Chief of the political bureau of Hamas, former prime minister of Gaza and ceasefire negotiator
August 2022
Ayman al-Zawahiri obituary
Founder of al-Qaida with Osama bin Laden who went on to succeed him as its leader
October 2020
Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri obituary
Ruthless Iraqi politician and military leader once seen as a possible successor to Saddam Hussein
June 2019
Cardinal Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir obituary
Head of the Maronite church and inspirational figure to Christian Arabs, he played a pivotal role in the politics of Lebanon
January 2019
Moshe Arens obituary
Aeronautical engineer and Likud politician who served as Israel’s defence minister and foreign minister
June 2018
Bernard Lewis obituary
Controversial historian of the Middle East and expert on Islam who was an influential adviser to the Bush administration
October 2017
Jalal Talabani obituary
Prominent Kurdish politician who was the first non-Arab to become the president of Iraq
September 2017
Mohammed Mahdi Akef obituary
Muslim Brotherhood leader who helped the group become a major political force in Egypt
July 2017
Mustafa Tlass obituary
Controversial Syrian defence minister and pillar of the Ba’ath party who was unerringly loyal to Hafez al-Assad, the president for more than three decades
September 2016
Shimon Peres obituary
Last surviving member of Israel’s founding generation of politicians, he served as president, prime minister and foreign minister
March 2016
Hassan al-Turabi obituary
Sudanese Islamic leader who was an early supporter of Osama bin Laden
January 2016
Hocine Aït Ahmed obituary
Campaigner for Algerian democracy and independence
November 2015
Yitzhak Navon obituary
Fifth president of Israel who was unafraid of criticising mistakes made by the state
January 2015
Omar Karami obituary
Lebanese politician who served two terms as prime minister
January 2014
Ariel Sharon obituary
Israel's prime minister and wartime general who bestrode his country's history for more than 50 years
October 2013
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef obituary
Former chief rabbi of Israel's Sephardic Jewish community and spiritual head of the ultra-orthodox Shas party
July 2012
Yitzhak Shamir obituary
Rightwing prime minister of Israel who took a hardline stance on Palestine
May 2012
Benzion Netanyahu obituary
Historian and uncompromising Zionist who had a profound influence on his son Binyamin, Israel's prime minister
April 2012
Ahmed Ben Bella obituary
He fought the French to become the first president of an independent Algeria, only to be overthrown
March 2012
Pope Shenouda III obituary
Egyptian spiritual leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church for more than 40 years
