The 1990s (often referred to as the 90s ) was the decade that began on January 1, 1990 and ended on December 31, 1999. It is distinct from the decade known as the 200th decade which began on January 1, 1991 and ended on December 31, 2000.
From left, clockwise : The Hubble Space Telescope orbits the Earth after it was launched in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War ; The signing of the Oslo Accords on 13 September 1993; The World Wide Web becomes more popular worldwide; Boris Yeltsin and followers stand on a tank against the August Coup , which leads to the end of the Soviet Union on 26 December 1991; Dolly the sheep is the first mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell ; The funeral procession of Diana, Princess of Wales , who dies in 1997 from a car crash in Paris , and is mourned by millions; Hundreds of thousands of Tutsi people are killed in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. This decade saw the fall of the Soviet Union, which ended the Cold War.
For most of the decade, Bill Clinton was president of the United States, Mahathir Mohamad was Prime Minister of Malaysia .
Further developments in computer technology continued. The World Wide Web became popular throughout the world.
In sports, West Germany , Brazil , and France won the FIFA World Cup . The Cincinnati Reds , Minnesota Twins , Toronto Blue Jays , Atlanta Braves , New York Yankees , and Florida Marlins won the World Series .
Pope John Paul II , Pope in the 1990s (the last full decade he would serve as Pope until his death in 2005)Andre Agassi , American tennis playerPete Sampras , American tennis playerMichael Schumacher , German formula 1 driverBackstreet Boys , American boy bandMahathir Mohamad , Malaysian Prime Minister from 1981 to 2003 Slobodan Milošević , President of Serbia from 1989 to 2000 Margaret Thatcher , British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 John Major , British Prime Minister from 1990 to 1997 Tony Blair , British Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007 George H. W. Bush , President of the United States until 1993 Bill Clinton President of the United States from 1993 –2001 François Mitterrand , President of France from 1981 to 1995 Jacques Chirac , President of France from 1995 to 2007 Jiang Zemin , General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002 Alberto Fujimori President of Peru 1990 –2000 Fidel Castro , leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008Elizabeth II , British queen since 1952 Madonna , singer-songwriterThe Prodigy , electronic dance groupBritney Spears , American singerSpice Girls , music groupMariah Carey , singerCeline Dion , singerWhitney Houston , singerMel Gibson , actorMikhail Gorbachev , leader of the USSR 1985 –1991 Boris Yeltsin , President of Russia from 1991 to 1999 Michael Jordan , American basketball playerTom Hanks , American actorNicole Kidman , actressSandra Bullock , American actressTom Cruise , American actorRobin Williams , American actor and comedianJim Carrey , Canadian-American actor and comedianGeorge Clooney , American actorBrad Pitt , American actorEddie Murphy , American actor and comedianArnold Schwarzenegger , American actorOprah Winfrey , American talk show hostEllen DeGeneres , American talk show hostSaddam Hussein , President of Iraq 1979 –2003 Helmut Kohl , German chancellor until 1998 Nelson Mandela , President of South Africa 1994 –1999 Thabo Mbeki , President of South Africa 1999 –2008 Yitzhak Rabin , Israeli Prime MinisterHosni Mubarak , President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011Muammar al-Gaddafi , Libyan dictator from 1969 to 2011Nirvana , rock bandSteven Seagal , American actorJulia Roberts , American actor/actressGerhard Schröder , German Chancellor from 1998 to 2005 Lech Wałęsa , President of Poland from 1990 to 1995 Yasser Arafat , Palestinian leaderKim Il-Sung , dictator of North Korea from 1948 to 1994 Kim Jong-il , dictator of North Korea from 1994 to 2011 Tupac Shakur , American rapperDiana, Princess of Wales Gianni Versace , fashion designerBill Gates , co-founder of Microsoft Steve Jobs , co-founder of Apple 
