1990s

The 1990s (often referred to as the '90s) was the decade that began on January 1, 1990 and ended on December 31, 1999.

Many important world events happened in the 1990s. One was the fall of the Soviet Union, which ended the Cold War. Two genocides, in Rwanda and Serbia, happened in the '90s. In South Africa, Apartheid ended. The European Union was established, and the Gulf War was fought in the Middle East.

There were major developments in computer technology. The World Wide Web (invented in 1989) became extremely popular and connected people around the world. Microsoft and Apple grew significantly.

In sports, West Germany, Brazil, and France each won a FIFA World Cup. In Major League Baseball, World Series winners included the Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, and Florida Marlins.

These are just a few of the major world events that occurred in the 1990s:

• 1990 - 1991 – Gulf War
• 1990 – German reunification
• 1991 – The end of the Cold War.
• 1991 – Breakup of Yugoslavia, followed by the Yugoslav wars.
• 1991 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union
• 1991 – Rosuvastatin was patented. It was approved for medical use in the United States twelve years later.
• 1991 – Wawasan 2020 (Vision 2020) was introduced by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad
• 1992 – The Maastricht Treaty established the European Union.
• 1993 – Dissolution of Czechoslovakia.
• 1994 – Genocide in Rwanda
• 1994 – End of Apartheid in South Africa.
• 1995 – Bosnian genocide
• 1997 – Handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China.

• In Egypt, Hosni Mubarak was President from 1981-2011
• In South Africa, Nelson Mandela was President from 1994–1999, and Thabo Mbeki was President from 1999–2008

• In China, Jiang Zemin was General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002
• In Libya, Muammar al-Gaddafi was dictator from 1969 to 2011
• In Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad was Prime Minister from 1981 to 2003
• In North Korea, Kim Il-Sung was dictator from 1948-1994, and Kim Jong-il was dictator from 1994 to 2011
• When the Soviet Union existed, Mikhail Gorbachev was its leader from 1985–1991
• After the Soviet Union fell, Boris Yeltsin was President of Russia from 1991 to 1999

• In France, François Mitterrand was President from 1981 to 1995, and Jacques Chirac was President from 1995 to 2007
• In Germany, Helmut Kohl was Chancellor until 1998, and Gerhard Schröder was Chancellor from 1998-2005
• In Palestine, Yasser Arafat was the first President of the Palestinian National Authority from 1994-2004
• In Poland, Lech Wałęsa was President from 1990-1995
• In Serbia, Slobodan Milošević was President from 1989 to 2000
• In the United Kingdom, Elizabeth II was Queen throughout the decade (she served from 1952-2022)
• Also in the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister (PM) from 1979 to 1990; John Major was PM from 1990 to 1997; and Tony Blair was PM from 1997 to 2007
• Pope John Paul II led Vatican City and the Catholic Church in the 1990s (this was the last full decade he would serve as Pope; he died in 2005)

• In Iraq, Saddam Hussein was President from 1979–2003
• In Israel, Yitzhak Rabin was Prime Minister from 1992-1995, when he was assassinated

• In Cuba, Fidel Castro was Prime Minister from 1959 to 1976, then President from 1976 - 2008
• In Peru, Alberto Fujimori was President from 1990–2000
• In the United States, George H. W. Bush was President until 1993, and Bill Clinton was President from 1993–2001

• Andre Agassi, American tennis player
• Barry Bonds, American baseball player
• Ken Griffey Jr., American baseball player
• Michael Schumacher, German Formula 1 driver
• Michael Jordan, American basketball player
• Pete Sampras, American tennis player

• Backstreet Boys, American boy band
• Britney Spears, American singer
• Celine Dion, singer
• Madonna, singer-songwriter
• Mariah Carey, singer
• Nirvana, rock band
• The Prodigy, electronic dance group
• Spice Girls, music group
• Tupac Shakur, American rapper (murdered in 1996)
• Whitney Houston, singer

• Arnold Schwarzenegger, American actor
• Brad Pitt, American actor
• Eddie Murphy, American actor and comedian
• Ellen DeGeneres, American comedian and talk show host
• George Clooney, American actor
• Jim Carrey, Canadian-American actor and comedian
• Julia Roberts, American actor/actress
• Mel Gibson, American actor
• Nicole Kidman, Australian-American actress
• Oprah Winfrey, American actress and talk show host
• Robin Williams, American actor and comedian
• Sandra Bullock, American actress
• Steven Seagal, American actor
• Tom Cruise, American actor
• Tom Hanks, American actor

• Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft
• Diana, Princess of Wales (killed in a car crash in 1997)
• Gianni Versace, fashion designer
• Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple

Source for some items:

• https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ Archived 2013-05-10 at the Wayback Machine
• http://m-w.com/