These are some of the notable events relating to politics in 2007. Events January January 1 - Bulgaria and Romania join the European Union. January 1 - South Korea's Ban Ki-moon becomes the new UN Secretary-General, replacing Kofi Annan. January 1 - Irish (also known as Gaeilge) becomes an official working language of the European Union. January 1 - Slovenia adopts the Euro as its official currency, replacing the tolar. January 1 - Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva starts his second government term. January 2 - Memorial services are held for the late president Gerald Ford in Washington, D.C. January 3 - Former U.S. president Gerald Ford is laid to rest in Grand Rapids, Michigan. January 4 - The 110th United States Congress is sworn in. January 9 - Far-right politicians in the European Parliament form a new trans-national caucus. January 10 - Following the 2006 general election, Daniel Ortega becomes the new President of Nicaragua. January 11 - Austria's new government is sworn in under Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer (SPÖ) and Vice-Chancellor Wilhelm Molterer (ÖVP). January 14 - The Union for a Popular Movement nominates Nicolas Sarkozy as its candidate to become the next President of France in the 2007 French presidential election. January 15 - Rafael Correa becomes President of Ecuador, replacing Alfredo Palacio January 16 - Hans-Gert Pöttering, a German conservative politician becomes the President of the European Parliament. January 16 - Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev nominates Felix Kulov for Prime Minister. January 18 - The United States Senate passes ethics and lobbying reform legislation. January 20 - Senator Hillary Clinton announces her intention to run for President of the United States in next year's election. January 21 - An election in Serbia gives Ultra-nationalists 81 of the 250 seats in the Serbian Parliament. January 22 - Muqtada al-Sadr ends his boycott of the Iraqi political process and rejoins the government. February February 22 - In the Netherlands the fourth Balkenende cabinet is installed by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. March March 23 - Royal Navy intrusion into Iranian waters incident. Fifteen British sailors were arrested by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, for violation of maritime boundary. April April 3 - Royal Navy intrusion into Iranian waters incident. The 15 sailors arrested in Iranian waters are released. May May 3 - Scottish Parliament Election. The Scottish National Party (SNP) win with one more seat than the incumbent