A POLITICAL CHRONOLOGY OF EUROPE A POLITICAL CHRONOLOGY OF EUROPE FIRST EDITION First Edition 2001 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge's collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” © Europa Publications Limited 2001 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE, United Kingdom (A member of the Taylor & Francis Group) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be photocopied, recorded, or otherwise reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN 0-203-40340-1 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-41016-5 Adobe e-Reader Format ISBN 1-85743-113-8 (Print Edition) Foreword This is the first title in a new six-volume series of Political Chronologies of the World. Forthcoming titles will deal with Central, South and East Asia, the Middle East, Africa, South-East Asia and Oceania, and the Americas. This volume covers the entirety of Western, Central and Eastern Europe, an area spanning from Greenland in the west to the Russian Federation in the east. Although the book includes greater coverage of more-recent events—particularly in countries with a recent history of political upheaval—it also provides invaluable detail on the early history of each nation. Each chronology begins at least as early as the emergence of an entity resembling the modern nation, and in many cases considerably earlier. In addition to coverage of purely political events, each title in the series also includes details of the principal economic, cultural and social landmarks in the history of each nation. Examples might include the adoption of new languages, alphabets, calendars or religions. The principal events in the histories of dependencies and external territories lying within Europe may be found in the chapter dealing with the relevant sovereign state. Entries for territories and dependencies of European countries in other parts of the world will be found in the appropriate volume for that region. This series aims to be the first point of reference for concise information on the history of each nation in the world. It is hoped that the volumes in the series will enable readers easily to locate self-contained entries on the period and area in which their interest lies. February 2001 Contents 1 Albania 9 Andorra 11 Austria 16 Belarus 25 Belgium 30 Bosnia and Herzegovina 44 Bulgaria 51 Croatia 63 The Czech Republic 71 Denmark 76 Estonia 83 Finland 87 France 95 Germany 102 Greece 109 Hungary 116 Iceland 119 Ireland 124 Italy 131 Latvia 138 Liechtenstein 141 Lithuania 147 Luxembourg 151 Macedonia 160 Malta 164 Moldova 172 Monaco 175 The Netherlands 179 Norway 183 Poland 192 Portugal 197 Romania 206 The Russian Federation 225 San Marino 227 Slovakia 234 Slovenia 240 Spain 245 Sweden 248 Switzerland 253 Ukraine 262 The United Kingdom 270 The Vatican City 272 Yugoslavia Abbreviations AD anno Domini Adm. Admiral BC before Christ Brig. Brigadier c. circa Col Colonel Dr Doctor ECU European Currency Unit etc. et cetera Gen. General km kilometre(s) Lt Lieutenant m. million Maj. Major Mgr Monsignor MP Member of Parliament Prof. Professor SS Saints St Saint UN United Nations USA United States of America USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Albania 168 BC: Illyria (which included modern-day Albania) was annexed by the Roman Empire. AD 395: Following a division of the administration of the Roman Empire, Illyria was ruled by the Eastern Roman (‘Byzantine’) Emperor in Constantinople (now Istanbul in Turkey). 6th–7th centuries: Slavs invaded the Balkan Peninsula. 11th century: Vlachs (Wallachians) migrated into the territory still occupied by the remnants of the Thracian-Illyrian population. 1385: Ottoman (Turkish) forces reached the Albanian coast. 1443: Gjergj Kastrioti (Skënderbeu or Skenderbeg) led Albanians in a revolt against Ottoman dominance. 1468: Death of Skënderbeu. 1478: The Ottomans established full control over Albania and, under their rule, many Albanians converted to Islam. 1756: Mehemet of Bushan established an independent principality in northern Albania. 1787: Ali Pasha of Tepelenë (Janina) established an independent principality in southern Albania and neighbouring territories. 1822: Ottoman forces overthrew Ali Pasha. 1831: Mustafa Pasha, of the Bushan dynasty, was overthrown. 1878: The Congress of Berlin allotted parts of Albanian territory to Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia. The Albanian League for the Defence of the Rights of the Albanian Nation was established. 1881: The Albanian League was disbanded by the Ottomans. 1910: An uprising against Ottoman rule was suppressed by Turkish forces. October 1912: The First Balkan War began; Albania was occupied by neighbouring powers. 