Editing 1989 (section)

=== February ===
* [[February 1]] – In Australia, [[Joan Kirner]] becomes [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]]'s first female Deputy Premier, after the resignation of Robert Fordham over the VEDC (Victorian Economic Development Co-operation) Crisis.
* [[February 2]]
** [[Soviet–Afghan War]]: The last [[Soviet Union]] armoured column leaves Kabul, ending [[Soviet-Afghan war|nine years of military occupation since 1979]].
** [[Carlos Andrés Pérez]] takes office as [[President of Venezuela]].
* [[February 3]]
** [[1989 Paraguayan coup d'état]] ("La Noche de la Candelaria"): A military coup overthrows [[Alfredo Stroessner]], dictator of [[Paraguay]] since [[1954]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Peter Lambert|author2=Andrew Nickson|title=The Transition to Democracy in Paraguay|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Cu_DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA68|date=27 July 2016|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-349-25767-6|page=68}}</ref>
** After a [[stroke]], [[State President of South Africa]] [[P. W. Botha]] resigns as Leader of the [[National Party (South Africa)|National Party]].
* [[February 5]] – [[Eurosport]], a [[Multiple-language version|multiple-language]] [[Broadcasting of sports events|sports broadcasting station]] in [[Europe]], begins broadcasting, from [[Issy-les-Moulineaux]], [[Île-de-France]], [[France]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thedrum.com/news/2019/02/05/eurosport-celebrates-30th-birthday-with-shorts-series-marking-its-1989-beginnings|title=Eurosport celebrates 30th birthday with shorts series marking its 1989 beginnings|date=February 5, 2019|author=John McCarthy|website=The Drum|access-date=October 29, 2021|archive-date=March 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303052652/https://www.thedrum.com/news/2019/02/05/eurosport-celebrates-30th-birthday-with-shorts-series-marking-its-1989-beginnings|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[February 6]] – The Government of the [[People's Republic of Poland]] holds formal talks with representatives of [[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity movement]] for the first time since [[1981]].
* [[February 7]] – The [[People's National Party]], led by [[Michael Manley]], wins the [[1989 Jamaican general election]].
* [[February 10]]
** [[Ron Brown]] is elected as Chairman of the [[Democratic National Committee]], becoming the first [[African American]] to lead a major United States [[political party]].
** U.S. President Bush meets Canadian Prime Minister [[Brian Mulroney]] in [[Ottawa]], laying the groundwork for the [[Air Quality Agreement|Acid Rain Treaty of 1991]].
* [[February 11]] – [[Barbara Harris (bishop)|Barbara Harris]] is the first woman consecrated as a bishop of the [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America]] (and also the first woman to become a bishop in the worldwide [[Anglican Communion]]).
* [[February 14]]
** [[Union Carbide]] agrees to pay $470,000,000 to the Indian government for damages in the [[1984]] [[Bhopal disaster]], a gas leak that killed 3.7 thousand.
** [[The Satanic Verses controversy|''The Satanic Verses'' controversy]]: [[Ayatollah]] [[Ruhollah Khomeini]], [[Supreme Leader of Iran]] (d. June 3), issues a [[fatwa]] calling for the death of Indian-born British author [[Salman Rushdie]] and his publishers for issuing the novel ''[[The Satanic Verses]]'' (1988).
** The first of 24 [[Global Positioning System]] [[satellite]]s is placed into orbit.
[[File:RIAN archive 827820 Soviet unit pictured prior to their withdrawal from Afghanistan.jpg|thumb|Soviet unit pictured prior to their withdrawal from [[Afghanistan]]]]
* [[February 15]]
** [[Soviet–Afghan War]]: The [[Soviet Union]] announces that [[Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan|all of its troops have left Afghanistan]].
** Following a campaign that saw over 1,000 people killed in massive campaign-related violence, the [[United National Party]] wins the [[1989 Sri Lankan parliamentary election|Sri Lankan parliamentary election]].
* [[February 16]] – [[Pan Am Flight 103]]: Investigators announce that the cause of the [[1988]] crash was a [[bomb]] hidden inside a radio-cassette player.
* [[February 17]]
** The [[Arab Maghreb Union]] (AMU) is formed.
** South African police raid the home of [[Winnie Madikizela-Mandela|Winnie Mandela]] and arrest four of her bodyguards.
* [[February 20]] – In Canada's [[Yukon Territory]], the ruling [[Yukon New Democratic Party|New Democrats]] narrowly maintain control of the [[Yukon Legislative Assembly]], winning 9 seats vs. the [[Yukon Progressive Conservative Party|Progressive Conservative Party]]'s 7.
* [[February 23]] – After protracted testimony, the U.S. [[Senate Armed Services Committee]] rejects, 11–9, President Bush's nomination of [[John Tower]] for Secretary of Defense.
* [[February 24]]
** The [[state funeral]] of [[Hirohito|Emperor Shōwa]] (Hirohito) in [[Tokyo]] is attended by leaders and representatives of 160 nations.
** [[The Satanic Verses controversy|''The Satanic Verses'' controversy]]: [[Iran]] places a $3,000,000 bounty on the head of ''[[The Satanic Verses]]'' author [[Salman Rushdie]].
** [[Singing Revolution]]: After 44 years, the [[Flag of Estonia|Estonian flag]] is raised at the [[Pikk Hermann]] tower in [[Tallinn]].
** [[United Airlines Flight 811]], a [[Boeing 747]], suffers [[uncontrolled decompression]] after leaving [[Honolulu International Airport]]; nine passengers are blown out of the cabin to their deaths.
* [[February 25]]–[[February 27|27]] – U.S. President Bush visits [[China]] and [[South Korea]], meeting with China's [[Deng Xiaoping]] and South Korea's [[Roh Tae-woo]].
* [[February 27]] – [[Venezuela]] is rocked by the [[Caracazo]], a wave of protests and looting.