# Examples of one country assassinating another country's leader **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 30, 2021, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-one-country-assassinating-another-countrys-leader/941107 "2021-04-30T17:12:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-one-country-assassinating-another-countrys-leader/941107/21 "2021-05-01T14:56:41Z")
There are a lot of theories about the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul lI in 1981. One is that the KGB, acting through Bulgarian and East German intelligence agencies, directed the assassination attempt, motivated by their fear of the Solidarity movement in Poland and the Pope’s energizing effect on Polish dissent. The Pope does, strictly speaking, qualify as the leader of a country, being the monarch of the Vatican City State, although I suspect he doesn’t pay that much attention to the mundane business of governing the city. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-one-country-assassinating-another-countrys-leader/941107/22 "2021-05-01T15:39:24Z")
Augusto Pinochet was aided by the US in the coup to take control of Chile away from Salvatore Allende, which resulted in Allende’s death. The official story is that Allende committed suicide by shooting himself in the head numerous times but assassination has long been suspected. The suicide was claimed to be done by firing an AK47 in automatic mode, so not totally ridiculous, but assassination story crops up from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![FrenchDunadan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frenchdunadan/32/5449_2.png) [@FrenchDunadan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrenchDunadan)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-one-country-assassinating-another-countrys-leader/941107/23 "2021-05-01T19:40:45Z")
Boris III of Bulgaria in 1943? Allied with Hitler, died mysteriously after refusal of sending troops to aid the Reich in USSR and deporting Bulgarian Jews and trying to ease a way out of the war with the Allies. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2021, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-one-country-assassinating-another-countrys-leader/941107/24 "2021-05-02T07:17:39Z")
Another not-quite-official and not-quite-head-of-state (but with the most disastrous consequences) assassination: the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914. The organisers in the Serbian Black Hand were highly connected and influential in Serbian governmental circles, even if this specific act was not known in advance to the Serbian government. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2021, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-one-country-assassinating-another-countrys-leader/941107/25 "2021-05-02T15:35:40Z")
I recall reading that there was a plan floated by young British diplomats to assassinate Hitler by a marksman - in the 1930’s. The planning went so far as to have a team member find an apartment that overlooked a place where Hitler frequently appeared. But - unfortunately “cooler heads prevailed”. Unfortunately I cannot find a cite. While searching for one I turned up this cite about Pope Pius XII that, if true, would fit the Original Poster’s description: > **[Sam Harris | Rethinking "Hitler’s Pope"](https://www.samharris.org/blog/rethinking-hitlers-pope)** > > Mark Riebling has been an architect of post-9/11 “intelligence-driven policing,” co-founding and serving as research director for the Center for Policing Terrorism. He received his degree in philosophy from the University of California at Berkeley... ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2021, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-one-country-assassinating-another-countrys-leader/941107/26 "2021-05-02T15:44:04Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > I recall reading that there was a plan floated by young British diplomats to assassinate Hitler by a marksman - in the 1930’s. The planning went so far as to have a team member find an apartment that overlooked a place where Hitler frequently appeared. But - unfortunately “cooler heads prevailed”. You know that never works. The assassin turns into Hitler, or someone worse than Hitler takes over, or it turns out he’s in the universe where Hitler was actually good and when he returns to his own universe the world is nothing but a desolate wasteland. Best they didn’t actually try to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2021, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-one-country-assassinating-another-countrys-leader/941107/27 "2021-05-02T20:32:50Z")
> [@bump](#): > > It’s pretty absurd; I’m pretty sure that the US government of the 1960s would have roasted the Soviet Union in nuclear fire if they had any proof that they successfully assassinated the President. That, plus the Soviets would of course have known that Kennedy would, after the assassination, be succeeded by Johnson. There’s not much reason to believe that from the Soviet perspective, Johnson in the White House would have been preferable over Kennedy. He was quite the cold warrior in the early space race, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-one-country-assassinating-another-countrys-leader/941107/28 "2021-05-03T05:50:52Z")
> I recall reading that there was a plan floated by young British diplomats to assassinate Hitler by a marksman - in the 1930’s. The planning went so far as to have a team member find an apartment that overlooked a place where Hitler frequently appeared. But - unfortunately “cooler heads prevailed”. Unfortunately I cannot find a cite. Quite a senior diplomat, as it happened: [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noel\_Mason-MacFarlane](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noel_Mason-MacFarlane) ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-one-country-assassinating-another-countrys-leader/941107/29 "2021-05-03T10:20:52Z")
Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-one-country-assassinating-another-countrys-leader/941107/30 "2021-05-03T11:25:34Z")
Interestingly, Geoffrey Household’s thriller [Rogue Male (about a man on the run after being thought to be trying to assassinate an unnamed European dictator)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_Male_(novel)) was published shortly after Mason-Macfarlane abandoned his plan. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-one-country-assassinating-another-countrys-leader/941107/31 "2021-05-03T11:38:16Z")
> [@Chad\_Sudan](#): > > It should be more direct than, for instance, U.S. officials agreeing to look the other way while their local allies in Chile or South Vietnam launch a coup that kills the leader. Thank God for that caveat! That lets us off the hook for God only knows how many. 😳 ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-one-country-assassinating-another-countrys-leader/941107/32 "2021-05-03T14:49:17Z")
The OP didn’t rule out killing enemy heads of state in times of war. Much more common back when kings lead their armies into battle and gunners could be instructed to hit the biggest, prettiest tent in the opposite camp. In 1918, alarmed by the Germans’ initial success in Operation Michael, the French realized that the Kaiser was staying at a chateau within bomber range. The British obliged with the actual attack, which missed the chateau building as well as the Kaiser himself, since he’d left the day before. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-one-country-assassinating-another-countrys-leader/941107/33 "2021-05-03T18:39:26Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > William the Silent Wow, that sounds intimidating… ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-one-country-assassinating-another-countrys-leader/941107/34 "2021-05-04T05:53:12Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Wow, that sounds intimidating… First of all, “the Silent” is a badass nickname. Very Clint Eastwood-y. Second of all, [William of Orange](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_the_Silent) was one of the most important people of his era and the founding father of the Netherlands, so I suppose he _was_ intimidating, especially to the Spanish. ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-one-country-assassinating-another-countrys-leader/941107/35 "2021-05-04T07:14:29Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > The OP didn’t rule out killing enemy heads of state in times of war. Much more common back when kings lead their armies into battle and gunners could be instructed to hit the biggest, prettiest tent in the opposite camp. Right – and that reminds me that the U.S. [targeted Muammar Gaddafi’s compound](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bab_al-Azizia#1986_bombing_of_Libya) during its 1986 bombing of Libya. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-one-country-assassinating-another-countrys-leader/941107/36 "2021-05-07T17:06:59Z")
If chiefs of native American Tribes count there are plenty of examples: > **[Sitting Bull](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sitting_Bull)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > Sitting Bull (Lakota: Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake \[tˣaˈtˣə̃ka ˈi.jɔtakɛ\]; c. 1831 – December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota leader who led his people during years of resistance against United States government policies. He was killed by Indian agency police on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation during an attempt to arrest him, at a time when authorities feared that he would join the Ghost Dance movement. > **[Crazy Horse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_Horse)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > Crazy Horse (Lakota: Tȟašúŋke Witkó, IPA: \[tχaˈʃʊ̃kɛ witˈkɔ\], lit. ''His-Horse-Is-Crazy''; c. 1840 – September 5, 1877) was a Lakota war leader of the Oglala band in the 19th century. He took up arms against the United States federal government to fight against encroachment by white American settlers on Native American territory and to preserve the traditional way of life of the Lakota people. His participation in several famous battles of the... > **[Black Kettle | Battle of Washita River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Kettle#Battle_of_Washita_River)** > > In response to the continued raids and massacres, General Philip Sheridan devised a plan of punitive reprisals. He planned to attack Cheyenne winter encampments, destroying both supplies and livestock, and killing any people who resisted. At dawn on the morning of November 27, 1868 (just two days short of the fourth anniversary of the Sand Creek massacre), Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer led his 7th Cavalry Regiment to attack Chief Black Kettle and his village along the Washita River i... ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-one-country-assassinating-another-countrys-leader/941107/37 "2021-05-07T17:24:11Z")
Queen Genepil of Mongolia was executed by the soviets (though wikipedia tells me she was Queen consort, so may not count as head of state): > **[Genepil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Genepil)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > Genepil\[a\] (1905–1938) was the last queen consort of Mongolia, married to Bogd Khan. She was queen consort for less than a year in 1924. Genepil was executed in May 1938 as part of the Stalinist repressions in Mongolia. > Genepil was born Tseyenpil in 1905 to a family in Northern Mongolia, around the Baldan Bereeven Monastery. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/examples-of-one-country-assassinating-another-countrys-leader/941107.md?page=1)