Popular with the Czech public for quietly subverting the aristocracy, he served twice as foreign minister and ran for president in 2013.
Tag: Deaths (Obituaries)
Viktor Belenko, Who Defected to the West in a Jet Fighter, Dies at 76
Among the highest-profile figures to flee the Soviet Union, he brought with him a secret weapon and firsthand experience behind the Iron Curtain.
David Kirke, Who Made the First Modern Bungee Jump, Dies at 78
An Oxford-educated prankster as colorful as he was daring, he accidentally helped invent a new extreme sport in the 1970s.
Wanda Poltawska, 101, Who Forged a Friendship With a Future Pope, Dies
She survived gruesome medical experimentation at the Ravensbrück concentration camp to become a psychiatrist — counseled by the priest who would become John Paul II.
Li Keqiang, Former Chinese Premier, Dies of Heart Attack at 68
Mr. Li, who retired in March, was muscled out of the premier’s usual policymaking roles by Mr. Xi. Chinese citizens expressed shock at his death, from a heart attack.
Martti Ahtisaari, Conflict Negotiator Given Nobel Peace Prize, Dies at 86
A former president of Finland, he played a prominent role in talks that led to independence for Namibia and an end to “the Troubles” in Northern Ireland.
Laszlo Solyom, a Transitional President of Hungary, Dies at 81
A noted legal scholar, he helped lead his country away from Communism after the fall of the Soviet bloc but could not stop its embrace of right-wing populism.
Alice Shalvi, Hailed as a Mother of Feminism in Israel, Dies at 96
She was an often defiant, galvanizing force in pressing for equal treatment for women in marriage, employment, education and more.
M. S. Swaminathan, Scientist Who Helped Conquer Famine in India, Dies at 98
Called the father of India’s Green Revolution, he served on agencies and boards around the world and developed a system of ecologically safe food production.
Matteo Messina Denaro, Long-Sought Italian Mafia Boss, Dies at 61
A high-ranking member of the Cosa Nostra, he was arrested in January after decades on the run. He was found through medical records related to his cancer treatment.