28 November 1912: A national convention, convened in Vlorë, proclaimed the independence of Albania; Ismail Qemal was appointed President. July 1913: The London Ambassadors’ Conference recognized the principle of Albanian independence, but designated the country a protectorate, under the control of the Great Powers; Kosovo was granted to Serbia; other territories were gained by Greece. March 1914: Prince William of Wied, who had been appointed ruler of the Albanian protectorate by the Great Powers, arrived in Albania. August 1914: Italy and Greece occupied southern Albania at the outbreak of the First World War. September 1914: Prince William of Wied left Albania, following local opposition to his rule. April 1915: The secret Treaty of London was signed, which provided for much of Albania to be partitioned between Greece, Italy, Montenegro and Serbia. A political chronology of europe 2 January 1920: The Congress of Lushnjë reaffirmed Albania’s independence and appointed a new Government; Tirana (Tiranë) was declared the capital of Albania. August 1920: Italy agreed to withdraw its forces from Albania and recognize Albanian independence. December 1920: Albania was admitted to the League of Nations. 10 June 1924: After an armed uprising, a Government headed by Fan Noli came to power. 24 December 1924: The Government of Fan Noli was overthrown by forces led by Ahmet Zogu. January 1925: The Republic of Albania was proclaimed; Ahmet Zogu was appointed President. September 1928: A monarchy was established, with Zogu proclaiming himself King Zog I. April 1939: Italian troops invaded Albania; King Zog was forced into exile. The union of Albania and Italy under the Italian Crown was subsequently proclaimed. November 1941: The Communist Party of Albania was founded; Enver Hoxha became its first leader. September 1942: The National Liberation Front, a Communist-led resistance organization, was established. September 1943: Italy surrendered to the Allies; Albania was invaded by Nazi German forces. 1943–44: Fierce fighting occurred between Nazi forces and resistance groups, and also between resistance groups of different political persuasions. 24–28 May 1944: The Congress of Përmet established, as a provisional government, the Anti-Fascist Committee for National Liberation, headed by Enver Hoxha. 29 November 1944: The National Liberation Front proclaimed the liberation of Albania. 2 December 1945: Elections with only Communist candidates took place; the Communists, as the Democratic Front, won some 90% of the votes cast. 11 January 1946: The People’s Republic of Albania was proclaimed; King Zog was declared deposed. 1948: Close relations with Yugoslavia were ended after Yugoslavia was expelled from the Communist Information Bureau (Cominform). The Albanian Communist Party was renamed the Party of Labour of Albania (PLA). 1949: Albania joined the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA). Koci Xoxe (former Minister of the Interior) and other officials were executed as alleged pro- Yugoslav traitors. 1954: Hoxha resigned as Chairman of the Council of Ministers (head of government), but retained effective power as First Secretary of the PLA. Mehmet Shehu was appointed head of government. 1955: Albania joined the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact). The Soviet rapprochement with Yugoslavia strained Soviet-Albanian relations. 1961: The USSR denounced Albania and severed diplomatic relations after Hoxha announced his support for the Chinese Communist leader, Mao Zedong, in his ideological conflict with the USSR. Albania 3 1962: Albania formally left the CMEA. 1967: Religious worship was outlawed and all mosques and churches were closed. 1968: Albania formally left the Warsaw Pact. 1972: Improved US-Chinese relations were denounced by Albania. 1975: Gen. Beqir Balluku, who had been dismissed as Minister of Defence in 1974, was executed as an alleged pro-Chinese traitor. 1976: A new Constitution was adopted; the country’s name was changed to the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania. 1978: Albania declared its support for Viet Nam, in its conflict with the People’s Republic of China; China suspended all military and economic ties. December 1981: Mehmet Shehu, head of government, died in a shooting incident. There were subsequent allegations that he had been murdered. November 1982: Ramiz Alia replaced Haxhi Lleshi as Chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly (head of state). April 1985: Death of Enver Hoxha. He was succeeded as First Secretary of the PLA by Ramiz Alia. August 1987: In an attempt to improve relations, Greece ended the technical state of war which had existed between it and Albania since 1945. December 1989: