List of heads of state and government who died in office

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This is a list of heads of state and government who died in office. In general, hereditary office holders (kings, queens, emperors, emirs, and the like) and holders of offices where the normal term limit is life (popes, presidents for life, etc.) are excluded because, until recently, their death in office was the norm.

Such deaths have most often been from natural causes, but there are also cases of assassination, execution, suicide, accident and even death in battle.

The list is in chronological order. The name is listed first, followed by the year of death, the country, the name of the office the person held at the time of death, the location of the death (where known) and the cause of death.

Prior to 1850[]

Name Year Country Title Place of Death Cause of death
Thomas Burgh 1597  Ireland Lord Deputy Kingdom of Ireland Newry Illness — malaria or possibly typhus
Henry Ireton 1651  Ireland Lord Deputy Kingdom of Ireland Limerick Illness — bubonic plague
Henry Capell 1696  Ireland Lord Deputy Kingdom of Ireland Chapelizod Illness
Spencer Compton 1743  Great Britain Prime Minister Kingdom of Great Britain Middlesex Illness
Henry Pelham 1754  Great Britain Prime Minister Kingdom of Great Britain Middlesex Illness – skin infection[1]
Charles Watson-Wentworth 1782  Great Britain Prime Minister Kingdom of Great Britain Surrey Illness – influenza
The Duke of Rutland 1787  Ireland Lord Lieutenant Kingdom of Ireland Dublin Illness – liver disease
William Pitt the Younger 1806  United Kingdom Prime Minister United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Surrey Illness
Spencer Perceval 1812  United Kingdom Prime Minister United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Middlesex Assassination – shooting
George Canning 1827  United Kingdom Prime Minister United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Middlesex Illness
José Tomás Ovalle 1831  Chile Acting President Chile Santiago Illness – tuberculosis
Ioannis Kapodistrias 1831 Greece Greece Governor Greece Nafplion Assassination – shooting and stabbing
Casimir Pierre Périer 1832 France Prime Minister France Paris Illness – cholera
William Henry Harrison 1841  United States President United States Washington, D.C. Illness – enteric fever
Philippe Guerrier 1845 Haiti Haiti President Haiti Saint-Marc Assassination – shooting and stabbing
Jean-Baptiste Riché 1847 Haiti Haiti President Haiti Port-au-Prince Illness, or possibly poisoned

1850–1899[]

Name Year Country Title Place of Death Cause of death
Zachary Taylor 1850  United States President United States Washington, D.C. Illness – stomach disease
Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg 1852  Austria Minister-President Austria Vienna Stroke
Josef Munzinger 1855   Switzerland Member of the Federal Council
Henri Druey 1855   Switzerland Member of the Federal Council
Stefano Franscini 1857   Switzerland Member of the Federal Council Switzerland Bern
Carl Edvard Rotwitt 1860  Denmark Prime Minister Denmark Copenhagen
Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour 1861  Italy Prime Minister Kingdom of Italy Turin Illness – malaria
Jonas Furrer 1861   Switzerland Member of the Federal Council Switzerland Bad Ragaz Illness – kidney disease
José Santos Guardiola 1862  Honduras President Honduras Comayagua Assassination – shooting
Barbu Catargiu 1862  Romania Prime Minister Romania Bucharest Assassination – shooting
Carlos Antonio López 1862  Paraguay President Paraguay Asunción
Abraham Lincoln 1865  United States President United States Washington, D.C. Assassination – shooting
Henry Temple, Viscount Palmerston 1865  United Kingdom Prime Minister United Kingdom Hertfordshire Illness
Marcos Paz 1868  Argentina Interim President Argentina Buenos Aires Cholera
Victor Ruffy 1869   Switzerland Member of the Federal Council
Francisco Solano López 1870  Paraguay President Paraguay Cerro Corá Killed in action
Johan Rudolph Thorbecke 1872  Netherlands Prime Minister Netherlands The Hague Illness
Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo 1872  British Raj Viceroy and Governor-General of India British Raj Port Blair Assassination — stabbing
Benito Juárez 1872  Mexico President Mexico Mexico City Heart attack
Adolfo Ballivián 1874  Bolivia President Bolivia La Paz Cancer of the stomach
Barthélémy de Theux de Meylandt 1874  Belgium Prime Minister Belgium Heusden
Gabriel García Moreno 1875  Ecuador President Ecuador Quito Assassination – shooting and stabbing
Juan Bautista Gill 1877  Paraguay President Paraguay Villarrica Assassination – shooting
Konstantinos Kanaris 1877  Greece Prime Minister Kingdom of Greece Athens
Francisco Linares Alcántara 1878  Venezuela President Venezuela La Guaira Assassination – poisoning
Johann Jakob Scherer 1878   Switzerland Member of the Federal Council Illness – appendicitis
Cándido Bareiro 1880  Paraguay President Paraguay Asunción Stroke
James A. Garfield 1881  United States President United States Elberon Assassination – shooting and medical ineptitude
Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez 1882  Costa Rica President Costa Rica Alajuela Illness – tuberculosis
Francisco Javier Zaldúa 1885  Colombia President Colombia Bogotá
Próspero Fernández Oreamuno 1885  Costa Rica President Costa Rica Atenas
Agostino Depretis 1887  Italy Prime Minister Kingdom of Italy Stradella Illness – gout
Wilhelm Hertenstein 1888   Switzerland President of the Confederation Illness
John A. Macdonald 1891  Canada Prime Minister Canada Ottawa Stroke
John Ballance 1893  New Zealand Prime Minister New Zealand Wellington Intestinal disease after major surgical operation
Louis Ruchonnet 1893   Switzerland Switzerland Bern Heart attack
Remigio Morales Bermúdez 1894  Peru President Peru Lima Illness – appendicitis
Marie François Sadi Carnot 1894  France President France Lyon Assassination – stabbing
John Sparrow David Thompson 1894  Canada Prime Minister United Kingdom Berkshire Heart attack
Karl Schenk 1895   Switzerland Member of the Federal Council Switzerland Bern Accident – struck by carriage
Joseph James Cheeseman 1896  Liberia President Liberia Monrovia
Florvil Hyppolite 1896  Haiti President Haiti Port-au-Prince Illness
Antonio Cánovas del Castillo 1897  Spain Prime Minister Spain Mondragón Assassination – shooting
Juan Idiarte Borda 1897  Uruguay President Assassination – shooting
José María Reina Barrios 1898  Guatemala President Guatemala Guatemala City Assassination – shooting
Félix Faure 1899  France President France Paris Stroke
Ulises Heureaux 1899  Dominican Republic President Dominican Republic Moca Assassination

1900–1949[]

Name Year Country Title Place of Death Cause of death
William McKinley 1901  United States President United States Buffalo Assassination – shooting
Federico Errázuriz Echaurren 1901  Chile President Chile Valparaíso Illness – cerebral thrombosis
Ramon Riu i Cabanes 1901  Andorra Co-Prince
Walter Hauser 1902   Switzerland Member of the Federal Council
Manuel Candamo 1904  Peru President Peru Arequipa Heart attack
Theodoros Deligiannis 1905  Greece Prime Minister Greece Athens Assassination – stabbing
Manuel Quintana 1906  Argentina President Argentina Buenos Aires Illness
Richard Seddon 1906  New Zealand Prime Minister At sea Heart attack
Dimitar Petkov 1907  Bulgaria Prime Minister Bulgaria Sofia Assassination
Ali-Asghar Atabak 1907  Iran Prime Minister Iran Tehran Assassination – shooting
Jules de Trooz 1907  Belgium Cabinet Chief Belgium Brussels
Afonso Pena 1909  Brazil President Brazil Rio de Janeiro
Pedro Montt 1910  Chile President Germany Bremen Stroke
Elías Fernández Albano 1910  Chile Acting President Chile Santiago Heart attack
Boutros Ghali 1910  Egypt Prime Minister Egypt Cairo Assassination – shooting
Ernst Brenner 1911   Switzerland Member of the Federal Council
Pyotr Stolypin 1911  Russia Prime Minister Russian Empire Kiev Assassination – shooting
Ramón Cáceres 1911  Dominican Republic President Dominican Republic Santo Domingo Assassination – shooting
Emilio Estrada Carmona 1911  Ecuador President Ecuador Guayaquil Heart attack
José Canalejas 1912  Spain Prime Minister Spain Madrid Assassination – shooting
Cincinnatus Leconte 1912  Haiti President Haiti Port-au-Prince Accident – explosion
Adolf Deucher 1912   Switzerland Member of the Federal Council Switzerland Bern
Manuel Enrique Araujo 1913  El Salvador President El Salvador San Salvador Assassination – stabbing
Tancrède Auguste 1913  Haiti President Haiti Port-au-Prince Illness
Roque Sáenz Peña 1914  Argentina President Argentina Buenos Aires Illness
Paul Eyschen 1915  Luxembourg Prime Minister Luxembourg Luxembourg City
Yuan Shikai 1916  China President China Beijing Illness – uraemia
Sidónio Pais 1918  Portugal President Portugal Lisbon Assassination – shooting
Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves 1919  Brazil President-elect Brazil Rio de Janeiro Illness – Spanish flu epidemic
Manuel Franco 1919  Paraguay President Paraguay Asunción Heart attack
Eduard Müller 1919   Switzerland Member of the Federal Council Switzerland Bern
Yakov Sverdlov 1919  Russian SFSR Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Moscow Illness – Spanish flu epidemic
Louis Botha 1919  South Africa Prime Minister South Africa Pretoria Illness - Spanish flu epidemic
Venustiano Carranza 1920  Mexico President Mexico Tlaxcalantongo Assassination – shooting
Hara Takashi 1921  Japan Prime Minister Japan Tokyo Assassination – stabbing
Giacomo De Martino 1921 Italy Italian Cyrenaica Governor of Cyrenaica Italy Benghazi
Arthur Griffith 1922  Ireland President of the Dáil Republic of Ireland Dublin Illness – cerebral haemorrhage
Michael Collins 1922  Ireland Chairman of the Provisional Government Republic of Ireland Cork Assassination – shooting
Gabriel Narutowicz 1922  Poland President Poland Warsaw Assassination – shooting
Warren G. Harding 1923  United States President United States San Francisco Heart attack
Vladimir Lenin 1924  Soviet Union Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Soviet Union Gorki Stroke
Friedrich Ebert 1925  Germany President Germany Berlin Illness – septic shock
William Ferguson Massey 1925  New Zealand Prime Minister New Zealand Wellington Illness – cancer
Sun Yat-sen 1925  China Generalissimo of the National Government China Beijing Illness – gall bladder cancer
Jón Magnússon 1926  Iceland Prime Minister Iceland Neskaupstaður
Count Katō Takaaki 1926  Japan Prime Minister Japan Tokyo Illness – pneumonia
Jānis Čakste 1927  Latvia President Latvia Riga
Peder Kolstad 1932  Norway Prime Minister Norway Oslo Illness
Inukai Tsuyoshi 1932  Japan Prime Minister Japan Tokyo Assassination – shooting
Paul Doumer 1932  France President France Paris Assassination – shooting
Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro 1933  Peru President Peru Lima Assassination – shooting
Ion G. Duca 1933  Romania Prime Minister Romania Prahova Assassination – shooting
Engelbert Dollfuss 1934  Austria Chancellor Austria Vienna Assassination – shooting
Paul von Hindenburg 1934  Germany President Poland Ogrodzieniec Illness – lung cancer
Juan Vicente Gómez 1935  Venezuela President Venezuela Maracay
Józef Piłsudski 1935  Poland Chief of State Poland Warsaw Illness – liver cancer
Konstantinos Demertzis 1936  Greece Prime Minister Greece Athens Heart attack
Gyula Gömbös 1936  Hungary Prime Minister Nazi Germany Munich Illness – testicular cancer
Panas Lyubchenko 1937  Ukrainian SSR Prime Minister Soviet Union Moscow Suicide
Kemal Atatürk 1938  Turkey President Turkey Istanbul Illness – liver cirrhosis
Joseph Lyons 1939  Australia Prime Minister Australia Sydney Heart attack
Patriarch Miron 1939  Romania Prime Minister France Cannes Illness – pneumonia
Aurelio Mosquera 1939  Ecuador President Ecuador Quito
Armand Călinescu 1939  Romania Prime Minister Romania Bucharest Assassination – shooting
Justí Guitart i Vilardebó 1940  Andorra Co-Prince Spain Barcelona
Giuseppe Motta 1940   Switzerland Member of the Federal Council
Lord Tweedsmuir 1940  Canada Governor-General Canada Montreal Head injury following stroke
Michael Joseph Savage 1940  New Zealand Prime Minister New Zealand Wellington Illness – colon cancer
Kyösti Kallio 1940  Finland President Finland Helsinki
Italo Balbo 1940 Italy Italian Libya Governor-General Italy Tobruk Killed in action
Jacinto Peynado 1940  Dominican Republic President Dominican Republic Santo Domingo
José Félix Estigarribia 1940  Paraguay President Paraguay Altos Accident – plane crashed on ground
Hassan Sabry Pasha 1940  Egypt Prime Minister Egypt Cairo
Pedro Aguirre Cerda 1941  Chile President Chile Santiago Illness – tuberculosis
Ioannis Metaxas 1941  Greece Prime Minister Greece Athens Illness – toxaemia
Alexandros Koryzis 1941  Greece Prime Minister Greece Athens Suicide
Pál Teleki 1941  Hungary Prime Minister Hungary Budapest Suicide
Thorvald Stauning 1942  Denmark Prime Minister Denmark Copenhagen
Lin Sen 1943  Republic of China Chairman of the National Government Taiwan Chongqing Stroke
Władysław Sikorski 1943  Poland Prime Minister Gibraltar Gibraltar Accident – plane crashed into sea
Manuel L. Quezon 1944  Philippines President United States Saranac Lake Illness – tuberculosis
Wang Jingwei 1944  Republic of China Chairman of the National Government (at Nanjing) Japan Nagoya
Ahmad Mahir Pasha 1945  Egypt Prime Minister Egypt Cairo Assassination – shooting
John Curtin 1945  Australia Prime Minister Australia Canberra Heart attack
Franklin D. Roosevelt 1945  United States President United States Warm Springs Illness – cerebral haemorrhage
Benito Mussolini 1945  Italy Duce Italian Social Republic Giulino Execution by firing squad
Adolf Hitler 1945  Germany Führer Nazi Germany Berlin Suicide
Joseph Goebbels 1945  Germany Chancellor Nazi Germany Berlin Suicide
Per Albin Hansson 1946  Sweden Prime Minister Sweden Stockholm Heart attack
Juan Antonio Ríos 1946  Chile President Chile Santiago Illness – cancer
Gualberto Villarroel 1946  Bolivia President Bolivia La Paz Assassination – shooting
Nguyen Van Thinh 1946 Cochinchina President of the Provisional Government Saigon Suicide
Aung San 1947  Burma Premier Myanmar Yangon Assassination
Tomás Berreta 1947  Uruguay President Uruguay Montevideo Illness – prostate cancer
Manuel Roxas 1948  Philippines President Philippines Clark Air Base Heart attack
Muhammad Ali Jinnah 1948  Pakistan Governor-General Pakistan Karachi Illness – tuberculosis
Mahmoud an-Nukrashi Pasha 1948  Egypt Prime Minister Egypt Cairo Assassination – shooting
Georgi Dimitrov 1949  Bulgaria Chairman of the Council of Ministers Soviet Union Barvikha Illness
Themistoklis Sophoulis 1949  Greece Prime Minister Greece Kifissia
Domingo Díaz Arosemena 1949  Panama President Panama Panama City Heart attack
Husni al-Za'im 1949  Syria President Syria Damascus Execution by firing squad
Muhsin al-Barazi 1949  Syria Prime Minister Syria Damascus Execution by firing squad

1950–1999[]

Name Year Country Title Place of Death Cause of death
Vasil Kolarov 1950  Bulgaria Prime Minister Bulgaria Sofia
Enrico Mizzi 1950  Malta Prime Minister Malta Valletta
Víctor Manuel Román y Reyes 1950  Nicaragua President United States Philadelphia Heart attack
Carlos Delgado Chalbaud 1950  Venezuela President Venezuela Caracas Assassination
Karl Renner 1950  Austria President Austria Vienna Stroke
Óscar Carmona 1951  Portugal President Portugal Lisbon
Rangsit Prayurasakdi 1951  Thailand Regent Thailand Bangkok Heart attack
Haj Ali Razmara 1951  Iran Prime Minister Iran Tehran Assassination – shooting
Liaquat Ali Khan 1951  Pakistan Prime Minister Pakistan Rawalpindi Assassination – shooting
D. S. Senanayake 1952  Ceylon Prime Minister Dominion of Ceylon Colombo Accident – fell off horse
Khorloogiin Choibalsan 1952  Mongolia Chairman of the Council of Ministers Soviet Union Moscow Illness – kidney cancer
Sveinn Björnsson 1952  Iceland President Iceland Reykjavík Illness
Chaim Weizmann 1952  Israel President Israel Rehovot Illness
Adriaan Alberga 1952  Suriname Prime Minister Suriname Paramaribo
Pierre Dupong 1953  Luxembourg Prime Minister Luxembourg Luxembourg City
Joseph Stalin 1953  Soviet Union Chairman of the Council of Ministers Soviet Union Moscow Illness – cerebral haemorrhage
Klement Gottwald 1953  Czechoslovakia President Czechoslovakia Prague Heart attack
Gonchigiin Bumtsend 1953  Mongolia Chairman of the Presidium of the State Little Khural
Getúlio Vargas 1954  Brazil President Brazil Rio de Janeiro Suicide
José Antonio Remón Cantera 1955  Panama President Panama Panama City Assassination – shooting
Hans Hedtoft 1955  Denmark Prime Minister Sweden Stockholm Heart attack
Alexandros Papagos 1955  Greece Prime Minister Greece Athens Illness – lung haemorrhage
Anastasio Somoza García 1956  Nicaragua President Panama Ancón Assassination – shooting
Bolesław Bierut 1956  Poland General Secretary of the United Workers' Party Soviet Union Moscow
Theodor Körner 1957  Austria President Austria Vienna Stroke
Antonín Zápotocký 1957  Czechoslovakia President Czechoslovakia Prague
Carlos Castillo Armas 1957  Guatemala President Guatemala Guatemala City Assassination – shooting
Ramón Magsaysay 1957  Philippines President Philippines Balamban Accident – plane crashed on ground
Daniel Ouezzin Coulibaly 1958  Upper Volta President of the Government Council France Paris
Barthélemy Boganda 1958  Central African Republic Prime Minister Central African Republic Boukpayanga Accident – plane exploded and crashed on ground
Petru Groza 1958  Romania President of the Presidium of the Great National Assembly Romania Bucharest Illness – stomach complications
Markus Feldmann 1958   Switzerland Member of the Federal Council Switzerland Bern
Georgi Damyanov 1958  Bulgaria Chairman of the Presidium of the National Assembly Bulgaria Sofia
Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom 1958  South Africa Prime Minister South Africa Cape Town Illness – cancer
Ernest George Jansen 1959  South Africa Governor-General South Africa Pretoria
Pierre Frieden 1959  Luxembourg Prime Minister Switzerland Zurich
S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike 1959  Ceylon Prime Minister Dominion of Ceylon Colombo Assassination – shooting
H. C. Hansen 1960  Denmark Prime Minister Denmark Copenhagen Illness – cancer
Wilhelm Pieck 1960  East Germany President East Germany Berlin Stroke
Hazza' al-Majali 1960  Jordan Prime Minister Jordan Amman Assassination – bombing
Abebe Aregai 1960  Ethiopia Prime Minister Ethiopia Addis Ababa Assassination – shooting
Louis Rwagasore 1961  Rwanda Prime Minister Burundi Bujumbura Assassination – shooting
Nicola Canali 1961   Vatican City President of the Governorate & President of the Pontifical Commission   Vatican City Illness – pneumonia
William Morrison 1961  Australia Governor-General Australia Canberra Illness – pulmonary embolism
Rafael Trujillo 1961  Dominican Republic de facto leader Dominican Republic Ciudad Trujillo Assassination – shooting
Abd al-Karim Qasim 1963 Iraq Prime minister Iraq Assassination – shooting
Sylvanus Olympio 1963  Togo President Togo Lomé Assassination – shooting
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi 1963  Israel President Israel Jerusalem
John F. Kennedy 1963  United States President United States Dallas Assassination – shooting
Sarit Thanarat 1963  Thailand Prime Minister Thailand Bangkok Illness – liver failure
Ngo Dinh Diem 1963  South Vietnam President South Vietnam Saigon Assassination – shooting
Dimitar Ganev 1964  Bulgaria Chairman of the Presidium of the National Assembly Bulgaria Sofia
Jigme Palden Dorji 1964  Bhutan Prime Minister Bhutan Phuntsholing Assassination – shooting
Otto Grotewohl 1964  East Germany Chairman of the Council of Ministers East Germany Berlin Illness – brain haemorrhage
Milton Margai 1964  Sierra Leone Prime Minister Sierra Leone Freetown
Jawaharlal Nehru 1964  India Prime Minister India New Delhi Stroke
Aleksander Zawadzki 1964  Poland Chairman of the Council of State Poland Warsaw Illness – cancer
Luis Giannattasio 1965  Uruguay President United Kingdom London
Hassan Ali Mansur 1965  Iran Prime Minister Iran Tehran Assassination – shooting
Pierre Ngendandumwe 1965  Burundi Prime Minister Burundi Bujumbura Assassination – shooting
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej 1965  Romania President of the State Council Romania Bucharest Illness – lung cancer
Adolf Schärf 1965  Austria President Austria Vienna
Abdul Salam Arif 1966  Iraq President Accident – plane crashed on ground
Chris Soumokil 1966 Republic of South Maluku South Maluku President Indonesia Ubi Island Execution by firing squad
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa 1966  Nigeria Prime Minister Nigeria Lagos Assassination – shooting
Lal Bahadur Shastri 1966  India Prime Minister Uzbekistan Tashkent Disputed, officially ruled to be a heart attack, but suspected to be poisoned
Hendrik Verwoerd 1966  South Africa Prime Minister South Africa Cape Town Assassination – stabbing
René Schick 1966  Nicaragua President Nicaragua Managua Heart attack
Óscar Diego Gestido 1967  Uruguay President Uruguay Montevideo Heart attack
Georges Vanier 1967  Canada Governor General Canada Ottawa Illness
Léon M'ba 1967  Gabon President France Paris Illness – cancer
Donald Burns Sangster 1967  Jamaica Prime Minister Canada Montreal Illness – subarachnoid haemorrhage
Harold Holt 1967  Australia Prime Minister Australia Cheviot Beach Drowning
Peter Mohr Dam 1968  Faroe Islands Prime Minister Faroe Islands Tórshavn
Levi Eshkol 1969  Israel Prime Minister Israel Jerusalem Illness
Ho Chi Minh 1969  North Vietnam Chairman of the Workers' Party and President North Vietnam Hanoi Heart attack
Abdirashid Ali Shermarke 1969  Somalia President Somaliland/Somalia Las Anod Assassination – shooting
René Barrientos 1969  Bolivia President Bolivia Arque Accident – helicopter crashed on ground
Zakir Husain 1969  India President India New Delhi
David Rose 1969  Guyana Governor-General United Kingdom London Accident
Bjarni Benediktsson 1970  Iceland Prime Minister Iceland Þingvellir Accident – fire
Saïd Mohamed Cheikh 1970  Comoros President of the Government Council Madagascar Antananarivo Heart attack
Yusof bin Ishak 1970  Singapore President  Singapore Heart attack
Gamal Abdel Nasser 1970  Egypt President and Prime Minister Egypt Cairo Heart attack
François Duvalier 1971  Haiti President Haiti Port-au-Prince Heart attack
Wasfi al-Tal 1971  Jordan Prime Minister Egypt Cairo Assassination – shooting
William Tubman 1971  Liberia President United Kingdom London
Jamsrangiin Sambuu 1972  Mongolia Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Great Khural Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Illness – cancer
Leonard Williams 1972  Mauritius Governor-General
Salvador Allende 1973  Chile President Chile Santiago Suicide
Luis Carrero Blanco 1973  Spain Prime Minister Spain Madrid Assassination – bombing
Richard Sharples 1973  Bermuda Governor Bermuda Hamilton Assassination – shooting
Walter Ulbricht 1973  East Germany Chairman of the State Council East Germany Templin Stroke
Erskine Childers 1974  Ireland President Republic of Ireland Dublin Heart attack
Franz Jonas 1974  Austria President Austria Vienna
Norman Eric Kirk 1974  New Zealand Prime Minister New Zealand Wellington Illness – pulmonary embolism
Juan Perón 1974  Argentina President Argentina Buenos Aires Heart attack
Georges Pompidou 1974  France President (also Co-Prince of Andorra) France Paris Illness – macroglobulinemia
Chiang Kai-shek 1975  Republic of China President Taiwan Taipei Heart attack
Long Boret 1975  Khmer Republic Prime Minister Khmer Republic Phnom Penh Execution by firing squad
Mataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II 1975  Western Samoa Prime Minister
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman 1975  Bangladesh Prime Minister Bangladesh Dhaka Assassination – shooting
Richard Ratsimandrava 1975  Madagascar President Madagascar Antananarivo Assassination – shooting
François Tombalbaye 1975  Chad President and Prime Minister Chad N'Djamena Assassination – shooting
Francisco Franco 1975  Spain Head of State (dictator) Spain Madrid Illness – heart failure
Abdul Razak Hussein 1976  Malaysia Prime Minister United Kingdom London Illness
Murtala Mohammed 1976  Nigeria Head of the Federal Military Government Nigeria Lagos Assassination – shooting
Joël Rakotomalala 1976  Madagascar Prime Minister Madagascar Antsirabe Accident – helicopter crashed on ground
El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed 1976  Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic President Mauritania Inchiri Died in combat
Arleigh Winston Scott 1976  Barbados Governor-General
Zhou Enlai 1976  China Premier China Beijing Illness – cancer
Mao Zedong 1976  China Chairman of the Central Committee China Beijing Heart attack
Zhu De 1976  China Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress China Beijing
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed 1977  India President India New Delhi Heart attack
Tafari Benti 1977  Ethiopia Chairman of the Provisional Military Administrative Council Ethiopia Addis Ababa Execution by firing squad
Ibrahim al-Hamdi 1977  North Yemen President Yemen Arab Republic Sana'a Assassination – shooting
Džemal Bijedić 1977  Yugoslavia President of the Federal Executive Council Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Kreševo Accident – plane crashed into mountain
Makarios III 1977  Cyprus President Cyprus Nicosia Heart attack
Marien Ngouabi 1977  Congo-Brazzaville President Republic of the Congo Brazzaville Assassination
Mohammed Daoud Khan 1978  Afghanistan President Afghanistan Kabul Assassination – shooting
Ahmad al-Ghashmi 1978  North Yemen President Yemen Arab Republic Sana'a Assassination – bombing
Houari Boumediene 1978  Algeria President Algeria Algiers Illness – macroglobulinemia
Francisco Mendes 1978  Guinea Bissau Prime Minister Accident – car crashed on road
John Wrathall 1978  Rhodesia President Rhodesia Harare Heart attack
Salim Rubai Ali 1978  South Yemen President South Yemen Aden Execution
Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw 1978  Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla Premier Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla Basseterre Illness – prostate cancer
Nico Diederichs 1978  South Africa President South Africa Cape Town Heart attack
Jomo Kenyatta 1978  Kenya President Kenya Mombasa Heart attack
Botha Sigcau 1978  Transkei President South Africa Umtata Heart attack
Milo Butler 1979  Bahamas Governor-General The Bahamas Nassau
Jean-Marie Villot 1979   Holy See Cardinal Secretary of State   Vatican City Illness – bronchopneumonia
Agostinho Neto 1979  Angola President Soviet Union Moscow Illness - cancer and hepatitis
Mashiur Rahman 1979  Bangladesh Chief Minister
Nur Muhammad Taraki 1979  Afghanistan General Secretary of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan
and Chairman of the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council 		Afghanistan Kabul Assassination
Hafizullah Amin 1979  Afghanistan General Secretary of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, Chairman of the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council
and Chairman of the Council of Ministers 		Afghanistan Kabul Assassination
Park Chung-hee 1979  South Korea President South Korea Seoul Assassination – shooting
Maphevu Dlamini 1979  Swaziland Prime Minister
Paul Southwell 1979  Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla Premier Saint Lucia Castries Heart attack
Seretse Khama 1980  Botswana President Botswana Gaborone Illness – pancreatic cancer
Tôn Đức Thắng 1980  Vietnam President Vietnam Hanoi Illness – respiratory failure
Josip Broz Tito 1980  Yugoslavia President Slovenia Ljubljana Illness – peripheral artery disease
J. A. G. S. McCartney 1980  Turks and Caicos Islands Chief Minister United States Vineland Accident – plane crashed
Masayoshi Ōhira 1980  Japan Prime Minister Japan Tokyo Heart attack
William Tolbert 1980  Liberia President Liberia Monrovia Execution
Abdelhamid Sharaf 1980  Jordan Prime Minister Jordan Amman Heart attack
Francisco de Sá Carneiro 1980  Portugal Prime Minister Portugal Loures Accident – plane crashed on ground
Benjamin Henry Sheares 1981  Singapore President  Singapore Illness – lung cancer
Mehmet Shehu 1981  Albania Chairman of the Council of Ministers Albania Tirana Suicide (disputed)
Jaime Roldós Aguilera 1981  Ecuador President Ecuador Celica Accident – plane crashed into mountain
Omar Torrijos 1981  Panama de facto leader Panama Penonomé Accident – plane crashed into mountain
Ziaur Rahman 1981  Bangladesh President Bangladesh Chittagong Assassination – shooting
Eric Williams 1981  Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Trinidad and Tobago Port of Spain
Anwar Sadat 1981  Egypt President and Prime Minister Egypt Cairo Assassination – shooting
Mohammad-Ali Rajai 1981  Iran President Iran Tehran Assassination – bombing
Mohammad-Javad Bahonar 1981  Iran Prime Minister Iran Tehran Assassination – bombing
Antonio Guzmán Fernández 1982  Dominican Republic President Dominican Republic Santo Domingo Suicide
Leonid Brezhnev 1982  Soviet Union General Secretary of the Communist Party
and Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet 		Soviet Union Zarechye Heart attack
Willi Ritschard 1983   Switzerland Member of the Federal Council
Deighton Lisle Ward 1984  Barbados Governor-General
Yuri Andropov 1984  Soviet Union General Secretary of the Communist Party
and Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet 		Soviet Union Moscow Illness – kidney failure
Edward Sokoine 1984  Tanzania Prime Minister Tanzania Morogoro Accident – car crashed on road
Chan Sy 1984  People's Republic of Kampuchea Chairman of the Council of Ministers Soviet Union Moscow Heart attack
Ahmad Fuad Mohieddin 1984  Egypt Prime Minister Egypt Cairo
Indira Gandhi 1984  India Prime Minister India New Delhi Assassination – shooting
Ahmed Sékou Touré 1984  Guinea President United States Cleveland Heart attack
Tom Adams 1985  Barbados Prime Minister Heart attack
Enver Hoxha 1985  Albania First Secretary of the Party of Labour Albania Tirana Illness
Forbes Burnham 1985  Guyana President Guyana Georgetown Illness – throat infection
Haruo Remeliik 1985  Palau President Palau Koror Assassination – shooting
Konstantin Chernenko 1985  Soviet Union General Secretary of the Communist Party
and Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet 		Soviet Union Moscow Illness – heart failure, emphysema, and liver cirrhosis
Tancredo Neves 1985  Brazil President-elect Brazil São Paulo Illness – diverticulitis
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam 1985  Mauritius Governor-General Mauritius Port Louis
Olof Palme 1986  Sweden Prime Minister Sweden Stockholm Assassination – shooting
Lê Duẩn 1986  Vietnam General Secretary of the Communist Party Vietnam Hanoi Illness
Samora Machel 1986  Mozambique President South Africa Mbuzini Accident – plane crashed on ground
Sir Edward Youde 1986  British Hong Kong Governor China Beijing Heart attack
Errol Barrow 1987  Barbados Prime Minister Barbados Bridgetown
Rashid Karami 1987  Lebanon Prime Minister Lebanon Beirut Assassination – bombing
Seyni Kountché 1987  Niger President of the Supreme Military Council France Paris Illness – brain tumour
Cedric Phatudi 1987  KaNgwane Chief Minister South Africa Lebowakgomo
Thomas Sankara 1987  Burkina Faso President Burkina Faso Ouagadougou Assassination – shooting
Chiang Ching-kuo 1988  Republic of China President Taiwan Taipei
Patrick Mphephu 1988  Venda President South Africa Thohoyandou
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq 1988  Pakistan President Pakistan Bahawalpur Accident – plane crashed on ground
Lazarus Salii 1988  Palau President Palau Koror Suicide
Phạm Hùng 1988  Vietnam Prime Minister
Herbert Blaize 1989  Grenada Prime Minister Grenada St George's Illness – prostate cancer
Ruhollah Khomeini 1989  Iran Supreme Leader Iran Tehran Heart attack
Ahmed Abdallah 1989  Comoros President Comoros Moroni Assassination – shooting
René Moawad 1989  Lebanon President Lebanon Beirut Assassination – bombing
Ignatius Kilage 1989  Papua New Guinea Governor-General
Samuel Doe 1990  Liberia President Liberia Monrovia Execution
Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum 1990  United Arab Emirates Prime Minister United Arab Emirates Dubai
Nasirdin Isanov 1991  Tajikistan Prime Minister Kyrgyzstan Jalal-Abad–Osh Motorway Accident – car crashed on road
Artur Mkrtchyan 1992  Artsakh Chairman of Parliament Republic of Artsakh/Azerbaijan Stepanakert Assassination – shooting
Mohamed Boudiaf 1992  Algeria Chairman of the High Council of State Algeria Annaba Assassination – shooting
Kaysone Phomvihane 1992  Laos President Laos Vientiane
Robert Rex 1992  Niue Premier Niue Halamahaga
József Antall 1993  Hungary Prime Minister Hungary Budapest Illness – cancer
Ranasinghe Premadasa 1993  Sri Lanka President Sri Lanka Colombo Assassination – bombing
Penaia Ganilau 1993  Fiji President United States Washington, D.C.
Félix Houphouët-Boigny 1993  Côte d'Ivoire President Ivory Coast Yamoussoukro Illness – prostate cancer
Melchior Ndadaye 1993  Burundi President Burundi Bujumbura Assassination – shooting
Turgut Özal 1993  Turkey President Turkey Ankara Suspected poisoning
Zhiuli Shartava 1993  Abkhazia Prime Minister Abkhazia/Georgia (country) Sukhumi Assassination – shooting
Juvénal Habyarimana 1994  Rwanda President Rwanda Kigali Assassination – plane shot down[2]
Cyprien Ntaryamira 1994  Burundi President
Agathe Uwilingiyimana 1994  Rwanda Prime Minister Rwanda Kigali Assassination – shooting
Kim Il-sung 1994  North Korea General Secretary of the Workers' Party
and President 		North Korea Hyangsan Heart attack[3]
Yitzhak Rabin 1995  Israel Prime Minister Israel Tel Aviv Assassination – shooting
Nita Barrow 1995  Barbados Governor-General Barbados Bridgetown
Hamilton Lavity Stoutt 1995  British Virgin Islands Chief Minister British Virgin Islands Tortola
Amata Kabua 1996  Marshall Islands President United States Honolulu Illness
Dzhokhar Dudayev 1996  Chechen Republic of Ichkeria President Russia Chechnya Assassination – shooting
Cheddi Jagan 1997  Guyana President United States Washington, D.C. Heart attack
Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai 1997  Afghanistan Prime Minister Afghanistan Bamyan Accident – plane crashed on ground
Sani Abacha 1998  Nigeria Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council Nigeria Abuja Heart attack
Mohamed Taki Abdoulkarim 1998  Comoros President
Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara 1999  Niger President Niger Niamey Assassination – shooting
Jumabek Ibraimov 1999  Kyrgyzstan Prime Minister Kyrgyzstan Bishkek Illness – stomach cancer
Franjo Tuđman 1999  Croatia President Croatia Zagreb Illness – cancer
Vazgen Sargsyan 1999  Armenia Prime Minister Armenia Yerevan Assassination – shot by terrorist

2000–present[]

Name Year Country Title Place of Death Cause of death
Hafez al-Assad 2000  Syria President Syria Damascus Illness
Rosie Douglas 2000  Dominica Prime Minister Dominica Portsmouth officially ruled a heart attack; assassination suggested by some[4][5]
Ionatana Ionatana 2000  Tuvalu Prime Minister Tuvalu Funafuti Illness
Donald Dewar 2000  Scotland First Minister United Kingdom Edinburgh Cerebral hemorrhage
Laurent-Désiré Kabila 2001  Democratic Republic of Congo President Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa Assassination – shooting
Sir Charles Antrobus 2002  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Governor-General Canada Toronto Parkinson's disease
Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal 2002  Somaliland President South Africa Pretoria Died during surgery
Bernard Dowiyogo 2003  Nauru President United States Washington, D.C. Illness – complications from diabetes
Zoran Đinđić 2003  Serbia Prime Minister Serbia Belgrade Assassination – shooting
Yasser Arafat 2004  Palestine President France Paris, France Disputed
Pierre Charles 2004  Dominica Prime Minister Dominica Roseau Heart attack
Ezzedine Salim 2004  Iraq President of the Governing Council Iraq Baghdad Assassination – bombing
Thomas Klestil 2004  Austria President Austria Vienna Heart attack
Boris Trajkovski 2004  Macedonia President Bosnia and Herzegovina Berkovići Accident – plane crashed into mountain
Gnassingbé Eyadéma 2005  Togo President Tunisia Tunis Heart attack
Zurab Zhvania 2005  Georgia Prime Minister Georgia (country) Tbilisi Accident – poisoning
Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum 2006  United Arab Emirates Prime Minister Australia Gold Coast Heart attack
Ibrahim Rugova 2006  Kosovo President Kosovo Pristina Illness – lung cancer
Saparmurat Niyazov 2006  Turkmenistan President Turkmenistan Ashgabat Heart attack
Pascal Yoadimnadji 2007  Chad Prime Minister France Paris Heart attack
Andranik Markaryan 2007  Armenia Prime Minister Armenia Yerevan Heart attack
Sir John Compton 2007  Saint Lucia Prime Minister Saint Lucia Castries Stroke
Soe Win 2007  Burma Prime Minister Myanmar Yangon Illness – leukaemia
Levy Mwanawasa 2008  Zambia President France Paris Stroke
Lansana Conté 2008  Guinea President Guinea Conakry Illness
Omar Bongo 2009  Gabon President Spain Barcelona Heart attack
João Bernardo Vieira 2009  Guinea-Bissau President Guinea-Bissau Bissau Assassination – shooting
Lech Kaczyński 2010  Poland President Russia Smolensk Accident – plane crashed on ground
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua 2010  Nigeria President Nigeria Abuja Illness – pericarditis
David Thompson 2010  Barbados Prime Minister Barbados Saint Philip Illness – pancreatic cancer
Sergey Bagapsh 2011  Abkhazia President Russia Moscow Illness – complications from surgery
Muammar Gaddafi 2011  Libya Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution Libya Sirte Assassination – shooting
Kim Jong-il 2011  North Korea General Secretary of the Workers' Party North Korea Pyongyang Heart attack[6]
Malam Bacai Sanhá 2012  Guinea-Bissau President France Paris Illness
Bingu wa Mutharika 2012  Malawi President Malawi Lilongwe Heart attack
John Atta Mills 2012  Ghana President Ghana Accra Stroke
Meles Zenawi 2012  Ethiopia Prime Minister Belgium Brussels Illness
Hugo Chávez 2013  Venezuela President Venezuela Caracas Illness – unspecified form of cancer
Zillur Rahman 2013  Bangladesh President  Singapore Illness – lung problems
Michael Sata 2014  Zambia President United Kingdom London Illness
Mohamed Abdelaziz 2016  Western Sahara President Algeria Tindouf Lung cancer
Islam Karimov 2016  Uzbekistan President Uzbekistan Tashkent Stroke
Sir Michael Ogio 2017  Papua New Guinea Governor-General Papua New Guinea Port Moresby Illness
Baldwin Lonsdale 2017  Vanuatu President Vanuatu Port Vila Heart attack
Alexander Zakharchenko 2018  Donetsk People's Republic Head of the Republic and Prime Minister Donetsk People's Republic/Ukraine Donetsk Assassination – bombing
Gennadi Gagulia 2018  Abkhazia Prime Minister Abkhazia/Georgia (country) Myussera Accident – car crashed on road
Trần Đại Quang 2018  Vietnam President Vietnam Hanoi Illness – viral infection
Beji Caid Essebsi 2019  Tunisia President Tunisia Tunis Serious illness
ʻAkilisi Pōhiva 2019  Tonga Prime Minister New Zealand Auckland Illness – pneumonia
Pierre Nkurunziza 2020  Burundi President Burundi Karuzi Illness – cardiac arrest & suspected COVID-19
Amadou Gon Coulibaly 2020  Ivory Coast Prime Minister Ivory Coast Abidjan Illness
Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa 2020  Bahrain Prime Minister United States Rochester Illness
Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini 2020  Eswatini Prime Minister South Africa Johannesburg Illness – COVID-19
Hamed Bakayoko 2021  Ivory Coast Prime Minister Germany Freiburg im Breisgau Illness – malaria, cancer & suspected COVID-19
John Magufuli 2021  Tanzania President Tanzania Dar es Salaam Illness – heart condition & suspected COVID-19
Idriss Déby 2021  Chad President Chad Tibesti Killed in battle during the Northern Chad offensive[7]
Jovenel Moïse 2021  Haiti President Haiti Port-au-Prince Assassination – shooting
David Sassoli 2022  European Union President of the European Parliament Italy Aviano Illness - complication from multiple myeloma.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Henry Pelham (1694-1754)".
  2. ^ Diamond, Jared (2005). Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive. Penguin Books. p. 315. ISBN 0-140-27951-2.
  3. ^ Demick, Barbara (2010). Nothing To Envy: Real Lives In North Korea. London: Granta Publications. p. 128. ISBN 978-1-84708-337-1.
  4. ^ West, Michael O. (November 27, 2017). "History vs. Historical Memory: Rosie Douglas, Black Power on Campus, and the Canadian Color Conceit". Palimpsest: A Journal on Women, Gender, and the Black International. 6 (1): 84–100. doi:10.1353/pal.2017.0012 – via Project MUSE.
  5. ^ "POLITICS: How Did Dominica's Prime Minister Rosie Douglas Die?". Inter Press Service. March 8, 2001.
  6. ^ "North Korean leader Kim Jong-il dies 'of heart attack'". BBC News. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  7. ^ "Chad's President Idriss Déby dies 'in clashes with rebels'". BBC News. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
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