List of state leaders who died in office
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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
1850–1899
1900–1949
1950–1999
2000–present
See also
Notes
- Although Shastri's death was officially ruled a heart attack, several of his supporters and close relatives have suggested foul play and alleged that he was poisoned.
- The exact circumstances of Allende's death were for long a subject of controversy, as it was disputed whether he had died by suicide or been assassinated by the Chilean Armed Forces while defending the presidential palace in Santiago during the 1973 Chilean coup d'état. In 2011, a Chilean court authorized the exhumation and autopsy of Allende's remains. A team of international experts concluded that Allende had shot himself with an AK-47 assault rifle, which seems to have put the controversy surrounding his death to rest.
- It has long been suggested that the crash that killed Sá Carneiro was not accidental, with multiple parliamentary inquiries having been made into the case. In two of these, carried out in the 1990s and 2004, investigators claimed to have found evidence of an explosive device hidden inside the aircraft.[290][291] In 2011, then-Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho noted that no categorical conclusion had been reached on the cause of the plane crash.[289]
- Although the plane crash was ruled accidental, it has been suggested that Roldós – a firm supporter of human rights known for his opposition to Operation Condor – was the victim of an assassination. Multiple investigations were made into the crash, none of them being able to determine a definite cause; in relation to the latest investigation, carried out in 2015–16, it was found that several previously classified documents on the case had been destroyed, and that several parts of the remains of the aircraft had not been found.[296]
- Although Shehu's cause of death was given as suicide brought on by depression, it is also possible that he was murdered after falling out of favor with Enver Hoxha.
- The details surrounding Neves' death are not entirely clear. It was initially reported that he was suffering from temporary acute diverticulitis, a less serious condition, so as not to alarm the public ahead of his inauguration as President. A later report also stated that he had died from systemic inflammatory response syndrome, a condition unknown at the time.
- It has been alleged that the plane crash was not accidental, and that South Africa, which was hostile to Machel's government at the time, was involved. Mozambique and the Soviet Union demanded an onsite investigation at the time, but South Africa, the third member of a tripartite commission formed after the crash, refused.[322]
- Doe was captured and killed by forces of the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia, led by Prince Johnson, in the First Liberian Civil War. Prior to his death, Doe was filmed while being questioned and tortured by rebel forces; his exact cause of death is not known for certain, but according to Johnson himself, Doe later died in a bathroom at Johnson's mansion from loss of blood.
- It has been alleged that Özal was actually poisoned by elements of the Turkish "deep state". An investigation of foul play in his death was made in 2012; an exhumation of his remains revealed traces of insecticides, pesticides and radioactive elements. However, prosecutors said the levels of toxins were normal.[345] A trial charging retired army general Levent Ersöz with the murder of Özal began in September 2013; Ersöz was acquitted in November 2014.[346]
- Disputed with Ali Mahdi Muhammad.
- While Zhvania's cause of death was ruled as accidental carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a faulty heater in his apartment, it has been alleged that he was assassinated, including by relatives, and by Georgian ex-President Eduard Shevardnadze.[385][386]
- Disputed with Salem Saleh bin Braik.
