Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Statesmanship & Statesmen

Rajae Belmlih

رجاء بلمليح

Morocco

1962 – 2007 (45 years old)

Beloved Moroccan vocal star who achieved pan-Arab acclaim across the Middle East with hits like 'Sabri Alik Tal', serving as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for children.

Casablanca, Morocco

12 Full Record →

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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

9 Full Record →

Antonio Lamer

Joseph Antonio Charles Lamer

Canada

8 July 1933 – 21 August 2007 (74 years old)

Sixteenth Chief Justice of Canada (1990-2000), preeminent criminal law jurist who expanded the legal protections of the accused under Section 7 of the Charter.

Montreal, Canada

1 Full Record →

Holden Roberto

Alvaro Holden Roberto

Angola

1923-01-12 – 2007-08-02 (84 years old)

Pioneering Angolan liberation leader who founded the FNLA, formed the Revolutionary Government of Angola in Exile (GRAE), and launched the armed struggle in northern Angola in 1961.

M'banza-Kongo, Angola

1 Full Record →

Art

Ingmar Bergman

Ernst Ingmar Bergman

Sweden

1918-07-14 – 2007-07-30 (89 years old)

Universally acclaimed as one of the greatest filmmakers in cinematic history, whose psychological masterworks 'The Seventh Seal', 'Wild Strawberries', and 'Fanny and Alexander' won three Academy Awards.

Fårö, Sweden

1 Full Record →

Music

Salman Shukur

سلمان شكر

Iraq

1921 – 28 July 2007 (86 years old)

Renowned Iraqi classical oud master and composer who headed the string department at the Baghdad Institute of Fine Arts.

Woking, United Kingdom

1 Full Record →

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Zahir Shah

محمد ظاهر شاه

Afghanistan

1914-10-15 – 2007-07-23 (92 years old)

Last King of Afghanistan who reigned for four decades (1933–1973), maintaining peace, neutrality through the Cold War, and enacting the democratic 1964 Constitution before serving as Father of the Nation.

Kabul, Afghanistan

0 Full Record →

Science

Kai Siegbahn

Kai Manne Börje Siegbahn

Sweden

1918-04-20 – 2007-07-20 (89 years old)

Swedish physicist awarded the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physics for developing Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA/XPS), son of Nobel laureate Manne Siegbahn.

Uppsala, Sweden

1 Full Record →

Music

0

Meho Puzić

Bosnia and Herzegovina

1937-07-24 – 2007-06-25 (69 years old)

Legendary sevdalinka singer whose deeply emotional, resonant tenor voice and classic interpretations (such as 'Snijeg pade na behar na voće') made him a cultural icon of traditional Bosnian song.

Odžak, Bosnia and Herzegovina

0 Full Record →

Literature & Poetry

2

Nazik al-Malaika

نازك الملائكة

Iraq

23 August 1923 – 20 June 2007 (83 years old)

Revolutionary Iraqi poetess who shattered classical poetic meter with her 1947 poem 'Cholera', launching the Arab free verse movement.

Cairo, Egypt

2 Full Record →

Achieng Oneko

Ramogi Achieng Oneko

Kenya

1920-01-01 – 2007-06-09 (87 years old)

Kapenguria Six hero and journalist who served as independent Kenya's first Minister for Information, later joining the KPU opposition to fight for social justice.

Rarieda, Kenya

1 Full Record →

Aden Adde

Aadan Cabdulle Cismaan Dacar

Somalia

1908-12-09 – 2007-06-08 (98 years old)

First President of the Somali Republic (1960–1967) who made African history in 1967 by peacefully conceding electoral defeat, establishing a benchmark of constitutional democracy.

Mogadishu, Somalia

1 Full Record →

Humanities

3

Statesmanship & Statesmen

Driss Benzekri

إدريس بنزكري

Morocco

1953 – 2007 (53 years old)

Moroccan human rights champion, linguist, and former political prisoner who served as President of the landmark Equity and Reconciliation Commission (IER), leading the Arab world's first national truth commission.

Khemisset, Morocco

3 Full Record →

6

Resistance & Human Rights

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

6 Full Record →

20

Malika El Fassi

مليكة الفاسي

Morocco

1919 – 2007 (87 years old)

Pioneering Moroccan nationalist, feminist author, and educator who was the sole female signatory of the historic Moroccan Independence Manifesto of January 11, 1944.

Rabat, Morocco

20 Full Record →

Arts & Music

4

Nejib Belkhodja

نجيب بلخوجة

Tunisia

1933 – 2007 (73 years old)

Pioneering abstract painter of Tunisian and Dutch descent whose iconic geometric abstractions synthesized traditional medina arches and cubic rooftops with contemporary international minimalism.

La Marsa, Tunisia

4 Full Record →

Arts & Music

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