Politicians who died on January 17

Take a focused look at the politicians who passed away on January 17. Dive into curated bios, achievements, and cultural milestones verified by our editors.

• 1961 Patrice Lumumba

  Patrice Lumumba was a Congolese independence leader and the first democratically elected prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the...

• 2005 Zhao Ziyang

  Influential Chinese political leader who served as Premier of the People's Republic of China and was a key figure during the Tiananmen...

• 2010 Jyoti Basu

  Prominent Indian communist politician who served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal for over two decades, making him one of the...