Politicians that could have lived longer

Gancio The Ranter

Which politicians that died in the 20th and 21st century could have lived longer? How would their survival affect Historical events?
I want to limit the discussion to politicians whose death was caused by Murder, accident or disease.
Authority figures in dictatorships should be counted as politicians in this context.
 

Scerus

Gustav Stresemann
  • The lion of Weimar Republic diplomacy and probably someone who could have prevented Hitler, enough said.
Engelbert Dollfuss
  • People tend to think that Mussolini would have betrayed him anyway but I'm not so sure, his close personal relationship with Dollfuss potentially could have informed another approach to Anschluss (Italian troops garrisoned the Brenner Pass in 1934 when Hitler first went for Austrian integration) so I think that was another major POD people overlook.
John Smith
  • His death led to Blair's leadership and eventual election victory - John Smith would have avoided Iraq, rejected any notion of 'foundation hospitals', would have been more conciliatory towards Labour left, more emphasis on traditional Labour territory.
 
Last edited:

Amadeus

Gancio The Ranter said:
Which politicians that died in the 20th and 21st century could have lived longer? How would their survival affect Historical events?
I want to limit the discussion to politicians whose death was caused by Murder, accident or disease.
Authority figures in dictatorships should be counted as politicians in this context.
Click to expand...

Certainly John and Robert Kennedy.
 

oberdada

Friedrich Ebert - a simple operation could have saved his life, but he was waiting to restore his honour first.

Uwe Barschel - death in a bathtub, not very stylish; murder or suicide?
 
Gukpard

Gukpard

Getúlio Vargas in Brazil, he suffered a coup and comitted suicide at the last moment to abort it.

This actually helped him a lot, since the trauma of losing the president caused such a wave of popular unrest that neutralized the brazilian right for the years to come. Assuming he finishes the government, he would be another random president from the 1950s, with the difference that he had ruled before as a president and a dictator on the 30s and 40s, and dies somewhere on the mid-late 60s or early 70s.
 

CountPeter

Pierre Bietry, father of yellow socialism and very much a forerunner to fascist movements (including launching the first National Socialist party) died in 1918 I believe to natural causes at the age of 46.

Whilst it's certainly possible that he could have ended din obscurity yet again, the post WW1 France that he missed was ripe for his vision. I don't know that he would have dominated french politics, but he had a much better chance of doing so than Hitler had in Germany.
 
TwisterAce

TwisterAce

Theodore Roosevelt was the leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 1920 and almost certainly would have been elected. If he had not gotten sick on his Amazon expedition and/or was not shot in 1912, then his health would be much better. He was only 60 when he died, so him living another decade or two is plausible.
 
Last edited:
WhiteDragon25

WhiteDragon25

Banned
This far into the thread and no mention of Huey Long, who died to an assassin's bullet in 1935? Had the assassination attempt failed, he could've been a huge wrench in the works for President Franklin Roosevelt, in the middle of the Great Depression and right when things started heating up in Europe, as Long planned to run in the 1936 Presidential Elections.
 
Awkwardvulture

Awkwardvulture

Eva/Evita Perón First Lady of Argentina and President of the Women's Peronist Party, who died of Cervical Cancer at the incredibly young age of 33... It's worth noting that she was a good thirty years younger than Juan Perón, and, judging by his OTL successor, he probably married her in the hopes that she would competently carry on his legacy... Compared to Isabel, I think Evita would have been a very competent successor...
 

groundhogday666

Banned
George Pompidou. Walldenstrom disease got him - then the very same illness also got the Shah, Golda Meir, and Algeria's Boumediene. Pretty unbelievable, when you think about it.

Pompidou lasting into April 1976 (since his 7-years mandate started a 1969 reboot of French presidential elections, when de Gaulle threw the towel) would have a massive impact everywhere - Giscard& Chaban-Delmas OTL candidacies related to Pompidou death, would be gone; or different, in 1976 or 1983. Also Chirac & Balladur long term fates - and this is only the french Right.

Miterrand, Roccard and communists, on the left, would try their chance in 1976.

Would Pompidou try a second mandate (that would be April 1976 - April 1983) ? once again, having him lasting so long would impact all the aforementioned people on the Right and Left... Mitterrand cancer may not wait, for a start. Others would grow too old for a presidential run.

The OTL sequence triggered by Pompidou death, was as per follow.
1- in 1974 Chirac screwed Gaullist Chaban-Delmas in favor of non-Gaullist, center-right Giscard, for two reasons.
a) Chirac coldly calculated that, facing Mitterrand, Giscard had better chances than Chaban, and he was proven right
b) Giscard rewarded Chirac with the PM job.

2- Giscard then screwed and humiliated his PM Chirac, who never pardonned. Chirac endured it for two years then in the summer 1976 slammed the door, re-crated the RPR gaullist party, and went on in MArch 1977 as Mayor of Paris

3- Chirac screwed Giscard for Mitterrand in 1981 (!) just for the sake of vengeance

4- Miterrand then proceeded to methodically screw Chirac, twice: as PM in 1986 and in the 1988 Presidential election.

Pompidou living as president until 1976 completely threw that OTL sequence into chaos.
 
Last edited:

1940LaSalle

TwisterAce said:
Theodore Roosevelt was the leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 1920 and almost certainly would have been elected. If he had not gotten sick on his Amazon expedition and/or was not shot in 1912, then his health would be much better. He was only 60 when he died, so him living another decade or two is plausible.
Click to expand...
You beat me to it, but I'm glad you did. From all I've read (various works by Morris, Brands, and others), it was the expedition to the Amazon that turned his health to the worse irreversibly. It probably wouldn't take much-perhaps something as simple as a minor household accident yielding a broken ankle-to short-circuit that Amazon expedition. Do that, and quite likely TR makes it into his 70s.
 

marktaha

Banned
Hugh Gaitskell?.Anthony Crosland? Tom Mboya? Patrice Lumumba? Moise Tshombe? Hendrik Verwoerd? Andrew Bonar Law?
 

Comte de Geneve

But if William McKinley is not killed in September 1901 (yes this qualifies) TR probably never makes it to the White House, or at least not in the OTL time frame. A full term McKinley, who was very popular, and with Mark Hanna in control of the GOP, would never have sanctioned the nomination of 'that madman' for the Presidency. In that era VP's were never considered Presidential material anyways. McKinley maintains orthodox GOP policies, which were achieving good growth and an orthodox Republican, most likely Fairbanks, is nominated and wins in 1904. But with the economic crash in 1907 the Democrats may then be probable winners in 1908 and it may finally be time for WJB to become President. After this Mothra reigns supreme.
 

Dewar

Robin Cook.

Gordon Brown mentions in his memoirs that he was hoping to bring Cook back into government once he became PM.

With him being probably the PLP’s most famous dissenter on the Iraq War as well I’d wager he might have had a decent shot at a post-Brown leadership contest.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Top