1975 in politics

This is a list of events relating to politics in 1 975.

Events

January

• January 1 - John N. Mitchell, H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are found guilty of the Watergate cover-up ^[1]
• January 4 - Khmer Rouge forces begin a siege of Phnom Penh as the North Vietnamese army sweeps through Laos, South Vietnam and Cambodia ^[2]
• January 15 - The Alvor Agreement is signed, formally ending the Angolan War of Independence and establishing a timeline for Angolan independence ^[3]
• January 16 - The IRA call off a 25-day ceasefire ^[2]
• January 27 -
  • Five IRA bombs go off in London and 19 are injured by a blast in Manchester ^[2]
  • Creation of the Church Committee by the US Senate, which goes on to expose federal intelligence abuses including Operation MKULTRA, COINTELPRO and Family Jewels ^[4]

February

• February 2 - Ethiopia attack rebel positions outside Asmara ^[2]
• February 5 - Argentinian president Isabel Perón declares Operativo Independencia aiming to crush the People's Revolutionary Army, the first large-scale military operation of the Dirty War ^[5]
• February 11 - In Britain, Margaret Thatcher is elected leader of the Conservative Party ^[2]
• February 13 - Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash declares Northern Cyprus independent ^[2]
• February 27 - Peter Lorenz, CDU candidate for mayor of West Berlin, is kidnapped by the 2 June Movement ^[6]

March

• March 6 - Iran and Iraq sign the Algiers Agreement ^[7]
• March 10 - North Vietnamese troops attack Ban Mê Thuột in South Vietnam on their way to capturing Saigon ^[8]
• March 11 - Failed right-wing coup attempt in Portugal by former president, António de Spínola ^[9]
• March 31 - The Iraqi army launch a general assault on mountain positions held by Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq ^[2]

April

• April 15 - 1975 Beirut bus massacre, in which 27 Palestinians are killed by members of a Phalangist militia, sparks city-wide sectarian crashes between Phalangists and Palestinians, beginning the Lebanese Civil War ^[2]
• April 17 - Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia, ending the civil war ^[2]
• April 26 - Socialist victory in Portugal's first free elections in 50 years ^[2]
• April 29 - Operation Frequent Wind begins, evacuating American civilians and "at-risk" Vietnamese from Saigon
• April 30 - North Vietnam capture Saigon, leading to the collapse of South Vietnam and the retreat of remaining American personnel

May

• May 4 - Ulster victory in elections to the Ulster Convention in Northern Ireland ^[2]
• May 21 - Beginning of the Stammheim trial of the Red Army Faction in Germany ^[2]

June

• June 6 - The United Kingdom vote to remain in the European Communities ^[2]
• June 12 - Indira Gandhi is found guilty of electoral corruption by the Allahabad High Court ^[2]
• June 16 - South Africa and the United Kingdom terminate the 1955 Simonstown agreement ^[2]
• June 24 - Mozambique becomes independent from Portugal ^[2]

July

• July 15 - Launch of the Apollo-Soyuz, the first collaborative space mission conducted by the US and the USSR ^[10]

August

• August 15 - Coup in Bangladesh replaces one-party state with military junta ^[2]

September

• September 5 - Failed assassination attempt of American president Gerald Ford ^[11]
• September 22 - Second unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Gerald Ford ^[11]
• September 26 - The martial law administration of Bangladesh enact a law providing legal immunity to all involved in the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
• September 28 - Protests across Europe against the execution of five Basque "urban guerrillas" by Spain; the Spanish embassy in the Netherlands is set on fire ^[2]

October

• October 9 - Andrei Sakharov wins Nobel Peace Prize ^[2]
• October 23 - The first rounds are exchanged in the Battle of the Hotels in Lebanon ^[12]

November

• November 11 - Gough Whitlam is dismissed as prime minister of Australia by Sir John Kerr, Governor-General ^[2]
• November 14 - Spain agrees to retreat from Spanish Sahara ^[2]
• November 22 - Juan Carlos becomes King of Spain following the announcement of General Franco's death to the public

December

• December 31 - In the UK, the Sex Discrimination Act is passed and the Equal Pay Act comes into force ^[2]

