Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Statesmanship & Statesmen

13

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Lech Kaczyński

Lech Aleksander Kaczyński

Poland

1949 – 2010 (60 years old)

President of Poland from 2005 until his tragic death in the Smolensk air crash, a former Solidarity anti-communist activist and co-founder of the Law and Justice party.

Kraków, Poland

13 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

16

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Abdelhadi Boutaleb

عبد الهادي بوطالب

Morocco

1923 – 2009 (85 years old)

Distinguished Moroccan scholar, royal tutor to King Hassan II, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and founding Director-General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO).

Rabat, Morocco

16 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

28

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Kim Dae-jung

김대중 / 金大中

South Korea

1924 – 2009 (85 years old)

President of South Korea, democracy activist, and 2000 Nobel Peace Prize laureate known as the 'Nelson Mandela of Asia' for his Sunshine Policy of North-South reconciliation.

Seoul, South Korea

28 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

41

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Corazon Aquino

María Corazón Cojuangco Aquino

Philippines

1933-01-25 – 2009-08-01 (76 years old)

Icon of peaceful democratic transition across the globe; promulgated the 1987 Philippine Constitution restoring civil liberties, term limits, and human rights commissions.

Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines

41 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

12

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Mahmud Sulayman al-Maghribi

محمود سليمان المغربي

Palestine

1935 – 2009 (73 years old)

Distinguished petroleum jurist who earned his doctorate from George Washington University, served as Libya's first post-1969 Prime Minister, and negotiated landmark oil sovereignty agreements.

Damascus, Syria

12 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

2

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Chérif Belkacem

شريف بلقاسم (سي جمال)

Algeria

1930 – 2009 (78 years old)

Key ALN leader known as 'Si Djamel', member of the General Staff under Boumédiène, Minister of National Education, and prominent statesman of early independent Algeria.

Algiers, Algeria

2 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

2

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Cherif Guellal

شريف قلال

Algeria

1932 – 2009 (76 years old)

First Ambassador of independent Algeria to Washington, who established warm personal friendships with President John F. Kennedy and American civil rights leaders.

Algiers, Algeria

2 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

7

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Ahmed Bensouda

أحمد بن سودة

Morocco

1920 – 2008 (88 years old)

Longtime chief counselor and confidant to King Hassan II and King Mohammed VI, diplomat, and statesman who helped craft modern Moroccan institutional diplomacy for four decades.

Rabat, Morocco

7 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

24

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Benazir Bhutto

بینظیر بھٹو

Pakistan

1953 – 2007 (54 years old)

Pakistani politician who made history in 1988 as the first woman elected to head a democratic government in a Muslim-majority nation, serving twice as Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Garhi Khuda Bakhsh (Sindh), Pakistan

24 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

8

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Driss Basri

إدريس البصري

Morocco

1938 – 2007 (68 years old)

Powerful Minister of the Interior from 1979 to 1999, who served as King Hassan II's principal lieutenant in state administration, security, and territorial integration.

Rabat, Morocco

8 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

5

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Malika al-Fassi

مليكة الفاسي

Morocco

1919 – 2007 (87 years old)

Visionary Moroccan nationalist and pioneering feminist who was the sole female signatory among 66 national leaders to sign the historic 1944 Proclamation of Independence (Manifesto of Istiqlal), dedicating her life to women's suffrage and universal education.

Rabat, Morocco

5 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

2

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Mostefa Lacheraf

مصطفى الأشرف

Algeria

1917 – 2007 (89 years old)

Eminent sociologist, author of the seminal 1965 study 'Algérie: nation et société', Minister of Education, and one of the five historic FLN leaders intercepted in the 1956 plane hijacking.

Algiers, Algeria

2 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

29

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George F. Kennan

George Frost Kennan

United States

1904 – 2005 (101 years old)

Visionary American diplomat, historian, and ambassador whose 1946 'Long Telegram' and 'X Article' formulated the grand strategy of Soviet Containment.

Princeton, New Jersey, United States

29 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

36

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Yasser Arafat

محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة

Egypt

1929-08-24 – 2004-11-11 (75 years old)

Transformed the Palestinian refugee plight into an internationally recognized national self-determination movement, establishing the Palestinian National Authority.

Clamart, France

36 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

29

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David Dacko

David Dacko

🌐 Central African Republic

1930 – 2003 (73 years old)

Founding President of the Central African Republic who took office upon independence in 1960 and later returned to restore the republic in 1979 following the fall of Emperor Bokassa.

Lobaye Prefecture, Central African Republic

29 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

15

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Radhia Haddad

راضية الحداد

Tunisia

1922 – 2003 (81 years old)

Trailblazing feminist leader and parliamentarian who presided over the National Union of Tunisian Women (UNFT) from 1958 to 1972, driving nationwide literacy and implementing the Code of Personal Status.

Tunis, Tunisia

15 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

26

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Moktar Ould Daddah

المختار ولد داداه

Mauritania

1924 – 2003 (78 years old)

First President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (1960–1978) who built the national capital of Nouakchott from the desert sands, united Arab-Berber and Afro-Mauritanian populations, and established national currency (Ouguiya).

Boutilimit, Mauritania

26 Full Record →

Statesmanship & Statesmen

2

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M'hammed Yazid

محمد يزيد

Algeria

1923 – 2003 (80 years old)

Charismatic Minister of Information of the GPRA whose brilliant diplomacy at the 1955 Bandung Conference and the United Nations internationalized the Algerian Cause.

Algiers, Algeria

2 Full Record →