List of heads of state and government who committed suicide

A number of heads of state and heads of government have died by suicide, either while in office or after leaving office. National leaders who die by suicide while in office generally do so because their leadership is somehow threatened – for instance, by a coup or an invading army.

Heads of state
NameStateYearIn
office		MethodProbable
motive		Ref.
ZhouShang dynasty1046 BCYesImmolationImpending defeat by rebels under Jiang Ziya
ZimriIsrael885 BC?YesImmolationImpending defeat by rebels under Omri[1]
ChengChu626 BCYesHangingPalace coup by Prince Shangchen
LingChu529 BCYesPalace coup by Duke Qiji of Cai
Psamtik IIIEgypt525 BCNoPoisoningDefeated and deposed by the Achaemenid king Cambyses II
Qin Er ShiQin dynasty207 BCYesPalace coup by Zhao Gao
Cleopatra VII PhilopatorPtolemaic Kingdom30 BCYesPoisoningDeath of Mark Antony and impending defeat by Octavian
OthoRoman Empire69YesStabbingImpending defeat by Vitellius
Gordian IRoman Empire238YesHangingDeath of son and co-emperor Gordian II at the Battle of Carthage[2]
BongsangGoguryeo300YesPalace coup owing to popular unrest
MaximianRoman Empire310NoHangingFailure of rebellion against Constantine I
HuigangSilla838YesImpending defeat by rebels under Kim Myeong[3]
Li CongkeTang dynasty937YesImmolationImpending defeat by Emperor Taizong of Liao[4]
AizongJin dynasty1234YesHangingMongol conquest of the Jin dynasty[5]
Chongzhen EmperorMing dynasty1644YesHanging or suffocation (disputed)Impending defeat by rebels under Li Zicheng[6]
Henri Christophe Haiti1820YesGunshotPoor health, impending overthrow[7]
Juan Larrea Argentina1847NoBusiness failure[8]
Anson Jones Texas1858NoGunshotPolitical failure[9]
Tewodros II Ethiopia1868YesGunshotDefeated by the British Expedition to Abyssinia[10]
Fridolin Anderwert  Switzerland1880YesAdverse press coverage, depression, exhaustion[11]
José Manuel Balmaceda Chile1891NoGunshotDefeat in the Chilean Civil War of 1891[12]
Nikolay Chkheidze Georgia1926NoDepression over the Bolsheviks' conquest of Georgia[13]
Germán Busch Bolivia1939YesGunshotPolitical frustration[14]
Otto Strandman Estonia1941NoGunshotOrdered to report to the NKVD[15]
Bolesław Wieniawa-Długoszowski Poland1942NoJumped off a building (disputed)[16]
Adolf Hitler Germany1945YesGunshotPending defeat in the European theatre of World War II[17]
Omer Nishani (disputed whether suicide) Albania1954NoGunshotPoor health, political failure[18][19]
Getúlio Vargas Brazil1954YesGunshotOpposition from the military[20]
Salvador Allende Chile1973YesGunshot (disputed)Military coup[21][22][23]
Chivu Stoica Romania1975NoGunshotOut of favour with leadership of the Romanian Communist Party[24]
Carlos Prío Socarrás (disputed whether suicide) Cuba1977NoGunshot (disputed)Faced questioning by the House Select Committee on Assassinations[25][26]
Antonio Guzmán Fernández Dominican Republic1982YesGunshotCorruption allegations[27][28]
Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado Cuba1983NoGunshotPoor health, bereavement[29]
Lazarus Salii Palau1988YesGunshotCorruption allegations[30]
Zviad Gamsakhurdia (disputed whether suicide) Georgia1993NoGunshotDefeat in the Georgian Civil War[31][32]
Dipendra Nepal2001YesGunshotUnknown: had just killed nine family members[33]
Carlos Roberto Reina Honduras2003NoGunshotIll-health[34]
Milan Babić Serbian Krajina2006NoHangingImprisonment over war crimes[35]
Roh Moo-hyun South Korea2009NoJumped off a cliffCorruption allegations[36]
Alan García Pérez Peru 2019NoGunshotAllegations of corruption[37]
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Islamic State 2019YesExplosivesDefeat of the ISIL caliphate

Heads of government
NameCountryYearIn
office		MethodProbable
motive		Reference
Hurshid Pasha Ottoman Empire1822YesPoisonDefeat in the Greek War of Independence and execution threat[38]
Bhimsen Thapa Nepal1839NoSlit throat with a kukriDisgrace of third wife[39]
Iosif Adamovich Belarus1937NoGunshotBeing taken to Moscow under arrest[40]
Walery Sławek Poland1939NoGunshotPolitical failure[41][42]
Pál Teleki Hungary1941YesGunshotDistress over entry of German troops into Hungary[43][44]
Alexandros Koryzis Greece1941YesGunshotGerman invasion of Greece[45]
Joseph Goebbels Germany1945NoGunshot or cyanideDefeat in European theatre of World War II[46][47]
Fumimaro Konoe Japan1945NoCyanideAccused of war crimes[48]
Johannes Vares (disputed whether suicide) Estonia1946NoGunshotDisillusion with Soviet system[49][50]
Tawfik Abu Al-Huda Jordan1956NoHanging[51][52]
John McEwen Australia1980NoStarvation (refused food)Ill-health[53][54]
Mehmet Shehu (disputed whether suicide) Albania1981YesGunshot (disputed)Nervous breakdown[55][56]
Hailu Yimenu Ethiopia1991 or 1993NoAvoiding capture by the EPRDF[57][58]
Pierre Bérégovoy France1993NoGunshotDepression and being investigated[59]
Mahmoud Zuabi Syria2000NoGunshotAllegations of corruption[60]
Alan García Pérez Peru2019NoGunshotAllegations of corruption[61]

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