Births

• S'bu Zikode, president of the South African shack dwellers' movement, Abahlali baseMjondolo
• February 13 - Katie Hopkins, English far-right political commentator
• February 18 - Igor Dodon, Moldovan politician who served as the 5th president of Moldova from 2016 to 2020
• May 3 - Robert Turcescu, Romanian journalist and founder of the former political talk show 100%
• August 6 - Andrei Năstase, Moldovan politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs in 2019
• November 13 - Diana Șoșoacă, Romanian far-right politician and anti-vaccine activist serving as an MEP since 2024
• November 27 - Andrian Candu, Moldovan former politician serving as the presiding officer of parliament from 2015 to 2019
• December 21 - Charles Michel, Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 2014 to 2019 and as the president of the European Council from 2019 to 2024

Deaths

January

• January 6 - United States senator for Montana between 1923-1947, Burton Wheeler

February

• February 11 - Head of State of Madagascar, Richard Ratsimandrava
• February 25 - Black separatist and second leader of the Nation of Islam, Elijah Muhammad

March

• March 18 - Zimbabwean politician and nationalist leader who led the Zimbabwe African National Union, Herbert Chitepo
• March 19 - Ethiopian military officer and civil rights activist, Tadesse Birru
• March 25 - King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, assassinated by his nephew, Faisal bin Musaid ^[2]
• March 31 - Egyptian politician and officer, Youssef Seddik

April

• April 5 - Taiwanese President, General Chiang Kai-shek ^[2]
• April 10 - US Democrat politician, John Bailey
• April 12 - French civil rights activist, dancer, singer and actress, Josephine Baker
• April 13 - First President of Chad, François Tombalbaye

May

• May 1 - Prominent military figure in Francoist Spain and Morocco, Mohammed Meziane
• May 6 - Hungarian Cardinal Jozef Mindszenty, in exile ^[2]

June

• June 3 - Former Japanese prime minister, Eisaku Satō
• June 28 - Coke R. Stevenson, 35th governor of Texas

July

• July 5 - American civil rights activist, Lillie May Carroll Jackson
• July 19 - U.S. Marine who served in the Rhodesian Army, John Alan Coey

August

• August 15 -
  • American neo-Nazi, Joseph Tommasi
  • Founding president of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
• August 27 - Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie
• August 29 - 3rd President of Ireland, Eamon de Valera

September

• September 2 - American suffragist, Mabel Vernon
• September 12 - Former prime minister of East Cameroon, Vincent de Paul Ahanda
• September 20 - Egyptian feminist, Doria Shafik

October

• October 2 - Indian independence activist and politician, K. Kamaraj

November

• November 5 - Former Republican mayor of Honolulu, Neal Blaisdell
• November 20 - Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco

December

• December 24 - Former prime minister of Comoros, Saïd Ibrahim Ben Ali
• December 26 - Mayor of Hiroshima, Setsuo Yamada

References

1. "MITCHELL, HALDEMAN, EHRLICHMAN ARE SENTENCED TO 2½ TO 8 YEARS, MARDIAN TO 10 MONTHS TO 3 YEARS (Published 1975)". 1975-02-22. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
2. Daniel, Clifton; Kirshon, John W. (1995). Chronicle of the 20th century. Internet Archive. London ; New York : Dorling Kindersley. ISBN   978-0-7894-0332-2.
3. Tvedten, Inge (1997). Angola : struggle for peace and reconstruction. Internet Archive. Boulder, Colo. : Westview Press. ISBN   978-0-8133-8489-4.
4. "U.S. Senate: Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2025-08-09.
5. Lewis, Paul H. (2002). Guerrillas and Generals: The Dirty War in Argentina. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN   978-0-275-97359-9.
6. Blumenau, Bernhard (2014). The United Nations and Terrorism . doi:10.1057/9781137391988. ISBN   978-1-349-48315-0.
7. Pipes, Daniel. "A Border Adrift:: Origins of the Iraq-Iran War". Daniel Pipes. Archived from the original on 2025-03-07. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
8. "Vietnam From Cease-Fire to Capitulation - U.S. Army Center of Military History". www.history.army.mil. Archived from the original on 2015-02-21. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
9. "COUP ATTEMPT IN PORTUGAL | CIA FOIA (foia.cia.gov)". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2025-08-08.
10. "The Apollo-Soyuz Mission - NASA". 2010-03-18. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
11. "Gerald Ford, the only president to survive two assassination attempts". The Week. 2024-10-01. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
12. "How the Holiday Inn became a symbol of the Lebanese Civil War". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-09-22.