Date in year · 1999 · The 1990s

December 31, 1999

On December 31, 1999, the first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, resigns from office, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the acting President and successor. The year's #1 song was "Believe" by Cher. Gabe Davis, Alessandro Bastoni, András Schäfer would arrive in the same year.

Events

3

Births

2

Deaths

2

Year

1999

1990s

Around 1999

The year in brief

1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1999th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 999th year of the 2nd millennium, the 99th year of the 20th century, and the 10th and last year of the 1990s decade.

Read the full year of 1999 →

What happened

On December 31, 1999

  1. 1999 The first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, resigns from office, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the acting President and successor.

    Head of state of Russia

    The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation, is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the Federal State Council and the supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces. It is the highest office in Russia.

  2. 1999 The U.S. government hands control of the Panama Canal (as well all the adjacent land to the canal known as the Panama Canal Zone) to Panama. This act complied with the signing of the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties.

    Shipping route across Central America

    The Panama Canal is an artificial 82-kilometer (51-mile) waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a conduit for maritime trade between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Locks at each end lift ships up to Gatun Lake, an artificial fresh water lake 26 meters (85 ft) above sea level, created by damming the Chagres River and Lake Alajuela to reduce the amount of excavation work required for the canal.

  3. 1999 Indian Airlines Flight 814 hijacking ends after seven days with the release of 190 survivors at Kandahar Airport, Afghanistan.

    1999 Indian aircraft hijacking

    Indian Airlines Flight 814, commonly known as IC 814, was an Indian Airlines Airbus A300 that was hijacked on 24 December 1999 by five members of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. The passenger flight, en route from Kathmandu to Delhi, was taken over shortly after it entered Indian airspace at about 16:53 IST. The aircraft had 190 occupants: 179 passengers and 11 crew members including Captain Devi Sharan, First Officer Rajinder Kumar, and Flight Engineer Anil Kumar Jaggia.

Arrivals

Born on December 31, 1999

Calvin Bassey 1999– Nigerian footballer (born 1999)
Leif Davis 1999– English footballer (born 1999)

Farewells

Died on December 31, 1999

Elsewhere that year

Other moments from 1999

The class of 1999

Others born in 1999

Gabe Davis 1999– American football player
Alessandro Bastoni 1999– Italian footballer
András Schäfer 1999– Hungarian footballer
Chase Young 1999– American football player
Sebastian Kris 1999– Australian-NewZealand rugby league player
Choi Hyun-suk 1999– South Korean rapper

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