The attempt to assassinate Robert Fico, Prime Minister of Slovakia on May 15, 2024, at Handlova came as a shock to people worldwide. After completing a government meeting, Fico had walked up to people who were waiting to greet him when a 71-year-old man opened automatic fire on him. TV channels beamed footage of bodyguards of the injured Prime Minister, rushing him to a hospital. The incident brought into focus the use of the assassination of dominant leaders as a tool to influence the political course of a nation state.
Interestingly, history is replete with examples of the assassination of prominent political personalities from time immemorial. The first recorded political assassination was that of Rimush, the King of Akkad in 2270 BC. As far as modern history is concerned, African countries have been the most politically unstable and a number of heads of states of different African nations have been brutally killed in coups or targeted killings.
ALSO READ | Suspect in attempted assassination of Slovakia’s PM makes first court appearance
In the backdrop of the attempt on the life of Robert Fico, here is a list of some political personalities who were killed/assassinated in the past 40 years.
1. Indira Gandhi (Former Prime Minister of India)
The Indian National Congress leader was assassinated on October 31, 1984, by two of her bodyguards, who were reportedly unhappy over her decision to order Operation Blue Star (June 01-08, 1984) to clear Punjab's Golden Temple, Amritsar, of secessionist elements. The temple premises had become a hotbed of anti-national activities and this has forced the government to order the military operation. The action had resulted in structural damage to the Golden Temple, several casualties and had upset the Sikh community at large which viewed it as an act of sacrilege.
2. Olof Palme (Former Prime Minister of Sweden)
A private outing with his wife proved fatal for the Swedish Prime Minister when he was shot dead while walking back home on central Stockholm Street with his wife after watching a movie. This incident which took place on February 28, 1986, continues to be a mystery as the identity of the assassin could not be established with absolute certainty.
3. Rajiv Gandhi (Former Prime Minister of India)
The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, son of Indira, at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu on May 21st, 1991, came as a shock to the whole world. Sri Lanka-based Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was behind the assassination that was carried out by a suicide bomber.
4. Ranasighe Premadasa (Former Prime Minister of Sri Lanka)
The killing of Premadasa on May 1 1993 took place when he was attending a May Day rally in Colombo. An LTTE suicide bomber named Kulaveerasingam Veerakumar a.k.a Babu detonated an explosive device wrapped around his waist to assassinate the 68-year-old leader.
5. Yitzhak Rabin (Former Prime Minister of Israel )
He was assassinated on November 4, 1995, by Yigal Amir, a law student and right-wing extremist who was upset over the PM's decision to sign the Oslo Accord (an interim agreement between Israel and Palestine liberation Organization/PLO). It was a message from the hardliners who were against any form of negotiation with the PLO and always favoured a military solution to the Palestinian issue.
6. King Birendra (King of Nepal)
The monarch was killed by his own son Crown Prince Dipendra on June 1, 2001. Often known as the 'Nepal Royal massacre', nine members of the royal family including Birendra and Queen Aishwarya were shot by Dipendra -- who later died of a self-inflicted bullet wound.
7. Shinzo Abe (Former Prime Minister of Japan)
The former Prime Minister of Japan was shot dead on July 08, 2022, when he was delivering a speech outside the Yamato-Saidaiji Station in the city of Nara. The 41-year-old suspect had used an improvised gun to perpetrate the crime.
Due to such incidents, the heads of states of most of the countries have very strong security detail to protect them from any attacks. With terrorist groups using increasingly sophisticated techniques, foolproof security always remains a challenge for security agencies worldwide as the attackers have to get lucky just once. In the cases of Fico and Abe, it was a lone wolf attack, which is very difficult to prevent. This trend is one of the most potent challenges to security agencies worldwide that are responsible for securing VIPs.