These are some of the notable events relating to politics in 2019.
Events January January 11 – Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan officially abdicates his position as Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Malaysia's head of state) two years early, the first ever to do so. January 21 – Ireland celebrates the hundredth anniversary of the First Dáil with a joint sitting of the Dáil and Seanad at the Mansion House, Dublin. January 24 – Sultan Abdullah of Pahang is proclaimed Malaysia's new head of state (Yang di-Pertuan Agong), having succeeded his own father, Ahmad Shah, as Sultan of Pahang in the interim. January 29 – Sierra Leone prohibits female genital mutilation.
February February 3 – Nayib Bukele of the center-right Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA) is elected president of El Salvador. February 6 – Matthieu Orphelin, a member of the French National Assembly for Maine-et-Loire, leaves the La République En Marche parliamentary group in protest against the government's ecological policy. February 13 – Spain's parliamentary opposition votes down the government's budget; this results in prime minister Pedro Sánchez, calling a general election. February 23 – Muhammadu Buhari wins reelection as president of 2019 Nigerian general election. February 24 In the 2019 Senegalese presidential election, the incumbent, Macky Sall, wins a second term in office. A constitutional referendum is held in Cuba to approve a new constitution passed by the National Assembly of People's Power during 2018. February 27–28 2019 North Korea–United States Hanoi Summit.
March March 13 The British Parliament votes to reject the idea of leaving the EU, also known as Brexit, without first agreeing to a deal with EU.Brexit: MPs vote to reject no-deal Brexit, bbc.com, March 13, 2019. March 15 The Christchurch mosque shootings result in widespread calls for changes to New Zealand's gun laws. March 19 – Nursultan Nazarbayev resigns as President of Kazakhstan after 29 years in office and appoints Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as acting president. Astana is renamed Nur-Sultan the following day in his honor. March 20 – Europe's antitrust regulators fine Google 1.49 billion euros ($1.7 billion) for freezing out rivals in the online advertising business. The ruling brings to nearly $10 billion the fines imposed against Google by the European Union. March 21 Brazil's former president Michel Temer is arrested, along with former governor of Rio de Janeiro Moreira Franco, as the result of an investigation into corruption known as "Operation Car Wash". March 23 The Liberal-National Coalition government led by Gladys Berejiklian wins the 2019 New South Wales state election and returns to office with a reduced majority. The final territory of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, located in Al-Baghuz Fawqani, Syria, is liberated. An estimated 400,000 people march in central London in protest against Brexit. March 31 2019–20 Hong Kong protests: Large-scale demonstrations begin in Hong Kong as the result of the proposal of new legislation by China's government.
April April 2 – Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigns as President of Algeria amid widespread protests, after nearly two decades in office. April 11 – Kim Jae-ryong is appointed premier of North Korea at the first session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly, replacing Pak Pong-ju, who had been in post for six years. Choe Ryong-hae is appointed president of the presidium, replacing Kim Yong-nam after 21 years. April 17 – 2019 Indonesian general election: Incumbent president Joko Widodo wins a second term. The result is immediately disputed by his opponent Prabowo Subianto, alleging electoral fraud. April 28 – A snap election called by Spain's prime minister Pedro Sánchez results in victory for the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). The 2019 Spanish general election is for all 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies and 208 (of the 266) seats in the Senate. The PSOE, under Pedro Sánchez, wins the most seats, but not an outright majority.
May 1 May Naruhito becomes Emperor of Japan in succession to his father Akihito. His accession marks the beginning of the Reiwa era. 5 May Pro-Western Stevo Pendarovski wins the second round in the 2019 North Macedonian presidential election. 16 May Xavier Espot is sworn in Prime Minister of Andorra, succeeding Antoni Martí. 17 May Brexit talks in United Kingdom between Labour and the Conservatives end without agreement, following six weeks of cross-party debate, with Jeremy Corbyn saying negotiations have "gone as far as they can." 18 May 2019 Australian federal election: Scott Morrison's Liberal/National Coalition government is narrowly re-elected, defeating the Labor Party led by Bill Shorten. Austria's Vice Chancellor, Heinz-Christian Strache, resigns from office over a scandal that became known as the "Ibiza affair". 23 May 2019 Indian general election: The government of India's incumbent prime minister Narendra Modi wins a convincing victory, with the National Democratic Alliance obtaining a total of 353 seats. 26 May Gitanas Nausėda wins the 2019 Lithuanian presidential election. 30 May Anthony Albanese is elected unopposed as leader of the Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition, replacing Bill Shorten. Richard Marles is elected deputy unopposed, succeeding Tanya Plibersek
June June 2 – Walter Lübcke, a politician from the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, is found dead at his home, shot in the head. June 9 – 2019 Kazakh presidential election: Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is elected President of Kazakhstan amidst charges of irregularities. June 20 – In Tbilisi, Georgia, hundreds of people are injured as police fire rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters. The protesters were attempting to storm the parliament building, in response to the action of Sergei Gavrilov, a visiting Russian politician, who gave a speech in Russian from the speaker's chair during an international Orthodox assembly. June 22 – Mohamed Ould Ghazouani wins the 2019 Mauritanian presidential election with 52% of the vote.
