September 1997

1

Sinha

Azerbaijan: Presidential elections in Nagorno-Karabakh are won by Arkady Gukasyan with over 89% of the vote. He is sworn in on September 8.
India: S.K. Sinha becomes governor of Assam.

5

Hull

United States: Arizona Governor Fife Symington resigns. Jane Hull is sworn in as new governor on September 8.

7

Congo (Kinshasa): Former president (1965-97) Mobutu Sese Seko dies.

8

Congo (Brazzaville): President Pascal Lissouba appoints Brazzaville mayor Bernard Kolélas as prime minister.

9

Comoros: President Mohamed Taki dismisses the government of Prime Minister Ahmed Abdou.

11

Croatia: Borislav Skegro replaces Bozo Prka as finance minister.
Japan: In a cabinet reshuffle, Keizo Obuchi becomes foreign minister and Mitsuhiro Uesugi home affairs minister.
Nepal: Former prime minister (1951-52, 1953-55) Matrika Prasad Koirala dies.

Snijders

Suriname: Errol Snijders becomes foreign minister.
Vanuatu: Vincent Boulekone is appointed finance minister, replacing Willie Jimmy.

12

Ireland: President Mary Robinson steps down. A Presidential Commission takes over her functions until a successor is sworn in. It consists of the chief justice (Liam Hamilton), the speaker of the Dáil (Seamus Pattison), and the speaker of the Seanad (Liam Cosgrave, replaced on September 17 by Brian Mullooly).
Mali: Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and his government resign. On September 14 President Alpha Oumar Konaré reappoints Keita as prime minister. On September 16 Keita appoints a new government. Modibo Sidibé becomes foreign minister; Soumaïla Cissé remains finance minister.

13

Libya: Former foreign minister (1990-92) Ibrahim al-Bishari dies in a car crash.

15

Norway: In parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland's Labour Party wins 35.2% of the vote (65 seats), the Progress Party 15.3% (25 seats), the Conservative Party 14.3% (23 seats), the Christian People's Party 13.7% (25 seats), the Centre Party 8% (11 seats), the Socialist Left Party 6% (9 seats), the Liberal Party 4.4% (6 seats), the Red Election Alliance 1.6% (no seats), and others 1.6% (1 seat). Jagland says his government will resign in October.

16

Estonia: Defense Minister Andrus Öövel resigns.

Louisy

17

Abbott

Montserrat: Tony Abbott is sworn in as governor.
Norway: Former prime minister (1989-90) Jan Peder Syse dies.
Saint Lucia: Pearlette Louisy is sworn in as governor-general.
Vietnam: The Communist Party picks Tran Duc Luong to succeed Le Duc Anh as president, and Phan Van Khai to succeed Vo Van Kiet as prime minister. The National Assembly formally elects Tran Duc Luong on September 24 and Phan Van Khai on September 25. Doan Khue is replaced as defense minister by Pham Van Tra. Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam, Interior Minister Le Minh Huong, and Finance Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung remain in their posts.

Phan Van Khai

19

Motzfeldt

Greenland: Jonathan Motzfeldt is chosen to replace retiring Lars Emil Johansen as prime minister.

21

Germany: In a state election in Hamburg, First Mayor Henning Voscherau's Social Democratic Party (SPD) wins 36.2% of the vote (54 of 121 seats), the Christian Democratic Union 30.7% (46 seats), the Greens 13.9% (21 seats), the German People's Union 4.97%, the Instead Party 3.8%, and the Free Democratic Party 3.5%. Turnout is 70%. Voscherau resigns and the SPD selects Ortwin Runde as his successor.

Singh

India: Kalyan Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party takes office as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.
Poland: In parliamentary elections, the Solidarity Electoral Action wins 33.8% of the vote (201 seats), the Democratic Left Alliance 27.1% (164 seats), the Freedom Union 13.4% (60 seats), the Polish Peasant Party 7.3% (27 seats), and the Movement for Reconstruction of Poland 5.6% (6 seats). Turnout is 47.9%.
Yugoslavia: In presidential elections in Serbia, Zoran Lilic of the Socialist Party (with 35.7% of the vote) and Vojislav Seselj of the Radical Party (27.3%) qualify for a runoff; Vuk Draskovic of the Serbian Renewal Movement finishes third with 20.7%. In the parliamentary election, the Socialists win 110 seats (34.3%), the Radicals 82 (28.1%), the Renewal Movement 45 (19.2%), and other parties 13. Turnout is 57.5%.

23

Angola: Former foreign minister (1989-92) Pedro de Castro Van-Dúnem dies.

25

Slovenia: Parliament elects Boris Frlec as foreign minister.

27

Switzerland: Former Schultheiss of Luzern (1957, 1963, 1970) Werner Kurzmeyer dies.
Thailand: A censure motion against Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh is defeated with a 212-170 vote.

29

Papua New Guinea: Prime Minister Bill Skate sacks Finance Minister Roy Yaki. Yaki is replaced by Iairo Lasaro.