List of assassinated persons

This is a list of persons that were assassinated for political and other reasons.

Table of contents

1 By region (chronologically)

1.1 Assassinations in Afghanistan
1.2 Assassinations in Africa
1.3 Assassinations in Canada
1.4 Assassinations in France
1.5 Assassinations in India
1.6 Assassinations in Iran
1.7 Assassinations in Ireland and the U.K.
1.8 Assassinations in Japan
1.9 Assassinations in Mexico
1.10 Assassinations in Russia
1.11 Assassinations in the United States
1.12 Assassinations in Yugoslavia (and successor states)

2 Assassinations in other regions (chronologically backwards)

2.13 Political assassinations

2.13.1 Heads of state and government killed in office
2.13.2 Other political assassinations

2.14 Assassinations of other well-known persons

3 People who died under suspicious circumstances
4 Related articles and lists

By region (chronologically)

Please note the chronological sorting order.

Assassinations in Afghanistan

Habibullah Khan, (1919), emir of Afghanistan.
Mohammed Nader Shah, (1933), king of Afghanistan since 1929.
Sardar Mohammed Daud Khan, (1978), president of Afghanistan killed in communist coup.
Nur Mohammad Taraki, (1979), communist president.
Hafizullah Amin, (1979), communist prime minister of Afghanistan killed during Soviet invasion.
Mohammed Najibullah, (1996), president of Afghanistan from 1986 to 1992, killed by the Taliban during the capture of Kabul.
Ahmed Shah Massoud, (2001), leader of the Northern Alliance .
Abdul Haq, (2001), Northern Alliance commander killed by remnants of the Taliban.
Abdul Qadir, (2002), vice-president of Afghanistan.
Abdul Rahman, (2002), Afghan Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism.

Assassinations in Africa

Hiempsal, (117 BC), co-ruler of Numidia.
Pompey the Great, (48 BC), Roman politician killed in Egypt.
Shaka, (1828), king of the Zulus.
Boutros Ghali, (1910), Prime Minister of Egypt.
Nukrashi Pasha, (1948), Prime Minister of Egypt.
Patrice Lumumba, (1961), Prime Minister of the Congo.
Louis Rwagasore, 1961, Burundian prince and prime minister.
Sylvanus Olympio, (1963), president of Togo.
Pierre Ngendandumwe, (1965), Burundian prime minister.
Joseph Bamina, (1965), Burundian prime minister.
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, (1966), Prime Minister of Nigeria killed during military coup.
Hendrik Verwoerd, (1966), Prime Minister of South Africa, stabbed in parliament by Dimitri Tsafendas.
Ali Shermarke, (1969), president of Somalia.
Amílcar Cabral, (1973), Pan-African intellectual
Richard Ratsimandrava, (1975), president of Madagascar killed just days after taking power in military coup.
François (Ngarta) Tombalbaye, (1975), president of Chad.
Murtala Ramat Mohammed, (1976), President of Nigeria.
Marien Ngouabi, (1977), president of Congo (Brazzaville).
Ali Soilih, (1978), president of Comoros.
William R. Tolbert, Jr, (1980), president of Liberia killed in military coup.
Anwar Sadat, (1981), President of Egypt.
Thomas Sankara, (1987), military leader of Burkina Faso.
Ahmed Abdallah, (1989), president of Comoros.
Samuel Doe, (1990), president of Liberia. A semiliterate army officer who himself overthrew and allowed the assassination of William Tolbert. The instability following his death led to the outbreak of full-scale war.
Muhammad Boudiaf, (1992), president of Algeria.
Chris Hani, (1993), leader of the South African Communist Party.
Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, (1999), President of Niger.
Laurent-Désiré Kabila, (2001), President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1997-2001.
Bola Ige, (2001), justice minister of Nigeria.
Robert Guei, (2002), military ruler of Côte d'Ivoire from 1999 to 2000.
Emile Boga Doudou, (2002), interior minister of Côte d'Ivoire killed on the same day as Guei as the country plunged into civil war and street fighting occurred in the cities.

Assassinations in Canada

Thomas D'Arcy McGee, (1868), Canadian father of Confederation.
Pierre Laporte, (1970), Quebec Minister of Labour, assassinated by FLQ.

Assassinations in France

Henri III, (1589), King of France.
Henri IV, (1610), King of France.
Jean-Paul Marat, (1793), revolutionary.
Marie François Sadi Carnot, (1894), President of France.
Jean Jaurès, (1914), politician, pacifist.
Paul Doumer, (1932), President of France.
Louis Barthou, (1934), foreign minister of France killed along with Alexander of Yugoslavia at Marseille.
René Audran, (1985), General.
Georges Besse, (1986), Renault executive.
Claude Erignac, (1998), prefect of Corsica.

Assassinations in India

Mohandas Gandhi, (1948), Independence leader.
Indira Gandhi, (1984), Indian prime minister.
Rajiv Gandhi, (1991), former Indian prime minister, son of Indira.
Beant Singh, (1995), chief minister of Punjab.
Phoolan Devi, (2001), bandit queen turned politician and activist for people of lower castes.

Assassinations in Iran

Xerxes I, (465 BC), Persian king killed by guards.
Xerxes II , (423 BC), Persian king killed by his half-brother Sogdianus.
Sogdianus, (423 BC), Persian king killed by his half-brother Darius II.
Nader Shah, (1747), Shah of Persia.
Ali Razmara, (1951), Prime Minister of Iran.
Hassan Ali Mansur, (1965), Prime Minister of Iran.
Ayatollah Mohammad Hossein Beheshti, (1981), killed along with over 60 others in bomb.
Ali Rajai, (1981), president and
Javid Bahonar, (1981), Prime Minister of Iran respectively, killed 30 August, just weeks after taking office.
Shahpur Bakhtiar, (1991), Prime Minister of Iran briefly in 1979, stabbed to death at his home in France.

Assassinations in Ireland and the U.K.

King Edmund I, (946), king of England, stabbed at a banquet.
Thomas Becket, (1170), Archbishop of Canterbury.
Lord Darnley, (1567), Henry Stuart, consort of Mary, Queen of Scots
Spencer Perceval, (1812), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, only British prime minister to be assassinated.
Charles Lenox Richardson, (1862), English diplomat.
Lord Frederick Cavendish, (1882), Chief Secretary for Ireland.
T.H. Burke, (1882), Under Secretary for Ireland.
Henry Hughes Wilson, (1922), British field marshal, Conservative politician.
Michael Collins, (1922), President of the Provisional Government.
Kevin O'Higgins, (1927), Irish politician.
Christopher Ewart-Biggs, (1976), British ambassador to Ireland.
Georgi Markov, (1978), Bulgarian dissident.
Airey Neave, (1979), British Conservative politician.
Earl Mountbatten, (1979), Vice-admiral, last viceroy of India.
Rev. Robert Bradford, (1981), Unionist MP in Northern Ireland.
Ian Gow, (1990), British Conservative politician.

Assassinations in Japan

Emperor Sushun of Japan, (592), Emperor of Japan.
The Sogas, (645), Japanese political family.
Mimura Iechika, daimyo, feudal leader in Japan.
Matsudaira Hirotada, (1549), feudal leader in Japan.
Ouchi Yoshitaka, (1551), daimyo, feudal leader in Japan.
Oda Nobuyuki, (1557), Japanese samurai, younger brother of Oda Nobunaga.
Ashikaga Yoshiteru, (1565), Shogun, feudal leader in Japan.
Yamanaka Shikanosuke, (1578), Japanese samurai.
Oda Nobunaga, (1582), samurai warlord.
Shimazu Nariaki, (1858), Japanese daimyo in Satsuma, now Kagoshima prefecture.
Hashimoto Sanai, (1859), Japanese political activist.
Ii Naosuke, (1860), Japanese politician.
Tokugawa Nariaki, (1860), Japanese daimyo, a relative of Tokugawa shoguns.
Serizawa Kamo, (1863), a chief of Shinsen-gumi.
Yoshida Toyo, (1863), Japanese political activist.
Ikeuchi Daigaku, (1864), Japanese politician.
Kusaka Gen'nai, (1864), Japanese politician.
Sakuma Shozan, (1864), Japanese politician.
Sakamoto Ryoma, (1867), Japanese author.
Yokoi Shonai, (1869), Japanese political activist.
Sirosawa Saneomi, (1871), Japanese political activist.
Okubo Toshimichi, (1878), Japanese Prime Minister.
Ito Hirobumi, (1909), Japanese Governor-General of Korea.
Hara Kei, (1921), Japanese Prime Minister.
Hamaguchi Osachi. (1931), Japanese Prime Minister.
Takuma Dan, (1932), Japanese zaibatsu leader.
Inukai Tsuyoshi, (1932), Japanese Prime Minister.
Takahashi Korekiyo, (1936), Japanese author.
Isoroku Yamamoto, (1943), Admiral.
Inejiro Asanuma, (1960), Socialist Party of Japan chairman.

Assassinations in Mexico

Francisco I. Madero, (1913), President of Mexico.
Emiliano Zapata, (1919), revolutionary.
Venustiano Carranza, (1920), President of Mexico.
Francisco "Pancho" Villa, (1923), revolutionary.
Álvaro Obregón, (1928), President-elect.
Leon Trotsky, (1940), Russian communist leader
Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta, (1994), Presidential candidate.

Assassinations in Russia

Peter III of Russia, (1762), tsar of Russia.
Alexander II of Russia, (1881), Tsar of All the Russias.
Dmitri Sipiagin, (1902), Russian Interior Minister.
Vyacheslav Plehve, (1904), Russian Interior Minister.
Nikolai Ivanovich Bobrikov, (1904), Governor-General of Finland.
Peter Stolypin, (1911), Russian Prime Minister.
Grigori Rasputin, (1916), friar, adventurer, mystic wonder-worker.
Count von Mirbach, (1918), German ambassador in Moscow.
Nicholas II of Russia, (1918), deposed Tsar.
Sergei Kirov, (1934), Bolshevik party leader in Leningrad.
Valentin Tsvetkov, (2002), governor of Magadan.

Assassinations in the United States

Joseph Smith, Jr, (1844), Mormon leader, Presidential candidate.
Henry Heusken, (1861), American diplomat (accompanying Townsend Harris from Amsterdam).
Abraham Lincoln, (1865), President of the United States.
Thomas Hindman, (1868), Confederate General.
Edward Canby, (1873), Union General, leader of a peace confrence
Crazy Horse, (1877), Oglala Sioux chief killed by American troops.
James Garfield, (1881), President of the United States.
William McKinley, (1901), President of the United States.
Anton Cermak, (1933), mayor of Chicago.
Huey P. Long, (1935), Louisiana senator and former governor.
John F. Kennedy, (1963), President of the United States.
Lee Harvey Oswald, (1963), alleged assassin of John F. Kennedy.
Medgar Evers, (1963), U.S. civil rights activist.
Malcolm X, (1965), (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, born Malcolm Little), leader.
Robert F. Kennedy, (1968), Presidential candidate.
Martin Luther King Jr, (1968), U.S. civil rights activist.
Harvey Milk, (1978), gay rights campaigner and city supervisor of San Francisco, California.
George Moscone, (1978), Mayor of San Francisco killed along with Milk.
John Lennon, (1980), singer and former Beatle.
Meir Kahane, (1990), leader of the ultra-Zionist Jewish Defense League.

Assassinations in Yugoslavia (and successor states)

Minister Milorad Draskovic, Yugoslav interior minister killed in 1921 by Communist Alija Alijagic
King Alexander I of Yugoslavia, (1934).
Irfan Ljubijankic, (1995), foreign minister of Bosnia.
Zeljko Raznatovic ("Arkan"), (2000), Serb paramilitary leader.
Pavle Bulatovic, (2000), defense minister of Yugoslavia.
Bosko Perosevic, (2000), prefect of Vojvodina.
Zoran Djindjic, (2003), Prime Minister of Serbia killed by organized crime.

Assassinations in other regions (chronologically backwards)

Political assassinations

Please note the sorting order: chronologically backwards.

Heads of state and government killed in office

Birendra, (2001), King of Nepal (along with Queen Aiswary and 9 other members of the royal family).
Vasgen Sarkissian, (1999), Prime Minister of Armenia.
Yitzhak Rabin, (1995), Prime Minister of Israel (1974-1977 and 1992-1995), shared 1994 Nobel Peace Prize.
Ranasinghe Premadasa, (1993), President of Sri Lanka.
René Moawad, (1989), president of Lebanon.
Rashid Karami, (1987), Prime Minister of Lebanon.
Olof Palme, (1986), Swedish prime minister.
Haruo Remeliik, (1985), president of the Pacific island of Palau.
Ziaur Rahman, (1981), president of Bangladesh.
Park Chung Hee, (1979), President of South Korea.
Ahmad al-Ghashmi, (1978), president of North Yemen killed by bomb along with envoy from South Yemen.
Ibrahim al-Hamadi, (1977), president of North Yemen.
Faisal of Saudi Arabia, (1975), king.
Mujibur Rahman, (1975), president of Bangladesh.
Luis Carrero Blanco, (1973), Spanish prime minister.
Sir Richard Sharples, (1973), governor of Bermuda.
Wasfi at-Tall, (1971), Prime Minister of Jordan.
Ngo Dinh Diem, (1963), first president of South Vietnam.
Rafael Trujillo, (1961), Dominican Republic dictator.
Solomon Bandaranaike, (1959), Sri Lankan socialist prime minister killed by Buddhist monk Talduwe Somarama.
Faisal II, (1958), King of Iraq,
Nuri Pasha as-Said, (1958), Iraqi politician, and
Ibrahim Hashim, (1958), Jordanian politician, prime minister several times between the 1930s and shortly before his death - the previous three were all killed during the July 14 military coup in Iraq.
Carlos Castillo Armas, (1957), president of Guatemala.
Anastasio Somoza, (1956), president of Nicaragua.
Liaquat Ali Khan, (1951), Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Abdullah I , (1951), King of Jordan.
Carlos Delgado Chalbaud, (1950), chairman of the military junta of Venezuela.
Yahya ibn Mohammad, (1948), imam of Yemen.
Benito Mussolini, (1945), fascist Prime Minister of Italy.
Armand Calinescu, (1939), Prime Minister of Romania.
Engelbert Dollfuss, (1934), chancellor of Austria.
Luis Sánchez Cerro, (1933), president of Peru.
Ion Duca, (1933), prime minister of Romania.
Gabriel Narutowicz, (1922), President of Poland.
Karl Graf Stürgkh, (1916), Prime Minister of Austria.
George I of Greece, (1913), king.
Charles of Portugal, (1908), king.
Umberto I of Italy, (1900), king.
Ulises Heureaux, (1899), president of the Dominican Republic.
Gabriel García Moreno, (1875), president of Ecuador known for his support of the Catholic church.
Ioannis Capodistrias, (1831), first president of Greece.
Pius VIII, (1830), Pope.
Jean-Jacques Dessalines, (1806), Emperor of Haiti
Gustav III, (1792), King of Sweden.
William I of Orange, (1584), stadtholder.
Raymond II of Tripoli, (1152), count of Tripoli.
Zengi, (1146), ruler of Aleppo and Mosul and founder of the Zengid Dynasty.
Numerian, (284), Roman emperor.
Carinus, (284), Roman emperor.
Probus, (282), Roman emperor.
Florianus, (276), Roman emperor.
Aurelian, (275), Roman emperor.
Laelianus, (268), Gallic emperor.
Postumus, (268), Gallic emperor.
Gallienus, (268), Roman emperor.
Trebonianus Gallus, (253), Roman emperor.
Gordian III, (244), Roman emperor.
Khosrow I, (238), Armenian king.
Pupienus, (238), Roman emperor.
Balbinus, (238), Roman emperor.
Maximinus Thrax, (238), Roman emperor.
Alexander Severus, (235), Roman emperor.
Heliogabalus, (222), Roman emperor.
Caracalla, (217), Roman emperor.
Publius Septimius Geta, (212), Roman emperor.
Didius Julianus, (193), Roman emperor.
Pertinax, (193), Roman emperor.
Commodus, (192), Roman emperor.
Domitian, (96), Roman emperor.
Galba, (69), Roman emperor.
Vitellius, (69), Roman emperor.
Claudius, (54), Roman emperor.
Caligula, (41), Roman emperor.
Gaius Julius Caesar, (44 BC), common form of reference to Julius Caesar.
Antiochus VI Dionysus, (138 BC), Seleucid heir to the throne.
Alexander Balas, (146 BC), Seleucid king.
Seleucus IV Philopator, (176 BC), Seleucid king.
Seleucus III Ceraunus, (223 BC), Seleucid king.
Antiochus II Theos, (246 BC), Seleucid king.
Tidas, (252 BC), tyrant of Sicyon.
Cleon of Sicyon, (272 BC), tyrant of Sicyon.
Seleucus I Nicator, (281 BC), founder of the Seleucid dynasty.
Philip II of Macedon, (336 BC), king of Macedon.
Hipparchus, (514 BC), tyrant of Athens.
Servius Tullius, (534 BC), Etruscan king.
Titus Tatius, (748 BC), Sabine king.

