Rulers
May 1996
1
India: P. Shiv Shanker resigns as governor of Kerala. On May 4 Khurshid Alam Khan is sworn in as new governor.
United States: Former treasury secretary (1969-71) David M. Kennedy dies.
2
Malawi: President Bakili Muluzi reshuffles his cabinet, dropping three of his senior ministers and the country's second vice-president, Chakufwa Chihana. Foreign Minister Edward Bwanali is moved to irrigation and water development. The new foreign minister is George Ntafu, formerly transport minister.
3
India: Mohammed Shafi Qureshi, the governor of Madhya Pradesh, takes over the additional charge as governor of Uttar Pradesh, following the resignation of Motilal Vora.
Yong |
Malaysia: The chief minister of Sabah, Salleh Said Keruak, resigns in line with a promise made to rotate the job among the state's three main ethnic groups. His successor Yong Teck Lee is sworn in May 28.
4
Bulgaria: Interior Minister Lyubomir Nachev resigns. Nikolay Dobrev succeeds him on May 10.
5
Dominican Republic: In a cabinet reshuffle, Caonabo Javier Castillo becomes foreign minister.
Mauritius: Sir Gaëtan Duval, former foreign minister (1969-73), dies.
Niger: Foreign Minister Mohamed Bazoum leaves the cabinet to prepare the July presidential elections. He is succeeded by André Salifou.
Aznar | 
Matutes |
Spain: José María Aznar is sworn in as prime minister. He names Abel Matutes as foreign minister. Other cabinet members include Eduardo Serra (defense), Jaime Mayor Oreja (interior), and Rodrigo Rato (economy and finance).
Vanuatu: Former French resident commissioner of the New Hebrides (1949-58) Pierre Anthonioz (also high commissioner of Mauritania 1959-60) dies.
6
Malaysia: Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad says the chief minister of Kedah, Osman Aroff, has handed in his resignation. Aroff later says he was asked to resign.
7
Association of Southeast Asian Nations: Former secretary-general (1980-82) Narciso G. Reyes dies.
8
Swaziland: King Mswati III fires his prime minister, Prince Jameson Mbilini Dlamini. Sishayi Nxumalo becomes acting prime minister.
9
South Africa: The National Party led by Deputy President F.W. de Klerk says it is quitting President Nelson Mandela's unity government to go into opposition.
Uganda: Presidential elections are won by incumbent Yoweri Museveni, with 75.5% of the vote, over Paul Ssemogerere and Muhammad Mayanja. Turnout is 72.6%.
10
Karunanidhi | 
Mahanta | 
Bansi Lal | 
Nayanar |
India: Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao tenders his resignation following a decisive defeat of his Congress Party in general elections held on April 27, May 2, and May 7. The Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies win 196 seats in the Lok Sabha, the 545-seat lower house of parliament, ahead of Congress with 140 and the National Front-Left Front with 119, with the rest going to regional parties and independents. As a result of state assembly polls held alongside the general election, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayaram Jayalalitha of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party, is replaced by Muthuvel Karunanidhi of the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam; also resigning are chief ministers Bhumidhar Barman of Assam (succeeded by Prafulla Kumar Mahanta), Bhajan Lal of Haryana (succeeded by Bansi Lal), A.K. Antony of Kerala (succeeded by E.K. Nayanar), and V. Vaithilingam of Pondicherry (succeeded by R.V. Janakiraman). In West Bengal the Left Front led by Chief Minister Jyoti Basu gets a solid majority.
Paraguay: Foreign Minister Luis María Ramírez Boettner resigns. He is succeeded by Rubén Melgarejo Lanzoni.
11
Nigeria: Former president (1963-66) Nnamdi Azikiwe dies.
12
French Polynesia: In elections to the Territorial Assembly, the Rassemblement du Peuple of President Gaston Flosse receives 38.7% of the vote (22 seats), Oscar Temaru's pro-independence Serviteur du Peuple 24.8% (10 seats), Nouvelle Patrie 15.8% (5 seats), Nouvelle Etoile 5.5% (1 seat), Vrai Cap 5.3% (1 seat), Alliance 2000 3% (1 seat), and Te Henua Enata Kotoa 1.2% (1 seat). Turnout is 72.7%. On May 28, the Territorial Assembly confirms Flosse as president with 28 votes against 11 for Temaru.
16
Dominican Republic: José Francisco Peña Gómez of the Dominican Revolutionary Party leads in the first round of presidential elections with 45.9%, ahead of Leonel Fernández of the Dominican Liberation Party with 38.9% and Jacinto Peynado Garrigosa of the Social Christian Reformist Party with 15%. Turnout is 78.6%.
India: BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee is sworn in as prime minister. He will also be foreign minister. He appoints Pramod Mahajan as defense minister, Jaswant Singh as finance minister, and Murli Manohar Joshi as home (interior) minister.