July July 2 The Ninth European Parliament had its first plenary session on July 2, 2019.EU Parliament overview July 24 Theresa May formally tenders her resignation as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to the Queen, and is succeeded by Boris Johnson. Boris Johnson subsequently begins to form his cabinet, with Sajid Javid appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Priti Patel as Home Secretary, and Dominic Raab as Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. July 26 103 civilians, including 26 children, have been killed in bombings by the Syrian government in Idlib and Aleppo, Syria, since July 16, 2019.Muere un centenar de civiles en bombardeos sobre Siria y el mundo lo ignora Retrieved November 1, 2019. July 31 The Federal Reserve cuts interest rates for the first time since 2008, with a 0.25% reduction to a baseline level of 2-2.25%.
August August 1 Danish polar research institution Polar Portal reports a large spike in Greenland ice loss, with 11 billion tons melted in one day and 197 gigatonnes during the month of July. The United Kingdom government announces an extra £2.1bn of funding to prepare for a no-deal Brexit, doubling the amount of money it has set aside for 2019, and taking the total since June 2016 to £6.3bn. Liberal Democrat MP Jane Dodds wins the 2019 Brecon and Radnorshire by-election, beating the incumbent Conservative Chris Davies, and leaving the Tories in the UK House of Commons with a working majority of just one. August 2 The United States officially withdraws from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty established with Russia in 1987. 2019–2020 Japan–South Korea trade dispute: Japan announces the removal of South Korea from its list of most trusted trading partners, effective on August 28. August 5 Revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir: India revokes the part of its constitution that gives Indian-administered Kashmir special status in an unprecedented move. 2019–20 Hong Kong protests: Amid ongoing protests, Hong Kong is hit by the first general strikes of their kind since 1967. August 7 The Singapore Convention on Mediation, also known as the UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, comes into effect with 46 countries ratifying it. States that have ratified the treaty will have to ensure that international commercial settlement agreements are enforced by their courts. August 9 Data shows that the UK economy shrank by 0.2% in the second quarter of 2019, its first contraction since 2012, according to the Office for National Statistics. A major power blackout hits parts of England and Wales, affecting nearly a million people and causing widespread travel disruption. The deputy prime minister of Italy and leader of the League, Matteo Salvini, called for new elections, and announced a no-confidence vote on the government backed by his party in a coalition with the Five Star Movement.Economic consequences of Italy's political crisis, August 9, 2019, france24.com August 10 Richard Braine is elected as leader of the UK Independence Party, succeeding Gerard Batten. August 11 NYSE drops more than 1%, due to concerns about possible trade war.U.S. Stocks Slide as Treasury Rally Stokes Angst: Markets Wrap, By Sarah Ponczek and Olivia Rinaldi August 11, 2019, bloomberg.com. Argentina's president Mauricio Macri loses a primary vote by a landslide, suggesting possible defeat in October's presidential election. Widespread public discontent is attributed to the country's economic situation, i.e. recession, austerity and inflation at more than 50%.Macri's Shock Setback in Argentina Deals Blow to Re-Election Bid, by Patrick Gillespie, Jorgelina Do Rosario, and Carolina Millan, August 11, 2019. bloomberg.com. Alejandro Giammattei wins the second round of the 2019 Guatemalan presidential election. August 12 Trump Administration announces it will delay its proposal for 10 percent tariffs slated to take effect Sep 1 on certain consumer goods from China while exempting other products — less than two weeks after Trump announced the new proposed tariffs.Trump blinks as trade war threatens consumers, By Sylvan Lane, 08/13/19, thehill.com 2019–2020 Japan–South Korea trade dispute: South Korea announces the removal of Japan from its list of most trusted trading partners, effective on September 18. August 14 Main yield curve for US Treasury bonds inverts, as the yield rate for 2-year bonds rises higher than the yield rate for 10-year bonds.Main yield curve inverts as 2-year yield tops 10-year rate, triggering recession warning, August 13, 2019, cnbc.com Dow Jones plunges more than 500 points, due to concerns over the yield curve inversion.Dow plunges 750 points after bond market flashes a recession warning, Citigroup tanks 5%, WED, August 14, 2019, cnbc.com.Dow tumbles 700 points as US and UK yield curves invert, and German recession looms – business live, guardian.comDow drops 800 points, marking worst day for stock market this year , by Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, August 14, 2019. Germany's economy is announced to have contracted in 2nd quarter, April to June 2019.German economy slips back into negative growth, August 14, 2019, bbc.com August 15 European Central Bank shuts down PNB Banka after ruling it had become insolvent; this bank was previously called Norvik Banka and was Latvia's sixth-largest lender, and was a critic of the Baltic country's financial authorities., by Martin Arnold, August 16, 2019, ft.com. August 21 2019 Brazil wildfires: Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) reports fires burning in the Amazon rainforest at a record rate, with more than 36,000 in the year to date, while smoke reaches São Paulo more than away. Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte resigns.