Europe

Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, died.

The French National Front won the most votes in the European election in respect to France, leading to fears of a growing far-right in mainland Europe.

In a referendum held in the United Kingdom on whether or not to continue being a member of the European Union, 52% of voters chose to leave it, Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation shortly afterwards.

En Marche! candidate Emmanuel Macron was elected the President of France, replacing incumbent Hollande and defeating National Front candidate Marine Le Pen in the second round of voting. Macron is the youngest president in the history of the French Fifth Republic.

Matteo Renzi, after becoming the new leader of the Italian Democratic Party, forced Enrico Letta to resign and was elected Prime Minister, starting a program of radical constitutional reforms. Renzi is the youngest Prime Minister in the Italian history.

Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine following an internationally unrecognized referendum on the status of the region.

Alexis Tsipras, the leader of the anti-austerity Syriza party, was elected as Prime Minister of Greece.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country following violent protests in the capital, Kiev. The opposition-controlled Verkhovna Rada voted to remove him as president.

Longtime Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, was indicted for allegedly paying for sex with an underage nightclub dancer, and ordered to stand trial. Berlusconi resigned in November and Mario Monti was appointed Prime Minister and held the office until 2013.

King Juan Carlos I of Spain abdicated in favour of his son, Felipe VI.

Independent green Alexander Van der Bellen narrowly beat the far-right Freedom Party of Austria candidate Norbert Hofer in a repeat of the Austrian presidential election, 2016 after the first election was annulled.