November 7, 1996: Warren Christopher resigns

US President Bill Clinton announced the resignation of Secretary of State Warren Christopher, clearing the way for the appointment of a successor who will take up the post in January. “Today it is with great regret at his departure but deep gratitude for his service to our administration and to our country that I have accepted Warren Christopher’s decision to step down as secretary of state,” Clinton told a White House news conference. Clinton praised Christopher for his “quiet dignity” that he said “masked a steely determination” and said he would stay on until a successor was chosen. Christopher, a 71-year-old lawyer from California, was the first cabinet member to announce he will not serve in the administration as it heads into a second term.

Other important events:

Spain and France sign the Treaty of Escurial and form an alliance against England.

Russia and Outer Mongolia sign a treaty securing Mogolia’s autonomy.

Woodrow Wilson is re-elected for a second term in the US presidential election.

Socialists depose the king of Bavaria, ending the rule of one of Europe’s oldest dynasties, and proclaim a republic.

US President Franklin D. Roosevelt wins an unprecedented fourth term in office, defeating Thomas E. Dewey.

The king of Nepal is deposed by the state’s hereditary prime minister. The king’s 3-year-old grandson, Prince Gyanendra, is installed as ruler.

British and French declare a ceasefire in Egypt.

Carl Stokes is elected the first black mayor of Cleveland, Ohio.

Richard M. Nixon is re-elected as US president.

Turkey adopts constitution.

Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba is replaced by Zine Al Abidine Bin Ali.

Powerful earthquake just inside China’s mountainous southern border kills 600 people.

East German Prime Minister Willi Stoph and the entire cabinet are forced to resign after massive pro-democracy protests.

Indian prime minister V.P. Singh resigns when his 11-month old National Front government lost a vote of confidence in parliament.

A Nigerian airliner carrying 141 people crashes into swampland east of Lagos, killing all aboard.

Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi signs a package of reforms aimed at making Kenya a multi-party democracy.

The space shuttle Discovery ends its historic nine-day mission with US Senator John Glenn and an international team of astronauts aboard.

Americans choose Republican George W. Bush as president over Democratic Vice-President Al Gore by 537 votes.

Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is arrested in Chile on charges involving corruption and massacres.

Tajikistan’s authoritarian president, Emomali Rakhmonov, wins a new seven-year term in an election.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is re-elected in a landslide.

Michael Jackson’s doctor is convicted of involuntary manslaughter after a trial.

Russia launches into space a trio of Russian, Japanese and US astronauts carrying an unlit Olympic torch on a spacewalk to mark the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.

First batch of Emirati troops comes back from Yemen as part of Saudi-led operations — Decisive Storm and Restoring Hope.