World Events in 1990 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Panama

"Operation Just Cause" was codenamed in mid-December 1989 during the presidency of George H.W. Bush. The operation was to remove General Manuel Noriega from power, who was wanted by the American authorities for racketeering and drug trafficking. The U.S force with about 27000 soldiers started the invasion on December 20, 1989.

The Panamanian forces were quickly overran. Noriega managed to elude capture for several days and finally he went to seek for refuge in the Holy See diplomatic mission in Panama City.

He was captured on January 3, 1990, and was deported to United States where he was tried, convicted and sentenced to 40-year jail term.

Answer: 27

Nelson Mandela (1918-2015) was arrested by the police on 5 August 1962. He was imprisoned for 27 years: transferred from Pretoria to Robben Island (1964-1982), Pollsmoor Prison (1982-1988) and Victor Verster Prison (1988-1990). F.W. de Klerk ended apartheid by announcing the unbanning of the African National Congress and release of Nelson Mandela on this day. Mandela became the first South African black president from 1994 to 1999.

Answer: Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-2022) served as the eighth and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 until the USSR was dissolved in December 1991. On October 15, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to lessen Cold War tensions and for his reforms on USSR.

An unsuccessful coup in August 1991 by hard-lined Communists against Gorbachev sealed the fate of USSR. The coup brought down the power of Gorbachev and propelled Boris Yeltsin as the new leader of Soviet and Russian politics. Yeltsin (1931-2007) served as the first president of Russia, from 1991 to 1999.

Answer: Romania

It was Romanian first free elections held after the overthrow of the communist regime six months earlier since 1937. It was also the first time the president had been directly elected since 1974. The National Salvation Front (FSN) won the election with 66.31% of the votes, winning 263 seats out of 396. FSN leader Ion Iliescu won the presidential election with 85 percent of the vote.

Answer: Berlin Wall

June 13, 1990 was declared as the official destruction of the Berlin Wall by East Germany. It was 7 months after it was opened on November 1989. Checkpoint Charlie was dismantled on June 22. On July 1, East and West Germany merged their economies and Deutsche Mark became the official currency. On October 3, both countries officially became one country.

Answer: West Germany

1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th edition, hosted by Italy. In the semi-final, West Germany beat England on penalties (4-3) after the score was tied at 1-1 after extra time. In the semi-final, Argentina upset Italy by the same score on penalties and the same score after extra time.

In the final, West Germany won their second world title after beating Argentina 1-0. After this World Cup, West Germany became Germany and the East Germany football team ceased to exist (absorbed by West Germany) following re-unification of the two countries.

Answer: Middle East

Iraq invaded Kuwait which led to the Gulf War. This started the seven-month-long Iraqi military occupation of Kuwait. The refusal of Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait led to a military intervention by the UN authorized coalition forces, headed by the United States. The UN troops forced the expulsion of Iraqi troops from Kuwait. During the retreat, the Iraqis set 600 Kuwaiti oil wells on fire as a scorched earth strategy.

Answer: Shenzhen

Shenzhen was the first Chinese city to open a MacDonald's restaurant. In 1979, Shenzhen was designated as a Special economic zone. Shenzhen is located in Guangdong province, close to Hong Kong. In 2018, Shenzhen's economy had surpassed Hong Kong.

Answer: Poll tax

Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013) was the British female prime minister, serving from 1979 to 1990. Thatcher's imposition of a local poll tax alienated many Conservative voters and parliamentarians. As she lost her support, she was challenged for her leadership and was persuaded by Cabinet to withdraw from the second round of voting. She was replaced by John Major.

Answer: Singapore

Lee Kuan Yew (1923-2015) often referred by his initials LKY was the Singapore prime minister from 1959 to 1990. He was widely recognized as the leader to turn an undeveloped country into a developed country within a span of three decades. In those 31 years Singapore, an island of mudflats and swamps, developed into a thriving metropolis with a world class harbor and airport.

He was succeeded by Goh Chok Tong but remained a member of parliament until his death in 2015 aged 91 (he was elected to parliament in 1955).