Hugo Chavez (March 5)
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died after a two-year battle with cancer, ending 14 years of tumultuous rule that made the socialist leader a hero for the poor but a hate figure to his opponents. The flamboyant 58-year-old had undergone four operations in Cuba for a cancer that was first detected in his pelvic region in mid-2011. His last surgery was on December 11, 2012 and he had not been seen in public since.