Other political assassinations

Aquila al-Hashimi, (2003), Iraqi governing council member.
Anna Lindh, (2003) foreign minister of Sweden.
Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, (2003), ayatollah.
Sérgio Vieira de Mello, (2003), UN Special Representative in Iraq.
Mohammed Ahmad al-Rasheed, (2003), Saudi Arabian ambassador to the Ivory Coast.
Marco Biagi, (2002), Italian Labor Ministry advisor.
Pim Fortuyn, (2002), Dutch politician.
Siddiq Khan Kanju, (2001), foreign minister of Pakistan from 1991 to 1993.
Fernando Buesa Blanco, (2000), Basque politician and party leader.
Stephen Saunders, (2000), Brigadier and British military attaché in Athens.
Ernest Lluch Martín, (2000), former Spanish minister.
Luis María Argaña, (1999), vice president of Paraguay.
Massimo D'Antona, (1999), advisor of the Italian Minister of Labour.
Francisco Tomas y Valiente, (1996), former president of the Spanish Constitutional Court.
Andrey Lukanov, (1996), former Prime Minister of Bulgaria.
Mohammad Nanva, (1996), dissident Iranian Kurdish activist.
Ali Garmaii, (1996), dissident Iranian Kurdish activist.
John Newman, (1994), New South Wales state minister and member for Cabramatta.
Fazle Haq, (1991), governor of the Northwest Frontier province, Pakistan, from 1978 to 1985.
Detlev Karsten Rohwedder, (1991), director of Treuhandanstalt for former East Germany.
Salah Khalaf ("Abu Iyad"), (1991), deputy leader of the PLO killed by Abu Nidal terrorists in Tunis, Tunisia.
André Cools, (1991), Belgian politician.
Gerald Bull, (1990), Canadian developer of the Martlet cannon, assassinated by Israeli agents.
Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa, (1990), Colombian presidential candidate.
Luis Carlos Galán, (1989), Colombian presidential candidate.
Alfred Herrhausen, (1989), Deutsche Bank CEO.
Chico Mendes, (1988), Brazilian environmental activist
Khalil Wazir ("Abu Jihad"), (1988), military leader of the PLO.
Costis Peratikos, (1987), Greek shipowner.
Karl Heinz Beckurts, (1986), Siemens executive.
Gerold von Braunmühl, (1986), official in the German Foreign Ministry.
Ricardo Tejero Magro, (1985), Spanish Central Bank director.
Ernst Zimmermann, (1985), German industrialist.
Nikos Momferratos, (1985), Greek newspaper publisher.
Leamon Hunt, (1984), US chief of the Sinai Multinational Force and Observer Group (assassinated in Rome).
Benigno Aquino Jr, (1983), opposition senator in the Philippines.
George Tsantes, (1983), U.S. military attaché in Athens.
Bashir Gemayel, (1982), president-elect of Lebanon.
Heinz-Herbert Karry, (1981), minister of economy of Hesse.
Walter Rodney, (1980), Guyanese historian and political figure
Anastasio Somoza Debayle, (1980), former president of Nicaragua.
Adolph Dubs, (1979), U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan.
Abdul Razak al-Naif, (1978), former Iraqi prime minister.
Aldo Moro, (1978), former Prime Minister of Italy kidnapped and killed by Red Brigades.
Hanns-Martin Schleyer, (1977), president of the German employers' organization.
Siegfried Buback, (1977), German attorney general.
Kamal Jumblatt, (1977), Lebanese Druze leader.
Jürgen Ponto, (1977), CEO Dresdner Bank.
Juan José Torres, (1976), president of Bolivia from 1970 to 1971.
Andreas von Mirbach, (1975), German military attaché in Stockholm.
Heinz Hillegaart, (1975), German diplomat in Stockholm.
Ross McWhirter, (1975), co-author of the Guinness Book of Records and far right wing political activist.
Günter von Drenkmann, (1974), Berlin chief justice.
Karl von Spreti, (1970), German ambassador in Guatemala.
Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, (1966), president of El Salvador from 1931 to 1944.
Folke Bernadotte, (1948), Swedish Middle East peace mediator.
Ieu Koeus 1950 briefly prime minister of Cambodia in 1949.
Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, (1948), Colombian Liberal Party leader.
Aung San 1947 Burmese nationalist leader.
Reinhard Heydrich, (1942), a General in the Nazi German paramilitary corps and governor of occupied Czechoslovakia.
Ernst von Rath, (1938), German diplomat in France.
Wilhelm Gustloff, (1936), German leader of the Swiss Nazi party.
Simon Petlyura, (1926), Ukrainian independence leader
Franz Birnecker, (1923), Austrian labour representative at Semperit.
István Tisza, (1918), former premier of Hungary.
Franz Ferdinand of Austria, (1914), Archduke of Austria-Hungary.
Elisabeth ("Sisi"), (1898), empress of Austria and queen of Hungary.
Ferreira do Amaral, (1849), Portuguese Governor of Macau.
Pellegrino Rossi, (1848), Italian Minister of Justice.
Albrecht von Wallenstein, (1634), Czech general during the Thirty Years' War.
Konrad von Marburg, (1233), German inquisitor.
Conrad of Montferrat, (1192), leader in the Third Crusade.
Bishop Henry, (1156) English crusader in Finland.
Carausius, (293), usurper of the Western Roman Empire.
Germanicus, (19), Roman military leader, poisoned.
Marcus Tullius Cicero, (43 BC), Roman orator.
Tiberius Gracchus, (133 BC), Roman tribune.
Alcibiades, (404 BC), Athenian general and politician.
Ephialtes, (461 BC), leader of the radical democracy movement in Athens.

