A certain Tony Blair was elected British Prime Minister in May 1997. In the election that returned Labour and Blair several previous Cabinet ministers lost their seats, as did all Conservative MPs in Scotland and Wales. Gordon Brown become chancellor. Michael Portillo thought about using his free time to start on travelogues. The Halifax Building Society floated on the London Stock Exchange creating the largest extension of shareholders in UK history.
Also in May/June 1997 a USA businessman called Donald Trump announced his separation from his then wife Marla Maples. Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a historic treaty with NATO and the UK's 99 year lease on Hong Kong expired, the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere, the Sky Tower in Auckland, New Zealand opened, the Brazilian Senate allowed women to wear slacks (yes, slacks!). Thousands of people in the USA reported the 'Phoenix Lights', a purported UFO sighting in Arizona. Although still a hotly contested event the U.S. Air Force did admit to dropping flares.
And did you know:
In the tech and science worlds:
