When was the first president to pardon a turkey elected?
1980
Title: José Domingo de Obaldía
Passage: Jose Domingo de Obaldía Gallegos was the second President of the Republic of Panama from 1908 to 1910 and the first president elected by popular vote after the separation of Panama from Colombia.
Title: National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation
Passage: The first President on record issuing a ``pardon ''to his turkey was Ronald Reagan. Reagan had been sending the turkeys presented to him to farms and zoos since at least 1982, and 1987's turkey, Charlie, was likewise headed to a petting zoo. At the time, Reagan was facing questions over the Iran - Contra affair, on whether or not he would consider pardoning Oliver North (who had yet to be tried for his involvement in the affair); Reagan conjured the notion of the turkey pardon as a joke to deflect those questions. Reagan did not pardon a turkey in his final year as President in 1988, but his successor, George H.W. Bush, instituted the turkey pardon as a permanent part of the presentation beginning his first year in office, 1989, in response to the protests of animal rights activists.
Title: History of Russia
Passage: U.S.–Soviet relations deteriorated following the beginning of the nine-year Soviet–Afghan War in 1979 and the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan, a staunch anti-communist, but improved as the communist bloc started to unravel in the late 1980s. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia lost the superpower status that it had won in the Second World War.
History of Russia National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation