The world in
What happened in 1983?
20 events across 9 world regions, each with its sources.
South Asia
Soviet Invasion of AfghanistanIn December 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to support the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan mujahideen, who received aid from multiple countries. The war lasted nearly a decade, ending with the Soviet withdrawal in February 1989. American and British support for the mujahideen escalated the Cold War, ending a brief period of relaxed Soviet–US relations.
Outbreak of the Cambodian–Vietnamese WarIn December 1978, Vietnam launched a large-scale invasion of Cambodia, toppling the Khmer Rouge regime, which marked the outbreak of the Cambodian–Vietnamese War. Border clashes had occurred in preceding years. The war was part of the Third Indochina War and intertwined with the Sino-Soviet split in the Cold War.
Sponsorship Establishment of the International Islamic University MalaysiaThe International Islamic University Malaysia was established on the Malay Peninsula, sponsored by eight member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. The public university is headquartered in Gombak, Selangor.
West Asia
Iran–Iraq War beginsIn September 1980, Iraq invaded Iran, igniting the Iran–Iraq War. The eight-year conflict stemmed from long-standing border disputes and Iraqi fears that Iran’s Islamic Revolution might spread to its Shiite population. The war caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, becoming the deadliest conventional war between regular armies of developing countries.
SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Uploader was gIre_3piCH2005 at fa.wikipedia / Public domain ↗
Outbreak of the 1982 Lebanon WarOn 6 June 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon, marking the start of the 1982 Lebanon War. The war lasted until a partial Israeli withdrawal in 1985. According to the Associated Press, around 20,000 Lebanese and Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed, along with 670 Israeli soldiers.
Completion of the Karen Demirchyan ComplexA large multi-purpose sports and concert complex was completed on Tsitsernakaberd hill in Yerevan, Armenia, overlooking the Hrazdan River gorge, featuring 184 stairs and dominating the western part of the city.
SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Aleksey Chalabyan a.k.a Xelgen / CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗
Central & South America
Nicaraguan RevolutionThe Nicaraguan Revolution was a revolutionary movement in Nicaragua from 1961 to 1990, led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front, aiming to overthrow the Somoza family dictatorship and, after its success in 1979, to carry out social and economic reforms.
Establishment of the Río Abiseo National ParkThe Río Abiseo National Park was established in 1983 in the San Martín department of Peru, covering more than 270,000 hectares. It encompasses tropical Andean rainforest with dramatic altitudinal variations, hosting diverse rare flora and fauna, and contains over 30 pre-Columbian archaeological sites.
SourcesUNESCO World Heritage listing ↗Wikipedia ↗Image: Ti galan / CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗
- Establishment of the National Reorganization Process in Argentina
The National Reorganization Process was established in Argentina in 1976, ruling as a military dictatorship until 1983. It seized power through a coup and implemented state terrorism, causing numerous disappearances, deaths, and exiles, marking the last military dictatorship in Argentina's modern history.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
East Asia
- Launch of Reform and Opening-up
After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in December 1978, China began implementing a policy centered on economic reform, known as 'reform and opening-up'. Proposed under Deng Xiaoping's leadership, it aimed to introduce market mechanisms and expand foreign economic exchanges.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Founding of Shenzhen UniversityShenzhen University was founded in 1983 as the first comprehensive university in Shenzhen.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Beginning of the South African Border WarIn 1966, the South African Border War broke out across Namibia, Zambia, and Angola. It was fought between the South African Defence Force and the People's Liberation Army of Namibia, the armed wing of SWAPO. The conflict, closely tied to the Angolan Civil War, became one of Africa's largest wars since World War II.
SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: No machine-readable author provided. Ceresnet assumed (based on copyright claims). / CC BY-SA 2.5 ↗
- Chadian–Libyan War
Between 1978 and 1987, Libya conducted a series of military campaigns in Chad, fighting alongside Libyan allies against the French-backed Chadian government. Libya repeatedly intervened in the Chadian civil war, and France also intervened militarily to support the Chadian government. The conflict ended with the victory of pro-French forces.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Europe
Cold WarAfter World War II, the Western Bloc led by the United States and the Eastern Bloc led by the Soviet Union engaged in a nearly half-century-long political, economic, and military confrontation. Although the two superpowers never fought directly, they competed globally through proxy wars, an arms race, and the Space Race. The Cold War began in the late 1940s and ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: U.S. Army photo Photo Credit: USAMHI / Public domain ↗
Signing of the Treaty on the Creation of the USSROn December 30, 1922, the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR was signed at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, officially establishing the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Plenipotentiary delegates from the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, and Byelorussian Soviet republics signed the treaty, along with a declaration serving as its preamble. The treaty legally formalized the political union of the Soviet republics that had existed since 1919, creating a new federal government with centralized functions in Moscow. Legislative power was vested in the Congress of Soviets and the Central Executive Committee, while executive power lay with the Council of People's Commissars.
Oceania
Establishment of Washpool National ParkIn 1983, the government of New South Wales, Australia established Washpool National Park to protect significant plant and animal populations in the Washpool and Gibraltar Range forests.
Establishment of Nightcap National ParkIn April 1983, an area of about 8,080 hectares in the Nightcap Range, New South Wales, Australia, was gazetted as a national park. Its establishment followed campaigns and blockades against logging at Terania Creek and nearby locations in the preceding years. It later became part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Site.
SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Poyt448 Peter Woodard / Public domain ↗
North America
- Presidency of Ronald Reagan (1981‑1989)
Ronald Reagan served as the 40th president of the United States from January 20, 1981 to January 20, 1989. A Republican, he won the 1980 election against incumbent Jimmy Carter and was re-elected in 1984 against Walter Mondale. Constitutionally limited to two terms, Reagan was succeeded by his vice president George H. W. Bush.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Establishment of San Antonio Missions National Historical ParkIn 1983, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park was established in Texas, USA. The park preserves four of the five Spanish colonial missions, which were founded by Catholic orders to spread Christianity among local natives as part of Spain's colonization system in the Southwest.
SourcesWikipedia ↗Image: Liveon001 ©Travis Witt / CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗
North Africa
Outbreak of the Western Sahara WarIn 1975, after Spain withdrew from Western Sahara, Morocco and Mauritania took over administration under the Madrid Accords, leading to armed conflict with the Polisario Front. Morocco organized the Green March, with tens of thousands of citizens and around 20,000 troops entering Western Sahara, meeting resistance from the Polisario Front. Fighting was minor at first but evolved into a prolonged guerrilla war. The Polisario Front fought both Morocco and Mauritania, seeking independence. Mauritania withdrew in 1979, but the war persisted until a 1991 ceasefire.
Around 1983
These are known only to the century, not to the year. They are listed separately so a rough date is never mistaken for an exact one.
- Beginning of the Digital Revolution
- Completion of the Taipei Grand Mosque
- Guatemalan Maya genocide
- Establishment of Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park
- Construction of Grimeton Longwave Radio Station
- Construction of the Trans-Iranian Railway begins
- Construction of the 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright Begins
- Construction of the Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in 'The Centre of Heaven and Earth'