Slovenia: Foreign Minister Zoran Thaler loses a parliamentary confidence vote. He will remain as acting foreign minister until the appointment of a successor.
Caruana |
17
Gibraltar: Peter Caruana is sworn in as new chief minister, one day after his Social Democrats (GSD) won elections with 52.2% of the vote (8 of 15 seats), against 43% (7 seats) for the Socialist Labour Party (GSLP) of outgoing chief minister Joe Bossano and 4.7% for the Gibraltar National Party. Turnout was a record 88%.
18
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Gojko Klickovic replaces Rajko Kasagic as prime minister of the Republika Srpska.
Prodi | 
Dini |
Italy: Romano Prodi is sworn in as prime minister. He succeeds Lamberto Dini, who becomes foreign minister. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, another former prime minister, becomes budget and treasury minister. Other appointments include Giorgio Napolitano as interior minister, Beniamino Andreatta as defense minister, and Vincenzo Visco as finance minister. The new government wins votes of confidence in the Senate (173-139) on May 24 and in the Chamber of Deputies (322-299) on May 31.
Panama: Former Panama Canal Zone governor (1960-62) William A. Carter dies.
19
Ecuador: Jaime Nebot Saadi of the Social Christian Party (PSC) wins the first round of presidential elections with 28.3%, ahead of Abdalá Bucaram Ortiz of the Roldosista Party (PRE) with 24.3%, Freddy Ehlers with 19.4%, and Rodrigo Paz with 12.9%. In the parliamentary election the PSC wins 28 seats, the PRE 21. Turnout is only 70%, although voting is compulsory.
India: Former chief minister of Tamil Nadu (1988) Janaki Ramachandran dies.
21
Costa Rica: Former foreign minister (1982-83) Fernando Volio Jiménez dies.
India: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee appoints Sikander Bakht to the position of foreign minister. Vajpayee had first appointed Bakht as the minister of urban affairs, but he demanded a higher post.
23
Mexico: Former head of government of the Distrito Federal (1971-76) Octavio Sentíes Gómez dies.
Suriname: President Ronald Venetiaan's ruling New Front coalition wins general elections with nearly 45% of the vote (23 out of 51 seats), compared to 25.5% (15 seats) for the National Democratic Party of former strongman Dési Bouterse. Turnout is estimated at 62%.
26
Albania: General elections fail when, hours before the polls close, all major opposition parties pull out their candidates, accusing the ruling Democratic Party of engineering widespread election irregularities.
Cyprus: President Glafkos Kliridis' Democratic Rally wins 34.47% (20 seats) in parliamentary elections, ahead of the Communist Party (AKEL) with 33% (19 seats) and the Democratic Party, Kliridis' coalition partner, with 16.43% (10 seats). The ruling coalition thus retains its majority in the 56-seat parliament. Turnout is 93% (voting is compulsory).
27
Ukraine: President Leonid Kuchma sacks his prime minister, Yevhen Marchuk. The next day First Deputy Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko is appointed to succeed him.
28
Canada: In the provincial election in British Columbia, Premier Glen Clark's NDP wins a majority of 39 out of 75 seats, despite capturing only 39% of the popular vote, less than the Liberals with 42% (33 seats). The Reform Party gets 9% (2 seats) and the Progressive Democratic Alliance 6% (1 seat).
Patel |
India: After only 12 days in office, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee resigns, preempting a no-confidence vote. His BJP, while being the strongest single party, couldn't muster the additional support needed for a parliamentary majority. President Shankar Dayal Sharma asks United Front (formerly National Front-Left Front) leader H.D. Deve Gowda to form a government. On May 31 Gowda leaves his post as chief minister of Karnataka, where he is succeeded by Jayadevappa Halappa Patel.
Madagascar: President Albert Zafy appoints Norbert Ratsirahonana as new prime minister. The national assembly had passed a censure motion (109-15 with one abstention) against then prime minister Emmanuel Rakotovahiny on May 17.
Thailand: In a cabinet reshuffle, Amnuay Viravan becomes foreign minister, replacing Kasem S. Kasemsri, and Bodi Chunnananda becomes finance minister, replacing Surakiart Sathirathai.
United States: The Democratic governor of Arkansas, Jim Guy Tucker, announces his resignation after being convicted in the Whitewater case. He is to be succeeded by Republican Lieutenant Governor Mike Huckabee.
29
Israel: The first direct elections to the prime ministership are won by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu with 50.5% over incumbent Shimon Peres (Labour) with 49.5%. In the elections to the 120-member Knesset, Labour wins 34 seats, Likud 32, religious parties 23, and other parties 31. Turnout is 79.7%.
31
India: Former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh (1956-60, 1962-64) and president (1977-82) N. Sanjiva Reddy dies.