Assassinations of other well-known persons

Non political, please note the sorting order: chronologically backwards.

Elvis Alvarez, (1994), world champion boxer, murdered.
José Cheito Ruiz, (1993), world champion boxer from Puerto Rico.
Alejandro González Malave, (1986), famous undercover policeman.
Luis Vigoreaux, (1983), slain producer, show host.

People who died under suspicious circumstances

Please note the sorting order: chronologically backwards.

Bison Dele, (2002), NBA player.
Juvénal Habyarimana, (1994), President of Rwanda, and
Cyprien Ntaryamira, (1994), President of Burundi, killed in mysterious plane crash; the resulting political instability led to the genocide in Rwanda and the outbreak of full-scale war in Burundi.''.
Zviad Gamsakhurdia, (1993), former president of Georgia.
Muhammad Zia ul-Haq, (1988), military ruler of Pakistan.
Uwe Barschel, (1987), minister-president of Schleswig-Holstein
Roberto Calvi, (1982), CEO of Banco Ambrosiano.
Pope John Paul I, (1978).
Haile Selassie, (1975), Ethiopian emperor who was deposed and imprisoned a year earlier by the military after an eventful reign of over 40 years.
Salvador Allende, (1973), Chilean president.
Dag Hammarskjöld, (1961), United Nations Secretary General, killed in plane crash in Zaire.
Joseph Stalin, (1953), Soviet leader
King Ananda Mahidol of Thailand, (1946).
Emperor Komei of Japan, (1840), Emperor of Japan.
Charles XII, (1718), Swedish king and military commander.
Pope Alexander VI, (1503), Roman pope of the 15th century.
Regiomontanus (aka Johannes Müller), (1476), German mathematician and astronomer.
Agnès Sorel, (1450), mistress of King Charles VII of France.
King Jean I of France, (1316).
King William II of England, (1100), killed by an arrow while hunting.
Flavius Claudius Julianus, (363), Roman emperor.
Carus, (283), Roman emperor.