March 2026

1

Iceland: Former prime minister (1991-2004) and foreign minister (2004-05) Davíd Oddsson dies.
Iran: Ayatollah Alireza Arafi is appointed to an Interim Leadership Council, whose others members are President Masoud Pezeshkian and Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei. On March 2 Pezeshkian appoints Majid Ebnelreza as acting defense minister. On March 8 Hojatoleslam (now Ayatollah) Mojtaba Khamenei is elected as new rahbar.

2

Haiti: In a cabinet reshuffle, Raina Forbin is appointed as foreign minister and Mario Andrésol as defense minister.
Iraq: Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani also becomes acting defense minister, replacing Thabet Muhammad al-Abbasi who was elected to parliament and became unable to hold an executive office.
Japan: Ken Hirata takes office as governor of Nagasaki.

4

Albania: President Bajram Begaj appoints the new ministers (see February 26).
China: Former chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of Gansu (1977-79) Song Ping dies.
Somalia: Parliament votes to extend its term, and that of the president, by a year.
South Africa: Former premier of Free State (1994-96) Mosiuoa Lekota dies.
Spain: María Guardiola Martín fails to be elected president of the Junta of Extremadura, winning 29 votes, with 36 against. Another vote on March 6 has the same result.

5

India: President Draupadi Murmu accepts the resignation of C.V. Ananda Bose as governor of West Bengal and appoints R.N. Ravi in his place (sworn in March 12), and also Syed Ata Hasnain as governor of Bihar, Kavinder Gupta as governor of Himachal Pradesh, Jishnu Dev Varma as governor of Maharashtra, Nand Kishore Yadav as governor of Nagaland, Shiv Pratap Shukla as governor of Telangana, Vinai Kumar Saxena as lieutenant governor of Ladakh, and Taranjit Singh Sandhu as lieutenant governor of Delhi (sworn in March 11). The governor of Kerala, Rajendra Arlekar, is given additional charge of Tamil Nadu (sworn in March 12).
Kosovo: The election of a president fails due to lack of quorum. On March 6 President Vjosa Osmani dissolves parliament and calls new elections. The Vetëvendosje party announces an appeal to the Constitutional Court against the dissolution. On March 9 the court suspends the presidential decree until March 31.
Nepal: In parliamentary elections, the Rastriya Swatantra Party wins 47.8% of the vote (182 of 275 seats), the Nepali Congress Party 16.2% (38), the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) 13.4% (25), and the Nepali Communist Party 7.5% (17). Turnout is about 60%.
United States: President Donald Trump dismisses Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, nominating Markwayne Mullin to replace her.

6

American Samoa: Former governor (2013-21) Lolo Matalasi Moliga dies.
Congo (Kinshasa): The government adopts a 117th extension of the state of siege in Ituri and Nord-Kivu.

8

Germany: In state elections in Baden-Württemberg, the Greens win 30.2% of the vote (56 of 157 seats), the Christian Democratic Union 29.7% (56), the Alternative for Germany 18.8% (35), the Social Democratic Party 5.5% (10), the Left 4.4% (0), and the Free Democratic Party 4.4% (0). Turnout is 69.6%.
Japan: In gubernatorial elections in Ishikawa, Yukiyoshi Yamano is elected with 49.7% of the vote, defeating incumbent Hiroshi Hase (48.4%). Turnout is 54.7%.

9

China: Former governor of Anhui (2002-07) Wang Jinshan dies.
Italy: Former president of Sicilia (1980-82) Mario D'Acquisto dies.
Lebanon: Parliament extends its own mandate for two years.
Madagascar: President Michael Randrianirina dismisses the government of Prime Minister Herintsalama Rajaonarivelo.
Portugal: António José Seguro is sworn in as president.

11

Kast

Pérez

Chile: José Antonio Kast is sworn in as president with his cabinet (see January 20), including Francisco Pérez Mackenna as foreign minister.

12

Oman: Former foreign minister (1972-73) Fahd ibn Mahmud al-Said dies.