December 1981 - December 29, 1981 (Tuesday)

December 29, 1981 (Tuesday)

• Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu ordered demolition to begin in Bucharest in order to make way for construction of the massive Boulevard of the Victory of Socialism Complex. Thousands of homes, apartment buildings, churches and other buildings were razed to satisfy Ceaușescu's obsession to build the world's largest governmental building and the Boulevard itself, with more demolished after construction of the complex began in 1984.
• The Senegambian Confederation was ratified unanimously by the National Assembly of Senegal and by the Gambian National Assembly on the same day. Senegambia came into existence on February 1, 1982 and lasted for seven years.
• U.S. District Judge Alcee Hastings was indicted for conspiracy to accept a $150,000 bribe. Acquitted in 1983, he remained in office until October 20, 1989, when the U.S. Senate convicted him 69-26 in an impeachment trial. He was elected to Congress in 1992.
• After reviewing Soviet President Brezhnev's letter of December 25, President Reagan followed up trade sanctions against Poland with an embargo on trade with the Soviet Union.
• Dr. Julio Iglesias Pugo, father of singer Julio Iglesias, was kidnapped from his home in Madrid and held for ransom. The senior Iglesias was released after 20 days, but the incident was enough to cause the younger Iglesias to move his family to Miami. The move proved to be a turning point for the family. Iglesias, well known in the rest of the world, became even more successful as he reached the American market, and his sons Enrique and Julio Jr., ages 6 and 8 at the time of the kidnapping, grew up to singing careers of their own.
• Born: Shizuka Arakawa, Japanese figure skater, 2004 World Champion and 2006 Olympic gold medalist, in Shinagawa
• Died: Miroslav Krleža, 88, Croatian and Yugoslavian writer