• 1958: Djibouti votes to retain its association with France in a referendum. • 1967: In a second referendum, a looser connection with France is chosen. • 1977: In a third referendum, 98.8 percent of voters choose independence. • 1977: Hassan Gouled Aptidon becomes the country’s first president. • 1977: Djibouti joins the Arab League. • 1981: Aptidon turns Djibouti into a one-party state. • 1991: A civil war breaks out between the government and an Afar group, the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD). • December 1994: A peace treaty is signed between the government and FRUD. • 1999: Aptidon resigns as president and is succeeded by his nephew, Ismail Omar Guelleh. • May 2001: Guelleh presides over the signing of the final peace treaty with the FRUD. • April 2005: Guelleh wins a second term in office with a coalition government. • March 2006: Djibouti holds its first regional elections. • 2008: The Union for a Presidential Majority boycotts elections, giving all seats to the ruling party. • 2011: Guelleh is reelected president.