wing of the archive
The Modern Era
The industrial and imperial centuries: inventors, statesmen, artists, and the makers of the modern world.
Modern era
Epeli Nailatikau
July 5, 1941 – March 26, 2026
President of Fiji from 2009 to 2015 (1941–2026)
Modern era
Josefa Iloilo
December 29, 1920 – February 6, 2011
President of Fiji from 2000 to 2009 (1920–2011)
Modern era
Jona Senilagakali
November 8, 1929 – October 26, 2011
Prime Minister of Fiji (1929-2011)
Modern era
Laisenia Qarase
February 4, 1941 – April 21, 2020
Prime Minister of Fiji (1941-2020)
Modern era
Mahendra Chaudhry
b. February 9, 1942
Prime Minister of Fiji (1999-2000)
Modern era
Tarja Halonen
b. December 24, 1943
President of Finland from 2000 to 2012 (born 1943)
Modern era
Martti Ahtisaari
June 23, 1937 – October 16, 2023
President of Finland from 1994 to 2000
Modern era
Mauno Koivisto
November 25, 1923 – May 12, 2017
President of Finland (1923–2017)
Modern era
Urho Kekkonen
September 3, 1900 – August 31, 1986
Eighth President of Finland (1900–1986)
Modern era
Rose Francine Rogombe
September 20, 1942 – April 10, 2015
Gabonese politician (1942-2015)
Modern era
Omar Bongo
December 30, 1935 – June 8, 2009
Gabonese politician (1935–2009)
Modern era
Léon M'ba
February 9, 1902 – November 28, 1967
Prime Minister (1959–61) and President (1961–67) of Gabon
Modern era
Eduard Shevardnadze
January 25, 1928 – July 7, 2014
Soviet and Georgian politician and diplomat, Soviet foreign minister and second President of Georgia (1995–2003)
Modern era
Joachim Gauck
b. January 24, 1940
German Protestant pastor and politician, Federal President of Germnay 2012–2017 (born 1940)
Modern era
Horst Köhler
February 22, 1943 – February 1, 2025
German politician (CDU); president of Germany, 2004–2010
Modern era
Johannes Rau
January 16, 1931 – January 27, 2006
German politician (SPD), 8th president of Germany from 1999 until 2004 (1931–2006)
Modern era
Roman Herzog
April 5, 1934 – January 10, 2017
Former President of the Federal Republic of Germany (1934–2017)
Modern era
Gerhard Schröder
b. April 7, 1944
Chancellor of West Germany (1998–2005)
Modern era
Helmut Schmidt
December 23, 1918 – November 10, 2015
Chancellor of West Germany (1974–1982)
Modern era
John Evans Atta Mills
July 21, 1944 – July 24, 2012
Sixth President of the Republic of Ghana (1944–2012)
Modern era
John Kufuor
b. December 8, 1938
Fifth President of the Republic of Ghana and Lawyer
Modern era
Karolos Papoulias
June 4, 1929 – December 26, 2021
6th President of Greece (1929–2021)
Modern era
Konstantinos Stephanopoulos
August 15, 1926 – November 20, 2016
Greek politician, former president of the Hellenic Republic
Modern era
Konstantinos Karamanlis
March 8, 1907 – April 23, 1998
Greek politician and lawyer (1907–1998), Prime Minister of Greece intermittently between 1955–80, President from 1980–85, 1990–95
Modern era
George Brizan
October 31, 1942 – February 18, 2012
Prime minister of Grenada (1942-2012)
Modern era
Nicholas Brathwaite
July 8, 1925 – October 28, 2016
Grenadian politician, Prime Minister of Grenada (1925–2016)
Modern era
Ben Jones
August 5, 1924 – February 10, 2005
Grenadian politician (1924-2005)
Modern era
Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre
b. January 6, 1936
Guatemalan lawyer, politician and judge. President 2015-2016
Modern era
Alpha Condé
b. March 4, 1938
President of Guinea from 2010 to 2021
Modern era
Lansana Conté
November 30, 1934 – December 22, 2008
Second President of Guinea (1934–2008)
Modern era
Louis Lansana Beavogui
December 28, 1923 – August 19, 1984
President Guinea (1923-1984)
Modern era
Janet Jagan
October 20, 1920 – March 28, 2009
President of Guyana, prime minister of Guyana, nurse (1920-2009)
Modern era
Sam Hinds
b. December 27, 1943
5th Prime Minister of Guyana
Modern era
Desmond Hoyte
March 9, 1929 – December 22, 2002
President of Guyana, politician, lawyer (1929-2002)
Modern era
René Préval
January 17, 1943 – March 3, 2017
Ex-President of Haiti (1943-2017)
Modern era
Roberto Micheletti
b. August 13, 1943
Interim president of Honduras following the 2009 coup until 2010
Modern era
Péter Medgyessy
b. October 19, 1942
Hungarian politician
Modern era
Gyula Horn
July 5, 1932 – June 19, 2013
Hungarian politician (1932–2013)
Modern era
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
b. May 14, 1943
Icelandic politician, 5th President of Iceland
Modern era
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir
b. April 15, 1930
Icelandic politician, 4th President of Iceland
Modern era
Kristján Eldjárn
December 6, 1916 – September 14, 1982
Icelandic politician, 3rd President of Iceland (1916-1982)
Modern era
Ásgeir Ásgeirsson
May 13, 1894 – September 15, 1972
Icelandic politician, 2nd President of Iceland (1894-1972) Governor of Surtsey (1963-1968)
Modern era
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
b. October 4, 1942
Icelandic politician
Modern era
Pranab Mukherjee
December 11, 1935 – August 31, 2020
President of India from 2012 to 2017
Modern era
Pratibha Patil
b. December 19, 1934
President of India from 2007 to 2012
Modern era
K. R. Narayanan
October 27, 1920 – November 9, 2005
President of India from 1997 to 2002
Modern era
Manmohan Singh
September 26, 1932 – December 26, 2024
Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician and politician
Modern era
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
December 24, 1924 – August 16, 2018
Prime Minister of India (1996, 1988-2004)
Modern era
Inder Kumar Gujral
December 4, 1919 – November 30, 2012
Prime Minister of India (1997-1998)
Modern era
H. D. Deve Gowda
b. May 18, 1933
Prime Minister of India (1996-1997)
Modern era
P. V. Narasimha Rao
June 28, 1921 – December 23, 2004
Prime Minister of India (1991-1996)
Modern era
Abdurrahman Wahid
September 7, 1940 – December 30, 2009
4th President of the Republic of Indonesia (1940–2009)
Modern era
B. J. Habibie
June 25, 1936 – September 11, 2019
3rd President of Indonesia (1998—1999) and 7th Vice President of Indonesia (1998)
Modern era
Mohammad Khatami
b. October 14, 1943
President of Iran from 1997 to 2005
Modern era
Abdul Latif Rashid
b. August 10, 1944
President of Iraq since 2022
Modern era
Fuad Masum
b. January 1, 1938
7th President of the Republic of Iraq
Modern era
Jalal Talabani
November 12, 1933 – October 3, 2017
Iraqi politician (1933-2017)
Modern era
Adil Abdul-Mahdi
b. January 1, 1942
Iraqi politician
Modern era
Michael D. Higgins
b. April 18, 1941
President of Ireland (2011–2018; 2018–2025)
Modern era
Mary Robinson
b. May 21, 1944
Former President of Ireland and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights