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 | ![]() |
Lord Deputy | ![]() |
Illness — malaria or possibly typhus |
Henry Ireton | 1651 | ![]() |
Lord Deputy | ![]() |
Illness — bubonic plague |
Henry Capell | 1696 | ![]() |
Lord Deputy | ![]() |
Illness |
Spencer Compton | 1743 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness |
Henry Pelham | 1754 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – skin infection[1] |
Charles Watson-Wentworth | 1782 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – influenza |
The Duke of Rutland | 1787 | ![]() |
Lord Lieutenant | ![]() |
Illness – liver disease |
William Pitt the Younger | 1806 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness |
Spencer Perceval | 1812 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
George Canning | 1827 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness |
José Tomás Ovalle | 1831 | ![]() |
Acting President | ![]() |
Illness – tuberculosis |
Ioannis Kapodistrias | 1831 | ![]() |
Governor | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting and stabbing |
Casimir Pierre Périer | 1832 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – cholera |
William Henry Harrison | 1841 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – enteric fever |
Philippe Guerrier | 1845 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting and stabbing |
Jean-Baptiste Riché | 1847 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness, or possibly poisoned |
1850–1899[]
Name | Year | Country | Title | Place of Death | Cause of death |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Zachary Taylor | 1850 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – stomach disease |
Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg | 1852 | ![]() |
Minister-President | ![]() |
Stroke |
Josef Munzinger | 1855 | ![]() |
Member of the Federal Council | ||
Henri Druey | 1855 | ![]() |
Member of the Federal Council | ||
Stefano Franscini | 1857 | ![]() |
Member of the Federal Council | ![]() |
|
Carl Edvard Rotwitt | 1860 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
|
Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour | 1861 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – malaria |
Jonas Furrer | 1861 | ![]() |
Member of the Federal Council | ![]() |
Illness – kidney disease |
José Santos Guardiola | 1862 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Barbu Catargiu | 1862 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Carlos Antonio López | 1862 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
|
Abraham Lincoln | 1865 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Henry Temple, Viscount Palmerston | 1865 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness |
Marcos Paz | 1868 | ![]() |
Interim President | ![]() |
Cholera |
Victor Ruffy | 1869 | ![]() |
Member of the Federal Council | ||
Francisco Solano López | 1870 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Killed in action |
Johan Rudolph Thorbecke | 1872 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness |
Richard Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo | 1872 | ![]() |
Viceroy and Governor-General of India | ![]() |
Assassination — stabbing |
Benito Juárez | 1872 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Adolfo Ballivián | 1874 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Cancer of the stomach |
Barthélémy de Theux de Meylandt | 1874 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
|
Gabriel García Moreno | 1875 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting and stabbing |
Juan Bautista Gill | 1877 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Konstantinos Kanaris | 1877 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
|
Francisco Linares Alcántara | 1878 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – poisoning |
Johann Jakob Scherer | 1878 | ![]() |
Member of the Federal Council | Illness – appendicitis | |
Cándido Bareiro | 1880 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Stroke |
James A. Garfield | 1881 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting and medical ineptitude |
Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez | 1882 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – tuberculosis |
Francisco Javier Zaldúa | 1885 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
|
Próspero Fernández Oreamuno | 1885 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
|
Agostino Depretis | 1887 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – gout |
Wilhelm Hertenstein | 1888 | ![]() |
President of the Confederation | Illness | |
John A. Macdonald | 1891 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Stroke |
John Ballance | 1893 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Intestinal disease after major surgical operation |
Louis Ruchonnet | 1893 | ![]() |
![]() |
Heart attack | |
Remigio Morales Bermúdez | 1894 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – appendicitis |
Marie François Sadi Carnot | 1894 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – stabbing |
John Sparrow David Thompson | 1894 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Karl Schenk | 1895 | ![]() |
Member of the Federal Council | ![]() |
Accident – struck by carriage |
Joseph James Cheeseman | 1896 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
|
Florvil Hyppolite | 1896 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness |
Antonio Cánovas del Castillo | 1897 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Juan Idiarte Borda | 1897 | ![]() |
President | Assassination – shooting | |
José María Reina Barrios | 1898 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Félix Faure | 1899 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Stroke |
Ulises Heureaux | 1899 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination |
1900–1949[]
Name | Year | Country | Title | Place of Death | Cause of death |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
William McKinley | 1901 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Federico Errázuriz Echaurren | 1901 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – cerebral thrombosis |
Ramon Riu i Cabanes | 1901 | ![]() |
Co-Prince | ||
Walter Hauser | 1902 | ![]() |
Member of the Federal Council | ||
Manuel Candamo | 1904 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Theodoros Deligiannis | 1905 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – stabbing |
Manuel Quintana | 1906 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness |
Richard Seddon | 1906 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | At sea | Heart attack |
Dimitar Petkov | 1907 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination |
Ali-Asghar Atabak | 1907 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Jules de Trooz | 1907 | ![]() |
Cabinet Chief | ![]() |
|
Afonso Pena | 1909 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
|
Pedro Montt | 1910 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Stroke |
Elías Fernández Albano | 1910 | ![]() |
Acting President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Boutros Ghali | 1910 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Ernst Brenner | 1911 | ![]() |
Member of the Federal Council | ||
Pyotr Stolypin | 1911 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Ramón Cáceres | 1911 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Emilio Estrada Carmona | 1911 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
José Canalejas | 1912 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Cincinnatus Leconte | 1912 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Accident – explosion |
Adolf Deucher | 1912 | ![]() |
Member of the Federal Council | ![]() |
|
Manuel Enrique Araujo | 1913 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – stabbing |
Tancrède Auguste | 1913 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness |
Roque Sáenz Peña | 1914 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness |
Paul Eyschen | 1915 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
|
Yuan Shikai | 1916 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – uraemia |
Sidónio Pais | 1918 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves | 1919 | ![]() |
President-elect | ![]() |
Illness – Spanish flu epidemic |
Manuel Franco | 1919 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Eduard Müller | 1919 | ![]() |
Member of the Federal Council | ![]() |
|
Yakov Sverdlov | 1919 | ![]() |
Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee | ![]() |
Illness – Spanish flu epidemic |
Louis Botha | 1919 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness - Spanish flu epidemic |
Venustiano Carranza | 1920 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Hara Takashi | 1921 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – stabbing |
Giacomo De Martino | 1921 | ![]() |
Governor of Cyrenaica | ![]() |
|
Arthur Griffith | 1922 | ![]() |
President of the Dáil | ![]() |
Illness – cerebral haemorrhage |
Michael Collins | 1922 | ![]() |
Chairman of the Provisional Government | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Gabriel Narutowicz | 1922 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Warren G. Harding | 1923 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Vladimir Lenin | 1924 | ![]() |
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars | ![]() |
Stroke |
Friedrich Ebert | 1925 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – septic shock |
William Ferguson Massey | 1925 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – cancer |
Sun Yat-sen | 1925 | ![]() |
Generalissimo of the National Government | ![]() |
Illness – gall bladder cancer |
Jón Magnússon | 1926 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
|
Count Katō Takaaki | 1926 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – pneumonia |
Jānis Čakste | 1927 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
|
Peder Kolstad | 1932 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness |
Inukai Tsuyoshi | 1932 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Paul Doumer | 1932 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro | 1933 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Ion G. Duca | 1933 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Engelbert Dollfuss | 1934 | ![]() |
Chancellor | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Paul von Hindenburg | 1934 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – lung cancer |
Juan Vicente Gómez | 1935 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
|
Józef Piłsudski | 1935 | ![]() |
Chief of State | ![]() |
Illness – liver cancer |
Konstantinos Demertzis | 1936 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Gyula Gömbös | 1936 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – testicular cancer |
Panas Lyubchenko | 1937 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Suicide |
Kemal Atatürk | 1938 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – liver cirrhosis |
Joseph Lyons | 1939 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Patriarch Miron | 1939 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – pneumonia |
Aurelio Mosquera | 1939 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
|
Armand Călinescu | 1939 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Justí Guitart i Vilardebó | 1940 | ![]() |
Co-Prince | ![]() |
|
Giuseppe Motta | 1940 | ![]() |
Member of the Federal Council | ||
Lord Tweedsmuir | 1940 | ![]() |
Governor-General | ![]() |
Head injury following stroke |
Michael Joseph Savage | 1940 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – colon cancer |
Kyösti Kallio | 1940 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
|
Italo Balbo | 1940 | ![]() |
Governor-General | ![]() |
Killed in action |
Jacinto Peynado | 1940 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
|
José Félix Estigarribia | 1940 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Accident – plane crashed on ground |
Hassan Sabry Pasha | 1940 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
|
Pedro Aguirre Cerda | 1941 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – tuberculosis |
Ioannis Metaxas | 1941 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – toxaemia |
Alexandros Koryzis | 1941 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Suicide |
Pál Teleki | 1941 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Suicide |
Thorvald Stauning | 1942 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
|
Lin Sen | 1943 | ![]() |
Chairman of the National Government | ![]() |
Stroke |
Władysław Sikorski | 1943 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Accident – plane crashed into sea |
Manuel L. Quezon | 1944 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – tuberculosis |
Wang Jingwei | 1944 | ![]() |
Chairman of the National Government (at Nanjing) | ![]() |
|
Ahmad Mahir Pasha | 1945 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
John Curtin | 1945 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Franklin D. Roosevelt | 1945 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – cerebral haemorrhage |
Benito Mussolini | 1945 | ![]() |
Duce | ![]() |
Execution by firing squad |
Adolf Hitler | 1945 | ![]() |
Führer | ![]() |
Suicide |
Joseph Goebbels | 1945 | ![]() |
Chancellor | ![]() |
Suicide |
Per Albin Hansson | 1946 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Juan Antonio Ríos | 1946 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – cancer |
Gualberto Villarroel | 1946 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Nguyen Van Thinh | 1946 | ![]() |
President of the Provisional Government | ![]() |
Suicide |
Aung San | 1947 | ![]() |
Premier | ![]() |
Assassination |
Tomás Berreta | 1947 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – prostate cancer |
Manuel Roxas | 1948 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Muhammad Ali Jinnah | 1948 | ![]() |
Governor-General | ![]() |
Illness – tuberculosis |
Mahmoud an-Nukrashi Pasha | 1948 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Georgi Dimitrov | 1949 | ![]() |
Chairman of the Council of Ministers | ![]() |
Illness |
Themistoklis Sophoulis | 1949 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
|
Domingo Díaz Arosemena | 1949 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Husni al-Za'im | 1949 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Execution by firing squad |
Muhsin al-Barazi | 1949 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Execution by firing squad |
1950–1999[]
Name | Year | Country | Title | Place of Death | Cause of death |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vasil Kolarov | 1950 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
|
Enrico Mizzi | 1950 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
|
Víctor Manuel Román y Reyes | 1950 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Carlos Delgado Chalbaud | 1950 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination |
Karl Renner | 1950 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Stroke |
Óscar Carmona | 1951 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
|
Rangsit Prayurasakdi | 1951 | ![]() |
Regent | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Haj Ali Razmara | 1951 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Liaquat Ali Khan | 1951 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
D. S. Senanayake | 1952 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Accident – fell off horse |
Khorloogiin Choibalsan | 1952 | ![]() |
Chairman of the Council of Ministers | ![]() |
Illness – kidney cancer |
Sveinn Björnsson | 1952 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness |
Chaim Weizmann | 1952 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness |
Adriaan Alberga | 1952 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
|
Pierre Dupong | 1953 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
|
Joseph Stalin | 1953 | ![]() |
Chairman of the Council of Ministers | ![]() |
Illness – cerebral haemorrhage |
Klement Gottwald | 1953 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Gonchigiin Bumtsend | 1953 | ![]() |
Chairman of the Presidium of the State Little Khural | ||
Getúlio Vargas | 1954 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Suicide |
José Antonio Remón Cantera | 1955 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Hans Hedtoft | 1955 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Alexandros Papagos | 1955 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – lung haemorrhage |
Anastasio Somoza García | 1956 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Bolesław Bierut | 1956 | ![]() |
General Secretary of the United Workers' Party | ![]() |
|
Theodor Körner | 1957 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Stroke |
Antonín Zápotocký | 1957 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
|
Carlos Castillo Armas | 1957 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Ramón Magsaysay | 1957 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Accident – plane crashed on ground |
Daniel Ouezzin Coulibaly | 1958 | ![]() |
President of the Government Council | ![]() |
|
Barthélemy Boganda | 1958 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Accident – plane exploded and crashed on ground |
Petru Groza | 1958 | ![]() |
President of the Presidium of the Great National Assembly | ![]() |
Illness – stomach complications |
Markus Feldmann | 1958 | ![]() |
Member of the Federal Council | ![]() |
|
Georgi Damyanov | 1958 | ![]() |
Chairman of the Presidium of the National Assembly | ![]() |
|
Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom | 1958 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – cancer |
Ernest George Jansen | 1959 | ![]() |
Governor-General | ![]() |
|
Pierre Frieden | 1959 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
|
S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike | 1959 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
H. C. Hansen | 1960 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – cancer |
Wilhelm Pieck | 1960 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Stroke |
Hazza' al-Majali | 1960 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – bombing |
Abebe Aregai | 1960 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Louis Rwagasore | 1961 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Nicola Canali | 1961 | ![]() |
President of the Governorate & President of the Pontifical Commission | ![]() |
Illness – pneumonia |
William Morrison | 1961 | ![]() |
Governor-General | ![]() |
Illness – pulmonary embolism |
Rafael Trujillo | 1961 | ![]() |
de facto leader | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Abd al-Karim Qasim | 1963 | ![]() |
Prime minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Sylvanus Olympio | 1963 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Yitzhak Ben-Zvi | 1963 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
|
John F. Kennedy | 1963 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Sarit Thanarat | 1963 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – liver failure |
Ngo Dinh Diem | 1963 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Dimitar Ganev | 1964 | ![]() |
Chairman of the Presidium of the National Assembly | ![]() |
|
Jigme Palden Dorji | 1964 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Otto Grotewohl | 1964 | ![]() |
Chairman of the Council of Ministers | ![]() |
Illness – brain haemorrhage |
Milton Margai | 1964 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
|
Jawaharlal Nehru | 1964 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Stroke |
Aleksander Zawadzki | 1964 | ![]() |
Chairman of the Council of State | ![]() |
Illness – cancer |
Luis Giannattasio | 1965 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
|
Hassan Ali Mansur | 1965 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Pierre Ngendandumwe | 1965 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej | 1965 | ![]() |
President of the State Council | ![]() |
Illness – lung cancer |
Adolf Schärf | 1965 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
|
Abdul Salam Arif | 1966 | ![]() |
President | Accident – plane crashed on ground | |
Chris Soumokil | 1966 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Execution by firing squad |
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa | 1966 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Lal Bahadur Shastri | 1966 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Disputed, officially ruled to be a heart attack, but suspected to be poisoned |
Hendrik Verwoerd | 1966 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – stabbing |
René Schick | 1966 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Óscar Diego Gestido | 1967 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Georges Vanier | 1967 | ![]() |
Governor General | ![]() |
Illness |
Léon M'ba | 1967 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – cancer |
Donald Burns Sangster | 1967 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – subarachnoid haemorrhage |
Harold Holt | 1967 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Drowning |
Peter Mohr Dam | 1968 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
|
Levi Eshkol | 1969 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness |
Ho Chi Minh | 1969 | ![]() |
Chairman of the Workers' Party and President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Abdirashid Ali Shermarke | 1969 | ![]() |
President | ![]() ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
René Barrientos | 1969 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Accident – helicopter crashed on ground |
Zakir Husain | 1969 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
|
David Rose | 1969 | ![]() |
Governor-General | ![]() |
Accident |
Bjarni Benediktsson | 1970 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Accident – fire |
Saïd Mohamed Cheikh | 1970 | ![]() |
President of the Government Council | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Yusof bin Ishak | 1970 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Gamal Abdel Nasser | 1970 | ![]() |
President and Prime Minister | ![]() |
Heart attack |
François Duvalier | 1971 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Wasfi al-Tal | 1971 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
William Tubman | 1971 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
|
Jamsrangiin Sambuu | 1972 | ![]() |
Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Great Khural | ![]() |
Illness – cancer |
Leonard Williams | 1972 | ![]() |
Governor-General | ||
Salvador Allende | 1973 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Suicide |
Luis Carrero Blanco | 1973 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – bombing |
Richard Sharples | 1973 | ![]() |
Governor | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Walter Ulbricht | 1973 | ![]() |
Chairman of the State Council | ![]() |
Stroke |
Erskine Childers | 1974 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Franz Jonas | 1974 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
|
Norman Eric Kirk | 1974 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – pulmonary embolism |
Juan Perón | 1974 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Georges Pompidou | 1974 | ![]() |
President (also Co-Prince of Andorra) | ![]() |
Illness – macroglobulinemia |
Chiang Kai-shek | 1975 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Long Boret | 1975 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Execution by firing squad |
Mataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II | 1975 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ||
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman | 1975 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Richard Ratsimandrava | 1975 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
François Tombalbaye | 1975 | ![]() |
President and Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Francisco Franco | 1975 | ![]() |
Head of State (dictator) | ![]() |
Illness – heart failure |
Abdul Razak Hussein | 1976 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness |
Murtala Mohammed | 1976 | ![]() |
Head of the Federal Military Government | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Joël Rakotomalala | 1976 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Accident – helicopter crashed on ground |
El-Ouali Mustapha Sayed | 1976 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Died in combat |
Arleigh Winston Scott | 1976 | ![]() |
Governor-General | ||
Zhou Enlai | 1976 | ![]() |
Premier | ![]() |
Illness – cancer |
Mao Zedong | 1976 | ![]() |
Chairman of the Central Committee | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Zhu De | 1976 | ![]() |
Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress | ![]() |
|
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed | 1977 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Tafari Benti | 1977 | ![]() |
Chairman of the Provisional Military Administrative Council | ![]() |
Execution by firing squad |
Ibrahim al-Hamdi | 1977 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Džemal Bijedić | 1977 | ![]() |
President of the Federal Executive Council | ![]() |
Accident – plane crashed into mountain |
Makarios III | 1977 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Marien Ngouabi | 1977 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination |
Mohammed Daoud Khan | 1978 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Ahmad al-Ghashmi | 1978 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – bombing |
Houari Boumediene | 1978 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – macroglobulinemia |
Francisco Mendes | 1978 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | Accident – car crashed on road | |
John Wrathall | 1978 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Salim Rubai Ali | 1978 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Execution |
Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw | 1978 | ![]() |
Premier | ![]() |
Illness – prostate cancer |
Nico Diederichs | 1978 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Jomo Kenyatta | 1978 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Botha Sigcau | 1978 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Milo Butler | 1979 | ![]() |
Governor-General | ![]() |
|
Jean-Marie Villot | 1979 | ![]() |
Cardinal Secretary of State | ![]() |
Illness – bronchopneumonia |
Agostinho Neto | 1979 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness - cancer and hepatitis |
Mashiur Rahman | 1979 | ![]() |
Chief Minister | ||
Nur Muhammad Taraki | 1979 | ![]() |
General Secretary of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan and Chairman of the Presidium of the Revolutionary Council |
![]() |
Assassination |
Hafizullah Amin | 1979 | ![]() |
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 |
![]() |
Assassination |
Park Chung-hee | 1979 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Maphevu Dlamini | 1979 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ||
Paul Southwell | 1979 | ![]() |
Premier | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Seretse Khama | 1980 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – pancreatic cancer |
Tôn Đức Thắng | 1980 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – respiratory failure |
Josip Broz Tito | 1980 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – peripheral artery disease |
J. A. G. S. McCartney | 1980 | ![]() |
Chief Minister | ![]() |
Accident – plane crashed |
Masayoshi Ōhira | 1980 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Heart attack |
William Tolbert | 1980 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Execution |
Abdelhamid Sharaf | 1980 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Francisco de Sá Carneiro | 1980 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Accident – plane crashed on ground |
Benjamin Henry Sheares | 1981 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – lung cancer |
Mehmet Shehu | 1981 | ![]() |
Chairman of the Council of Ministers | ![]() |
Suicide (disputed) |
Jaime Roldós Aguilera | 1981 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Accident – plane crashed into mountain |
Omar Torrijos | 1981 | ![]() |
de facto leader | ![]() |
Accident – plane crashed into mountain |
Ziaur Rahman | 1981 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Eric Williams | 1981 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
|
Anwar Sadat | 1981 | ![]() |
President and Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Mohammad-Ali Rajai | 1981 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – bombing |
Mohammad-Javad Bahonar | 1981 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – bombing |
Antonio Guzmán Fernández | 1982 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Suicide |
Leonid Brezhnev | 1982 | ![]() |
General Secretary of the Communist Party and Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet |
![]() |
Heart attack |
Willi Ritschard | 1983 | ![]() |
Member of the Federal Council | ||
Deighton Lisle Ward | 1984 | ![]() |
Governor-General | ||
Yuri Andropov | 1984 | ![]() |
General Secretary of the Communist Party and Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet |
![]() |
Illness – kidney failure |
Edward Sokoine | 1984 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Accident – car crashed on road |
Chan Sy | 1984 | ![]() |
Chairman of the Council of Ministers | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Ahmad Fuad Mohieddin | 1984 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
|
Indira Gandhi | 1984 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Ahmed Sékou Touré | 1984 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Tom Adams | 1985 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | Heart attack | |
Enver Hoxha | 1985 | ![]() |
First Secretary of the Party of Labour | ![]() |
Illness |
Forbes Burnham | 1985 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – throat infection |
Haruo Remeliik | 1985 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Konstantin Chernenko | 1985 | ![]() |
General Secretary of the Communist Party and Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet |
![]() |
Illness – heart failure, emphysema, and liver cirrhosis |
Tancredo Neves | 1985 | ![]() |
President-elect | ![]() |
Illness – diverticulitis |
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam | 1985 | ![]() |
Governor-General | ![]() |
|
Olof Palme | 1986 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Lê Duẩn | 1986 | ![]() |
General Secretary of the Communist Party | ![]() |
Illness |
Samora Machel | 1986 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Accident – plane crashed on ground |
Sir Edward Youde | 1986 | ![]() |
Governor | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Errol Barrow | 1987 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
|
Rashid Karami | 1987 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – bombing |
Seyni Kountché | 1987 | ![]() |
President of the Supreme Military Council | ![]() |
Illness – brain tumour |
Cedric Phatudi | 1987 | ![]() |
Chief Minister | ![]() |
|
Thomas Sankara | 1987 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Chiang Ching-kuo | 1988 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
|
Patrick Mphephu | 1988 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
|
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq | 1988 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Accident – plane crashed on ground |
Lazarus Salii | 1988 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Suicide |
Phạm Hùng | 1988 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ||
Herbert Blaize | 1989 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – prostate cancer |
Ruhollah Khomeini | 1989 | ![]() |
Supreme Leader | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Ahmed Abdallah | 1989 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
René Moawad | 1989 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – bombing |
Ignatius Kilage | 1989 | ![]() |
Governor-General | ||
Samuel Doe | 1990 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Execution |
Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum | 1990 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
|
Nasirdin Isanov | 1991 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Accident – car crashed on road |
Artur Mkrtchyan | 1992 | ![]() |
Chairman of Parliament | ![]() ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Mohamed Boudiaf | 1992 | ![]() |
Chairman of the High Council of State | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Kaysone Phomvihane | 1992 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
|
Robert Rex | 1992 | ![]() |
Premier | ![]() |
|
József Antall | 1993 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – cancer |
Ranasinghe Premadasa | 1993 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – bombing |
Penaia Ganilau | 1993 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
|
Félix Houphouët-Boigny | 1993 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – prostate cancer |
Melchior Ndadaye | 1993 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Turgut Özal | 1993 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Suspected poisoning |
Zhiuli Shartava | 1993 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Juvénal Habyarimana | 1994 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – plane shot down[2] |
Cyprien Ntaryamira | 1994 | ![]() |
President | ||
Agathe Uwilingiyimana | 1994 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Kim Il-sung | 1994 | ![]() |
General Secretary of the Workers' Party and President |
![]() |
Heart attack[3] |
Yitzhak Rabin | 1995 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Nita Barrow | 1995 | ![]() |
Governor-General | ![]() |
|
Hamilton Lavity Stoutt | 1995 | ![]() |
Chief Minister | ![]() |
|
Amata Kabua | 1996 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness |
Dzhokhar Dudayev | 1996 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Cheddi Jagan | 1997 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai | 1997 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Accident – plane crashed on ground |
Sani Abacha | 1998 | ![]() |
Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Mohamed Taki Abdoulkarim | 1998 | ![]() |
President | ||
Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara | 1999 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Jumabek Ibraimov | 1999 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – stomach cancer |
Franjo Tuđman | 1999 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – cancer |
Vazgen Sargsyan | 1999 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shot by terrorist |
2000–present[]
Name | Year | Country | Title | Place of Death | Cause of death |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hafez al-Assad | 2000 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness |
Rosie Douglas | 2000 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
officially ruled a heart attack; assassination suggested by some[4][5] |
Ionatana Ionatana | 2000 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness |
Donald Dewar | 2000 | ![]() |
First Minister | ![]() |
Cerebral hemorrhage |
Laurent-Désiré Kabila | 2001 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Sir Charles Antrobus | 2002 | ![]() |
Governor-General | ![]() |
Parkinson's disease |
Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal | 2002 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Died during surgery |
Bernard Dowiyogo | 2003 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – complications from diabetes |
Zoran Đinđić | 2003 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Yasser Arafat | 2004 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Disputed |
Pierre Charles | 2004 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Ezzedine Salim | 2004 | ![]() |
President of the Governing Council | ![]() |
Assassination – bombing |
Thomas Klestil | 2004 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Boris Trajkovski | 2004 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Accident – plane crashed into mountain |
Gnassingbé Eyadéma | 2005 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Zurab Zhvania | 2005 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Accident – poisoning |
Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum | 2006 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Ibrahim Rugova | 2006 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – lung cancer |
Saparmurat Niyazov | 2006 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Pascal Yoadimnadji | 2007 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Andranik Markaryan | 2007 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Sir John Compton | 2007 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Stroke |
Soe Win | 2007 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – leukaemia |
Levy Mwanawasa | 2008 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Stroke |
Lansana Conté | 2008 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness |
Omar Bongo | 2009 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
João Bernardo Vieira | 2009 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Lech Kaczyński | 2010 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Accident – plane crashed on ground |
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua | 2010 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – pericarditis |
David Thompson | 2010 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – pancreatic cancer |
Sergey Bagapsh | 2011 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – complications from surgery |
Muammar Gaddafi | 2011 | ![]() |
Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
Kim Jong-il | 2011 | ![]() |
General Secretary of the Workers' Party | ![]() |
Heart attack[6] |
Malam Bacai Sanhá | 2012 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness |
Bingu wa Mutharika | 2012 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
John Atta Mills | 2012 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Stroke |
Meles Zenawi | 2012 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness |
Hugo Chávez | 2013 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – unspecified form of cancer |
Zillur Rahman | 2013 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – lung problems |
Michael Sata | 2014 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness |
Mohamed Abdelaziz | 2016 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Lung cancer |
Islam Karimov | 2016 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Stroke |
Sir Michael Ogio | 2017 | ![]() |
Governor-General | ![]() |
Illness |
Baldwin Lonsdale | 2017 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Heart attack |
Alexander Zakharchenko | 2018 | ![]() |
Head of the Republic and Prime Minister | ![]() ![]() |
Assassination – bombing |
Gennadi Gagulia | 2018 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() ![]() |
Accident – car crashed on road |
Trần Đại Quang | 2018 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – viral infection |
Beji Caid Essebsi | 2019 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Serious illness |
ʻAkilisi Pōhiva | 2019 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – pneumonia |
Pierre Nkurunziza | 2020 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – cardiac arrest & suspected COVID-19 |
Amadou Gon Coulibaly | 2020 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness |
Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa | 2020 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness |
Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini | 2020 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – COVID-19 |
Hamed Bakayoko | 2021 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | ![]() |
Illness – malaria, cancer & suspected COVID-19 |
John Magufuli | 2021 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Illness – heart condition & suspected COVID-19 |
Idriss Déby | 2021 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Killed in battle during the Northern Chad offensive[7] |
Jovenel Moïse | 2021 | ![]() |
President | ![]() |
Assassination – shooting |
David Sassoli | 2022 | ![]() |
President of the European Parliament | ![]() |
Illness - complication from multiple myeloma. |
See also[]
- List of assassinated and executed heads of state and government
- List of presidents of the United States who died in office
- List of Russian governors who died in office
References[]
- ^ "Henry Pelham (1694-1754)".
- ^ Diamond, Jared (2005). Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive. Penguin Books. p. 315. ISBN 0-140-27951-2.
- ^ Demick, Barbara (2010). Nothing To Envy: Real Lives In North Korea. London: Granta Publications. p. 128. ISBN 978-1-84708-337-1.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "POLITICS: How Did Dominica's Prime Minister Rosie Douglas Die?". Inter Press Service. March 8, 2001.
- ^ "North Korean leader Kim Jong-il dies 'of heart attack'". BBC News. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
- ^ "Chad's President Idriss Déby dies 'in clashes with rebels'". BBC News. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
Categories:
- Lists of office-holders
- Death-related lists
- Lists of heads of state
- Lists of heads of government
- Lists of politicians who died in office