Politics
Presidents, prime ministers, ministers and campaigners who shaped the countries they served. 61 people are remembered here. Light a candle, read their story, and add a memory of your own.
Édouard Balladur1929 – 2026 · EconomistFrench prime minister from 1993 to 1995, the courteous technocrat of the second cohabitation.
412 candles · 10 tributes
Jimmy Carter1924 – 2024 · 39th President of the United StatesWe must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles.
297 candles · 12 tributes
José Mujica1935 – 2025 · PoliticianLived simply so others might live freely.
245 candles · 11 tributes
John F. Kennedy1917 – 1963 · 35th President of the United StatesAsk not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.
222 candles · 15 tributes
Winston Churchill1874 – 1965 · Prime Minister of the United KingdomNever, never, never give up.
219 candles · 14 tributes
Mikhail Gorbachev1931 – 2022 · Leader of the Soviet UnionIf what you have done yesterday still looks big to you, you haven't done much today.
207 candles · 15 tributes
Nelson Mandela1918 – 2013 · Anti-apartheid leader and President of South AfricaIt always seems impossible until it's done.
162 candles · 12 tributes
Mahatma Gandhi1869 – 1948 · Leader of the Indian independence movementBe the change you wish to see in the world.
146 candles · 10 tributes
Abraham Lincoln1809 – 1865 · 16th President of the United StatesWith malice toward none, with charity for all.
129 candles · 15 tributes
Kofi Annan1938 – 2018 · Secretary-General of the United NationsKnowledge is power. Information is liberating.
118 candles · 10 tributes
Zhu Rongji1928 – 2026 · PoliticianChina's iron-faced reform premier who steered WTO entry and said he would walk a minefield for the people.
111 candles · 23 tributes
Princess Astrid, Mrs. Ferner1932 – 2026 · Norwegian princessNorway's dutiful first lady for fourteen years, and a lifelong champion of children with dyslexia.
99 candles · 9 tributes
Alberto Iribarne1950 – 2026 · LawyerPeronist lawyer who steered Justice under Kirchner and later represented Argentina in Uruguay.
99 candles · 8 tributes
Roger Simon1948 – 2026 · Political journalistChicago-bred political columnist who made campaigns read like novels and returned to the page after losing his legs.
98 candles · 7 tributes
Sudivya Kumar1970 – 2026 · PoliticianJMM strategist and Giridih MLA who rose from contractor to cabinet as Hemant's Sonu Bhaiya.
98 candles · 4 tributes
Edythe Harrison1934 – 2026 · Civic leaderProfessional volunteer who founded Virginia Opera and opened a statewide door for Virginia women.
95 candles · 10 tributes
Steve Gollschewski† 2026 · Police officerQueensland's 21st top cop who steered floods, COVID and reform, and fought cancer with resolve.
93 candles · 9 tributes
Fabio Mussi1948 – 2026 · PoliticianPiombino worker's son who said no to the PD and kept a left gaze.
84 candles · 4 tributes
Charles Floyd Hatcher1939 – 2026 · U.S. Representative (D-GA-2)Southwest Georgia peanut champion who treated public service as friendship.
84 candles · 6 tributes
Camilo Escalona1955 – 2026 · Chilean politicianSocialist organizer who returned from exile to rebuild Chile's democracy, and led his party and Senate with steel resolve.
79 candles · 7 tributes
Elaine Mokhtefi1928 – 2026 · Anti-colonial activistAmerican-Algerian activist who made Algiers a Third World capital and told the Panthers' exile story.
78 candles · 5 tributes
David Cobb1962 – 2026 · AttorneyGreen nominee who fought corporate rule, then built land trusts.
77 candles · 6 tributes
Klaus Wanger1941 – 2026 · PoliticianLandtag president who backed Liechtenstein's 2003 constitution.
77 candles · 7 tributes
Kay Granger1943 – 2026 · U.S. Representative (TX-12Fort Worth's first woman mayor who rose to Appropriations chair, serving Texas with grit and care.
76 candles · 6 tributes
Rihards Pīks1941 – 2026 · Film cinematographer and directorCinema craftsman who briefly held Latvia's foreign helm at EU dawn.
74 candles · 5 tributes
Bamanga Tukur1935 – 2026 · PoliticianNigerian ports chief, Gongola governor, PDP chairman and pan-African business leader.
73 candles · 10 tributes
Nuno Cardoso1961 – 2026 · Civil and transport engineerEngineer-mayor who steered Porto through 2001 and helped draw the Metro.
73 candles · 10 tributes
Peter Katsambanis1965 – 2026 · Politician (Liberal)Greek Australian Liberal who served Victoria and both houses of the WA Parliament.
72 candles · 4 tributes
Siim Kallas1948 – 2026 · PoliticianArchitect of the kroon who carried Estonia into Europe.
72 candles · 5 tributes
K. Achuthan1950 – 2026 · Politician (Indian National Congress)Chittur's Congress face for twenty years, built first in the cooperative bank and the municipality.
71 candles · 10 tributes
Alexander Milinkevich1947 – 2026 · PhysicistPhysicist and Sakharov laureate who united Belarus's democrats and never stopped arguing for a European, fearless country.
71 candles · 5 tributes
Claudette Colvin1939 – 2026 · Civil rights activistAt 15 she refused to give up her bus seat, then helped end segregation on America's public transit.
69 candles · 10 tributes
Ratnakar Mahajan1946 – 2026 · PoliticianMaharashtra socialist, Congress spokesperson and planning-board chair who spoke politics without firebrand heat.
68 candles · 9 tributes
Celestí Alomar1949 – 2026 · GeographerA Mallorcan who treated a tourist tax as a question of who the islands were for.
67 candles · 7 tributes
Emma Bonino1948 – 2026 · PoliticianRadical who legalised choice in Italy and spent five decades fighting for freedom, Europe, and human rights.
66 candles · 4 tributes
Norberto Galasso1936 – 2026 · HistorianMiró la historia desde abajo, con el pueblo como protagonista.
63 candles · 7 tributes
Charles Josselin1938 – 2026 · PoliticianBreton socialist who renamed the Côtes-d'Armor and beat Big Oil.
63 candles · 7 tributes
Georgy Matyukhin1934 – 2026 · economistFirst Bank of Russia chairman, who built a two-tier system as the Soviet Union ended.
61 candles · 9 tributes
Narana Coissoró1931 – 2026 · LawyerGoan-born lawyer and CDS deputy who led a parliamentary group and called himself a Hindu democrat.
59 candles · 10 tributes
Siddeque Ahmed1962 – 2026 · PoliticianFour-term Karimganj South MLA and Assam minister who shaped Barak Valley politics for a generation.
57 candles · 9 tributes
Vadim Popov1940 – 2026 · PoliticianTwice Speaker of Belarus's lower house, he asked that Belarusians live with dignity.
55 candles · 8 tributes
Ramon Espinar Gallego1954 – 2026 · Spanish politician and lawyerFirst president of the Madrid Assembly and the first democratic mayor of Leganes.
54 candles · 5 tributes
Elco Brinkman1948 – 2026 · PoliticianDutch minister and CDA leader who coined the caring society and never reached the premiership.
54 candles · 6 tributes
Bello Mandiya1964 – 2026 · PoliticianA Ninth Senate lawmaker who carried Katsina South's water, school and security worries onto the floor in Abuja.
53 candles · 6 tributes
Yvette Roudy1929 – 2026 · PoliticianFrance's first women's rights minister. She made abortion reimbursable and wrote equality into working life.
52 candles · 8 tributes