Yesterday’s assassination attempt on the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, has shocked the world, with leaders across the globe expressing their dismay.
As the globe reflects on this incident, let’s look back at some notable assassinations and attempted assassinations of political leaders throughout history:
John F. Kennedy (1963)
The 35th President of the United States was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. His assassination remains shrouded in mystery, with numerous conspiracy theories persisting to this day.
James A. Garfield (1881)
James Garfield, the 20th President of the United States, was shot by a disgruntled office-seeker named Charles Guiteau on July 2, 1881. Garfield died on September 19 due to complications from his injuries.
Abraham Lincoln (1865)
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, was shot by John Wilkes Booth, a well-known actor and Confederate sympathiser, on April 14, 1865, at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC. Lincoln died the following day.
William McKinley (1901)
William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States, was shot by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist, on September 6, 1901, at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. McKinley died eight days later from his injuries.
Zoran Đinđić (2003)
Zoran Đinđić, the Prime Minister of Serbia, was assassinated on March 12, 2003, by a sniper, Zvezdan Jovanović, who was part of a group opposed to Đinđić’s policies.
Shinzō Abe (2022)
Shinzō Abe, the former Prime Minister of Japan, was assassinated on July 8, 2022, during a campaign speech in Nara, Japan. The 41-year-old suspect, a former member of the military, confessed to the shooting, citing dissatisfaction with Abe’s political party.
Jovenel Moïse (2021)
Jovenel Moïse, the President of Haiti, was assassinated on July 7, 2021, by a group of gunmen who stormed his private residence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Theodoros Deligiannis (1905)
Theodoros Deligiannis, a prominent Greek politician and former Prime Minister, was stabbed to death on May 31, 1905, by Antonios Kostatzerakis, a disgruntled individual with personal grievances against Deligiannis.
Ioannis Kapodistrias (1831)
Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first Governor of Greece, was assassinated on September 27, 1831, by Konstantinos and Georgios Mavromichalis, members of the powerful Mavromichalis family from Mani, due to political disputes.
Survivors of assassination attempts:
Ronald Reagan (1981)
Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, survived an assassination attempt on March 30, 1981, when John Hinckley Jr. fired multiple shots, intending to impress actress Jodie Foster.
Gamal Abdel Nasser (1954)
Gamal Abdel Nasser, the President of Egypt, survived an assassination attempt on October 26, 1954, by a Muslim Brotherhood member during a speech in Alexandria.
Benito Mussolini (1926)
Benito Mussolini, the Italian dictator, survived a shooting and a bomb attack in 1926. He exploited these attempts to strengthen his power and propaganda.
Pervez Musharraf (2003, 2007)
Pervez Musharraf, the President of Pakistan, survived multiple assassination attempts, including two bomb attacks in 2003 and an attempt to shoot down his plane in 2007.
Harry S. Truman (1950)
Harry S. Truman, the 33rd President of the United States, survived an assassination attempt on November 1, 1950, by two Puerto Rican nationalists who opened fire on his residence.
Charles de Gaulle (1961, 1962)
Charles de Gaulle, the President of France, survived a bomb attack on his car in 1961 and a shooting a year later by members of the OAS, a far-right paramilitary group.
Pope John Paul II (1981)
Pope John Paul II survived an assassination attempt on May 13, 1981, when he was shot four times by Mehmet Ali Ağca, a Turkish gunman with possible connections to the Bulgarian secret service and the Soviet KGB.
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933)
Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, survived an assassination attempt on February 15, 1933, by a disgruntled lawyer, Giuseppe Zangara, who fired multiple shots, killing the Mayor of Chicago and injuring others.
Vladimir Lenin (1918)
Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Russian Revolution and the head of the Communist Party, survived an assassination attempt on August 30, 1918, when Fanya Kaplan, a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, shot at him but missed.
Adolf Hitler (1944)
Adolf Hitler, the Führer of Nazi Germany, survived numerous assassination attempts, the most notable being the July 20 plot in 1944, where a bomb was placed in a briefcase near him, causing minor injuries.
