For six years he was the nation’s second in command, a master of political intrigue who had plotted and thwarted coups before fleeing the Communist victory in 1975.
Author: ROBERT D. McFADDEN
Donald H. Rumsfeld, Defense Secretary During Iraq War, Is Dead at 88
Mr. Rumsfeld, who served four presidents, oversaw a war that many said should never have been fought. But he said the removal of Saddam Hussein had “created a more stable and secure world.”
Ahmed Zaki Yamani, Former Saudi Oil Minister, Dies at 90
As Saudi Arabia’s powerful oil minister, he was architect of the Arab world’s drive to control its own energy resources in the 1970s.
Bernard Lown, Inventive Heart Doctor and Antiwar Activist, Dies at 99
He created the first effective heart defibrillator and co-founded a physicians group that campaigned against nuclear war, earning a Nobel Peace Prize.
Sheldon Adelson, Billionaire Donor to G.O.P. and Israel, Is Dead at 87
Mr. Adelson drew a cornucopia of cash from his empire of casinos and resort hotels and poured money into right-wing causes.
Brian Urquhart, Troubleshooter for the U.N., Dies at 101
He was best known for creating and directing the U.N.’s peacekeeping operations in conflict-filled areas around the world.
George Blake, British Spy Who Betrayed the West, Dies at 98
He was caught spilling secrets to the Soviets in 1961 and imprisoned. Five years later, he escaped and fled to Moscow, where he was hailed as a hero.
Stephen F. Cohen, Influential Historian of Russia, Dies at 81
He chronicled Stalin’s tyrannies and the collapse of the Soviet Union, and he was an enthusiastic admirer of Mikhail Gorbachev.
Jean Kennedy Smith Dies at 92; Helped Forge Peace in Northern Ireland
The last surviving sibling in a family that wrote itself into U.S. history, she was the first Kennedy woman of her generation to take on a serious political role.
Edén Pastora, ‘Commander Zero’ in Nicaragua, Dies at 83
A hero of the 1979 Sandinista revolution, he later turned on his comrades in arms, mounting an international campaign of political pressure and later guerrilla attacks inside the country.