.08/23/2016Kurdish truce with Syria.09/30/2015Russia enters war.09/10/2014US bombing Islamic State in Syria01/24/2014Geneva peace conference 201409/25/2013Islamic State increasing in Syria08/20/2013Government accused of using chemical weapons03/18/2011Beginning of unrest in Syria that leads to civil war05/21/2008Negotiations with Israel about Golan Heights05/29/2007Bashar al-Assad re-elected10/28/2005Preliminary UN report on Syrian responsibility for murder of Lebanon’s Rafik Hariri03/06/2005Syrian intelligence officers begin to leave Lebanon06/09/2000Hafez al-Assad dies11/12/1970Hafez al-Assad takes power
11/21/2021Ruling party reelected12/07/2020Ruling oalition wins legislature01/05/2020Chaos in National Assembly election08/18/2017Constitutional assembly assumes the powers of the legislature.12/06/2015Opposition wins legislature
Continuing drought caused by El Niño in the Pacific Ocean reduces flow through the Panama Canal so much that shipping is severely impacted.
05/06/2019
Cortizo wins presidency
Cortizo declared the winner with 33% of the vote to Roux’s 31%. Roux says the results are too close for him to concede, but the Panama Electoral Council says the results are “irreversible.”
05/05/2019
Presidential election mainly focused on the Odebrecht scandal and its Panamanian projects. The company has admitted to $59 million in bribes in Panama. However, Pres Varela has refused to cancel any contracts. Leading candidate in polls is Laurentino “Nito” Cortizo of the Democratic Revolutionary Party. His closest rival is Romulo Roux of the Democratic Change Party, who is supported by jailed former president Martinelli.
02/13/2019
EU adds Saudi Arabia, Panama, and Libya, among others, to its list of countries scrutinized for money laundering and terrorist financing.
09/11/2018
US extradites former president Ricardo Martinelli on charges of embezzlement.
02/21/2018
South Korea signs free-trade agreement with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Panama.
10/02/2017
Pres. Juan Carlos Varela accused of accepting bribes from Odebrecht, the Brazilian firm widely involved in corruption in government throughout South and Central America.
08/01/2017
Odebrecht agrees to pay $220 million to Panama and to cooperate with investigations.
05/04/2014
Varela wins presidency
Vice-president Juan Carlos Varela of the Partido Pamaneĩsta wins with 39% of the vote, beating José Domingo Arias of the Democratic Change Party, who won 32% of the vote, and Juan Carlos Navarro of the PRD, who gained 28% of the vote.
05/03/2009
Martinelli wins presidency
Businessman Ricardo Martinelli of the Democratic Change Party is elected president with over 60% of the vote, beating candidate of the ruling Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD)-People’s Party. Former president Guillermo Endara was third.
