European Assassinations

[Zkribbler]

Abraham Lincoln, elected in 1860, was assassinated. Since that time, every US President who was elected in a year ending in "0" died in office -- often by assassination...until Reagan [elected 1980], who was almost assassinated and GWBush, who almost choked to death on a pretzel his first year in office.

But I'm trying to think of a European head of state who was assassinated while in office in, say, the 19th or 20th Centuries. And I can't think of any. The closest I can come is Archduke Ferdinand, the heir to the Austian-Hungarian throne, and the already-deposed Czar Nicholas II of Russia. And an Italian ex-prime minister [Muro??], who was murdered by a cell of red terrorists. But none of them was the head of state when he died.

Were there any European heads of state who were assassinated in the last two hundred years?

[Dry]

Mussolini

If you mention the Czar, then you could also mention one that was technically not assassinated, but 'executed':
Ceauşescu

[Dry]

And almost Hitler.

[BeBMan]

Some examples:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engelbert_Dollfuss

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umberto_I_of_Italy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_I_of_Portugal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_Duca

[Felch]

This calls for an Unforgiven quote.

English Bob: [discussing the assassination of President Garfield] If you were to try to assassinate a king, sir, the... how shall I say it? The aura of royalty would cause you to miss. But, the president... [chuckles] I mean, why not shoot the president?

[Winston]

They nailed Swedish PM Olof Palme in 1986.

(And Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh in 2000-something).

[Lul Thyme]

But I'm trying to think of a European head of state who was assassinated while in office in, say, the 19th or 20th Centuries. And I can't think of any.

This says more about the bias in your historical knowledge than about any relevant assassination frequency.

I mean this with no disrespect. It is very common and quite normal to know more about the history of your country than foreign countries.

For example, you probably know more American presidents with a vowel in their name than Japanese emperors with a vowel in their names.
Should we conclude that more Japanese emperors tend not to have vowels in their name?

[Felch]

Actually most names have vowels in them. Outside Slovenia, of course.

[Lul Thyme]

Actually most names have vowels in them. Outside Slovenia, of course.

I guess you missed my point.

[Felch]

[Japher]

Japanese people seem to have a lot of vowels in their names. I wonder what language has the highest vowel percentage... I bet it's Hawaiians. And, guess who is the bestest president ever in the US? Obama Hawaiian man!

Lul's logic makes sense!

[Wezil]

You've bastardized Tecumseh's Curse.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecumseh%27s_curse

He'll get you.

[Kontiki]

I wonder what language has the highest vowel percentage...

Gotta be Finnish. I think they have a law that says you must have at least two sets of double vowels in every word.

[Zkribbler]

Some examples:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engelbert_Dollfuss

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umberto_I_of_Italy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_I_of_Portugal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_Duca

BeBro -- FTW!!

BTW -- Carlos I of Portugal looks surprisingly like a high school buddy of mine.

The name King Carlos I leads to another question. His son Manuel ascended to the throne after him, and King Manuel was the last Portuguese king. Why, then, is King Carlos I called "King Carlos I" and not just "King Carlos?" England's King John is just "King John" and not "King John I."

[Heresson]

Gabriel Narutowicz, the first president of Poland, was assassinated:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Narutowicz

Boleslaw Bierut, the first communist ruler of Poland, died during a visit in Moscow, 2 weeks after the fameous Khrushchev's speach about Stalin. There are contradictory versions concerning his death: medical ones, heart attack, poisoning, suicide and also outright assassination.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boles%C5%82aw_Bierut

I also recall that one of the soviet leaders of Armenia got into a fight with Beria and was shot by him.