strong U.S.-style presidency. Mikhail Gorbachev is elected to a five-year term as the first-ever President of the Soviet Union on March 15. March 15 Iraq hangs British journalist Farzad Bazoft for spying. Daphne Parish, a British nurse, is sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment as an accomplice. Mikhail Gorbachev is elected as the first executive president of the Soviet Union. Singing Revolution: The Soviet Union announces that Lithuania's declaration of independence is invalid. Fernando Collor de Mello takes office as President of Brazil, Brazil's first democratically elected president since Jânio Quadros in 1961. The next day, he announces a currency freeze and freezes large bank accounts for 18 months. March 18 Twelve paintings and a Shang dynasty vase, collectively worth $100 to $300 million, are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts by two thieves posing as police officers. This is the largest art theft in US history, and the paintings () have not been recovered. Cold War: East Germany holds its first free elections. March 20 – Ferdinand Marcos's widow, Imelda Marcos, goes on trial for bribery, embezzlement, and racketeering. March 21 – After 75 years of South African rule since World War I, Namibia becomes independent. March 24 – 1990 Australian federal election: Bob Hawke's Labor Government is re-elected with a reduced majority, narrowly defeating the Liberal/National Coalition led by Andrew Peacock. March 25 In New York City, a fire due to arson at an illegal social club called "Happy Land" kills 87. Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie announces his intention to retire at the end of the year. In the Hungarian parliamentary election, Hungary's first multiparty election since 1948, the Hungarian Democratic Forum wins the most seats. March 26 – The 62nd Academy Awards, hosted by Billy Crystal, are held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California, with Driving Miss Daisy winning Best Picture. March 27 – The United States begins broadcasting Radio y Televisión Martí to Cuba. March 28 – U.S. President George H. W. Bush posthumously awards Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal. March 30 – Singing Revolution: After its first free elections on March 18, the Estonian SSR declares the Soviet rule to have been illegal since 1940 and declares a transition period for full independence. March 31 – "The Second Battle of Trafalgar": A massive anti-poll tax demonstration in Trafalgar Square, London, turns into a riot; 471 people are