December 2002 calendar
Learn the most interesting events and historical facts that happened in December 2002.
The US president was George W. Bush (Republican), the UK Prime Minister was Tony Blair (Labour), Pope St John Paul II was leading the Catholic Church.
But much more happened on December 2002: find out below
Historical Events
Which were the important events of December 2002?
Events
- 03 Dec 2002 Football (soccer: Real Madrid defeated Olimpia paraguay to win Intercontinental Cup.
- 05 Dec 2002 Today marks the end of Ramadan worldwide for Muslims by being the Islamic festival Eid ul-Fitr.
- 06 Dec 2002 Akhmed Zakayev, a separatist Chechen from Chechnya, has returned to London and is expected to seek asylum. He was taken into custody but was soon released on bail by Vanessa Redgrave.
- 07 Dec 2002 Overnight, two Vincent van Gogh paintings were taken from the Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam. It comes shortly after a large theft of diamonds from an exhibit at The Hague's Museon, casting doubt on high-tech security systems.
- 08 Dec 2002 The Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community meet with the Government of Cuba to declare the date as ''CARICOM Cuba Day to celebrate diplomatic ties between CARICOM and Cuba.
- 09 Dec 2002 United Airlines, second-largest airline in the world is filing bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy code.
- 10 Dec 2002 Venezuela's Supreme Court declared it was suspending services due to political harassment and condemned the use of deadly violence by President Hugo Chavez's opponents.
- 11 Dec 2002 Chile's government signs a bilateral trade agreement to the USA.
- 13 Dec 2002 European Union's expansion: The European Union announced that Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary and Latvia will be joining the Union as members starting May 1, 2004.
- 15 Dec 2002 The Capital Center, formerly the US Airways Arena, has been demolished.
- 16 Dec 2002 Former Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavisic pleaded guilty to one count for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Tribunal for the ex-Yugoslavia in The Hague for the atrocities she committed against Bosnian Muslims during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War.
- 17 Dec 2002 Second Congo War: The Congolese Parties to the Inter Congolese Dialogue Sign a Peace Agreement that provides for transitional governance, legislative and presidential elections within two-years.
- 18 Dec 2002 2003 California recall: Gray Davis, the Governor of California, announces that California would be facing a record deficit of $35 billion. This figure is roughly twice the amount reported by him during his reelection campaign.
- 19 Dec 2002 U.S. plans to invade Iraq
- 20 Dec 2002 Barbara Joyce Williams Ferrell is the daughter of Ted Williams, a baseball player. She has settled her lawsuit to have her father's body taken from a cryonics storage unit and cremated.
- 21 Dec 2002 Units of the French Foreign Legion based in the Cote D'Ivoire have come in contact with rebels moving southward from Man. Commander of the French force Colonel Emmanuel Maurin stated that "between what we have here, and the river, they will not pass."
- 22 Dec 2002 Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, announced that he had canceled presidential and legislative elections that were scheduled for next month. He believes that continuing Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories will make it impossible to hold free elections.
- 23 Dec 2002 An Iraqi MiG-25 shoots down a MQ-1 Predator, marking the first time that unmanned drones and aircraft have engaged in combat.
- 24 Dec 2002 A number of US Muslim organizations have filed a lawsuit against John Ashcroft, the US Attorney General and the US Immigration Services over the detention and arrest of Muslim men.
- 25 Dec 2002 Katie Hnida, University of New Mexico kicker, makes history as the first female participant in NCAA Division 1 football games. She missed a kick during the Las Vegas Bowl match.
- 26 Dec 2002 After removing the United Nations seals from the reactor and degrading surveillance camera capabilities, North Korea is now reactivating the plutonium-producing nuclear power plant north Pyongyang. Officials in the United States believe that this reactor is responsible for producing plutonium for two atomic bombs. The George W. Bush Administration has named North Korea as part of the "ampquotaxis of evilampquot.
- 27 Dec 2002 Two truck bombs struck the Chechen government headquarters in Grozny (Chechnya), killing 72 people and injuring 200 others.
- 29 Dec 2002 According to Kenya's electoral commission, the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), an opposition party, won a landslide victory over the ruling KANU party in Friday’s elections. This brings an end to 40 years of single-party rule and 24 years under Daniel arap Moi. Mwai Kibaki (NARC's presidential candidate) led the KANU's official candidate by more than 30%.
- 30 Dec 2002 Three American missionaries are killed by Abed Abdel Razzak Kamel in Yemen.
- 31 Dec 2002 Col. Yuri Budanov was found not guilty of insanity. He was then committed to a psychiatric facility for further evaluation. This is the first trial of a Russian soldier for human rights violations in Chechnya. Budanov, who was accused of murdering and abducting Heda Kungayeva (18-year-old Chechen girl), was charged. Budanov claims that she was a rebel sniper.
- 17 Dec 2002 Second Congo War: The Congolese parties of the Inter Congolese Dialogue sign a peace accord which makes provision for transitional governance and legislative and presidential elections within two years.
Famous Birthday
- See more
Famous Deaths
- See more
Music charts
Which were the top hits in December 2002?
Unlimited, ad-free streaming of over a million songs, 30 day Free Trial
Top #5 songs in the USA
Top #5 songs in the UK
- Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland - Dilemma
- Blue featuring Elton John - Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
- Cheeky Girls - Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum)
- DJ Sammy & Yanou featuring Do - Heaven
- Daniel Bedingfield - If You're Not The One
Movies
Which were the most popular Movies released in that month?
Books
Which were the most popular books released in December 2002?