Editing 1980s (section)

===Politics===

====Americas====
[[File:Reagan and Gorbachev signing.jpg|thumb|right|US President Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev signing the [[Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty|INF Treaty]], 1987]]
[[File:Cierre de campaña de Raúl Alfonsín en la Av. 9 de Julio - Llamado a elecciones - 1983.jpg|thumb|288x288px|The [[Avenida 9 de Julio|July 9 Avenue]] in [[Buenos Aires]] filled with supporters of [[Raúl Alfonsín]], who would become the first democratic [[President of Argentina|Argentine President]] after the end of the [[Dirty War]] (1983)]]
* [[Ronald Reagan]] was elected US president in 1980. In international affairs, Reagan pursued a hardline policy towards preventing the spread of communism, initiating a considerable buildup of US military power to challenge the Soviet Union. He further directly challenged the [[Iron Curtain]] by demanding that the Soviet Union dismantle the [[Berlin Wall]].
* The [[Reagan Administration]] accelerated the [[War on Drugs]], publicized through anti-drug campaigns including the [[Just Say No]] campaign of First Lady [[Nancy Reagan]]. Drugs gained attention in the US as a serious problem in the '80s. Cocaine was relatively popular among celebrities and affluent youth, while crack, a cheaper offshoot of the drug, was linked to high crime rates in inner cities during the [[American crack epidemic]]. {{citation needed|date=January 2016}}
* The [[Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (1968)]] (PATCO) declared a strike on 3 August 1981, seeking better working conditions, better pay, and a 32-hour workweek. The strike caused considerable disruption of the US air transportation system. Resolution came when [[Ronald Reagan]] fired over 11,000 striking air traffic controllers who had ignored his order to return to work, banning them from federal service for life. After seeking appeals, many of the controllers were re-hired while the FAA attempted to replace much of their air traffic control staffing. The remainder continued to be banned until President Clinton lifted the final aspects in 1993.
* Political unrest in the province of [[Quebec]], which, due to the many differences between the dominant francophone population and the anglophone minority, and also to francophone rights in the predominantly [[Canadian English|English]]-speaking Canada, came to a head in 1980 when the provincial government called a public [[1980 Quebec referendum|referendum]] on partial separation from the rest of Canada. The referendum ended with the "no" side winning majority (59.56% no, 40.44% yes).
* [[Military dictatorship]]s give way to democracy in [[History of Argentina#New democracy (1983–present)|Argentina]] (1983), [[History of Uruguay#20th century|Uruguay]] (1984–85), [[1980s in Brazil|Brazil]] (1985–1988) and [[1988 Chilean national plebiscite|Chile]] (1988–89). This marked the end of the [[Operation Condor]] for 30 years.

====Europe====
[[File:BerlinWall-BrandenburgGate.jpg|thumb|right|150px|The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 marked the beginning of German reunification]]
[[File:UKK-hautajaissaattue.jpg|thumb|150px|Former [[president of Finland]] from 1956 to 1982. Funeral cortege of [[Urho Kekkonen]] in Helsinki, 1986]]
* The [[European Community]]'s [[Enlargement of the European Union|enlargement]] continued with the accession of Greece in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986.
* In 1983, [[Bettino Craxi]] became the first [[socialist]] to hold the office of [[Prime Minister of Italy]]; he remained in power until 1987, becoming one of the longest-serving Prime Ministers in the history of Italian Republic. At the end of his presidency the [[Mani pulite]] corruption scandal broke up, causing the collapse of the political system.
* Significant political reforms occurred in a number of communist countries in eastern Europe as the populations of these countries grew increasingly hostile and politically active in opposing communist governments. These reforms included attempts to increase individual liberties and market liberalization, and promises of democratic renewal. The collapse of communism in eastern Europe was generally peaceful, the exception being [[Romanian Revolution|Romania]], whose leader [[Nicolae Ceaușescu]] tried to keep the people isolated from the events happening outside the country. While making a speech in Bucharest in December 1989, he was booed and shouted down by the crowd, and then tried to flee the city with his wife [[Elena Ceaușescu|Elena]]. Two days later, they were captured, charged with genocide, and [[Execution of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu|shot]] on Christmas Day.
* In [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]], following the death of communist leader [[Josip Broz Tito]] in May 1980, the trend of political reform of the communist system occurred along with a trend towards [[ethnic nationalism]] and inter-ethnic hostility, especially in Serbia, beginning with the 1986 [[Memorandum of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts]] followed by the agenda of Serbian communist leader [[Slobodan Milošević]] who aggressively pushed for increased political influence of Serbs in the late 1980s, condemning non-Serb Yugoslav politicians who challenged his agenda as being enemies of Serbs.
* There was [[The Troubles|continuing civil strife]] in [[Northern Ireland]], including the adoption of hunger strikes by [[Irish Republican Army]] prisoners seeking the reintroduction of political status.
* [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] became leader of the Soviet Union in 1985, and initiated major reforms to the Soviet Union's government through increasing the rights of expressing political dissent and opening elections to opposition candidates (while maintaining legal dominance of the Communist Party). Gorbachev pursued negotiation with the United States to decrease tensions and eventually end the [[Cold War]].
* During the [[Revolutions of 1989]], most of the communist governments in Eastern Europe collapsed. The [[fall of the Berlin Wall]] in 1989 would be followed in 1990 by the [[German reunification]].
* The United Kingdom was governed by the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] under Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]], the first female leader of a Western country. Under her [[Premiership of Margaret Thatcher|Premiership]], the party introduced widespread economic reforms including the [[privatisation]] of industries and the de-regulation of [[stock market]]s echoing similar reforms of [[President of the United States|US President]] [[Ronald Reagan]]. She was also a staunch opponent of communism, earning her the nickname ''The Iron Lady''.
* Poor industrial relations marked the beginning of the decade; the [[UK miners' strike (1984–85)]] was a major [[industrial action]] affecting the [[Coal mining in the United Kingdom|UK coal industry]]. The strike by the [[National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain)|National Union of Mineworkers]] (NUM) was led by [[Arthur Scargill]], although some NUM members considered it to be unconstitutional and did not observe it. The [[BBC]] has referred to the strike as "the most bitter industrial dispute in British history."<ref>{{cite news|title=1984: The beginning of the end for British coal |location=London |publisher=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/12/newsid_3503000/3503346.stm|access-date=20 December 2014}}</ref> At its height, the strike involved 142,000 mineworkers, making it the biggest since the [[1926 United Kingdom general strike|1926 General Strike]].<ref>{{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Strikes Around the World, 1968–2005: Case-studies of 15 Countries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YZ2ms23ZuVQC|location=Amsterdam |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |page=353 |date=2007 |isbn=978-90-5260-285-1}}</ref>
* In November 1982, [[Leonid Brezhnev]], who had led the Soviet Union since 1964, died. He was followed in quick succession by [[Yuri Andropov]], the former KGB chief, and [[Konstantin Chernenko]], both of whom were in poor health during their short tenures in office.
*Presidents of France were [[Valéry Giscard d'Estaing]] and [[François Mitterrand]]. The Chancellors of West Germany were [[Helmut Schmidt]] and [[Helmut Kohl]].

====Asia====
* The Prime Minsters of Japan were [[Masayoshi Ōhira]], [[Zenkō Suzuki]], [[Yasuhiro Nakasone]], [[Noboru Takeshita]], [[Sōsuke Uno]] and [[Toshiki Kaifu]].
* Following the [[assassination of Park Chung-hee]], South Korean president [[Chun Doo Hwan]] came to power at the end of 1979 and ruled as a dictator until his presidential term expired in 1987. He was responsible for the [[Gwangju Uprising]] in May 1980 when police and soldiers battled armed protesters. Relations with North Korea showed little sign of improvement during the 1980s. In 1983, when Chun was in Burma, [[Rangoon bombing|a bomb apparently planted by North Korean agents]] killed a number of South Korean government officials. The [[June Democratic Struggle]] in 1987, a nationwide pro-democracy movement in South Korea, leads to democratic reforms, an end to authoritarian rule and [[1987 South Korean presidential election|democratic elections]]. After leaving office, Chun was succeeded by [[Roh Tae Woo]], the first democratic ruler of the country, which saw its international prestige greatly rise with hosting the Olympics in [[1988 Summer Olympics|1988]]. Roh pursued a policy of normalizing relations with China and the Soviet Union, but had to face militant left-wing student groups who demanded [[Korean reunification|reunification with North Korea]] and the withdrawal of US troops.
* In the Philippines, after almost 20 years of dictatorship, Philippine president [[Ferdinand Marcos]] left the presidency and was replaced by [[Corazon Aquino]] through the "[[People Power Revolution]]" from 22 to 25 February 1986. This has been considered by some a peaceful revolution despite the fact that the Armed Forces of the Philippines issued an order to disperse the crowds on [[EDSA]] (the main thoroughfare in Metro Manila).
* Democratization in South Korea and Taiwan, having lasted 42 and 27 years under the authoritarian regime since the end of World War II and the [[Korean War]] (including the lifting of [[martial law in Taiwan]] and the [[1987 South Korean presidential election|first direct presidential elections]] in South Korea).
* The [[1988 Summer Olympics]] were held in South Korea, the first time the country hosted them.
'''Africa'''
* A widespread [[1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia|famine hit Ethiopia]] from 1983 to 1985, affecting 7.75 million people, killing around 300,000 to 1.2 million. 400,000 refugees left the country. Blame for the famine has been attributed to drought, [[Ethiopian Civil War|Ethiopia's civil war]], and policies taken by the [[Derg]] military regime.