2022

Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypox outbreak begins in the United Kingdom on 6 May; Lying-in-State of Elizabeth II at Westminster Hall; A child stands among the rubble of a house after the June 2022 Afghanistan earthquake; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China; Demonstrators on the central square of Aktobe during the 2022 Kazakh unrest; A Russian BMP-3 near Mariupol destroyed during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Millennium:	3rd millennium
Centuries:	20th century 21st century 22nd century
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Years:	2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

2022 is the current year in parts of the world where the time zone is later than. It is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2022nd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 22nd year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 3rd year of the 2020s decade.

2022 saw the continued impact of an inflation surge as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, has continued, and the year has seen the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and the reopening of international borders. The global economy has increased its recovery from the pandemic, though it has experienced an an ongoing inflation surge; in response, many countries' central banks have raised their interest rates to landmark levels.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II, has caused the displacement of 15.7 million Ukrainians (8 million internally displaced persons and 7.7 million refugees), and led to international condemnations and sanctions and nuclear threats, the withdrawal of hundreds of companies from Russia, and the exclusion of Russia from major sporting events.

In 2022, the world population surpassed eight billion people. Additionally, the year included many prominent deaths of notable figures, including: world leaders Shinzo Abe, Mikhail Gorbachev, Queen Elizabeth II, Jiang Zemin and Benedict XVI; entertainers Sidney Poitier, Olivia Newton-John, Jean-Luc Godard, Angela Lansbury, Jerry Lee Lewis and footballer Pelé, regarded as one of the greatest sporting icons of all time.

Events

January

• January 1 – The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the largest free trade area in the world, comes into effect for Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Japan, Laos, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
• January 2 – Abdalla Hamdok resigns as Prime Minister of Sudan amid deadly protests.
• January 4 – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States—all five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—issue a rare joint statement affirming that "a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought."
• January 5 – A nationwide state of emergency is declared in Kazakhstan in response to the 2022 Kazakh unrest. The cabinet of prime minister Askar Mamin resigns, while president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev removes former president Nursultan Nazarbayev, widely regarded as being the real power in the country, from his position as Chairman of the Security Council of Kazakhstan.
• January 6 – The CSTO deploys a "peacekeeping" mission in Kazakhstan, including Russian paratroopers, following a request by Kazakh president Tokayev.
• January 7 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of COVID-19 cases exceeds 300 million worldwide.
• January 9–February 6 – The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations is held in Cameroon, with Senegal winning their first championship.
• January 10 – The first successful heart transplant from a pig to a human patient occurs in Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
• January 15 – A large eruption of Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai, a submarine volcano in Tonga, triggers tsunami warnings in Australia, Canada, Chile, Fiji, Japan, New Zealand, Samoa, and the United States.
• January 16 – World No. 1 tennis champion Novak Djokovic is deported from Australia following a high-profile legal case regarding his COVID-19 vaccination status, preventing his participation in the 2022 Australian Open.
• January 23
  • Tropical Storm Ana kills 115 people in Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique, days after a series of floods killed 11 people in Madagascar.
  • A coup d'état in Burkina Faso removes president Roch Kaboré from power. The Burkinabé military cites the government's failure to contain activities of Islamist militants within the country as a reason for the coup.
• January 28 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of vaccinations administered worldwide exceeds 10 billion.
• January 30 – 2022 Portuguese legislative election: The Socialist Party, led by António Costa, wins an "unexpected" majority of 117 seats.

February

• February 3 – Islamic State leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi is killed in Atme during a counter-terrorism raid by U.S. special forces in north-western Syria.
• February 4 – China and Russia issue a joint statement opposing further NATO expansion, expressing "serious concerns" about the AUKUS security pact, and pledging to cooperate with each other on a range of issues.
• February 4–20 – The 2022 Winter Olympics are held in Beijing, China, making it the first city ever to host both the Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics.
• February 5 – Cyclone Batsirai kills a total of 123 people across Madagascar, Mauritius, and Réunion two weeks after Tropical Storm Ana killed 115 people in the same region.
• February 9 – The biggest breakthrough in fusion energy since 1997 is reported at the Joint European Torus in Oxford, the UK, with 59 megajoules produced over five seconds (11 megawatts of power), more than double the previous record.
• February 21–24 – Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a decree declaring the Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic as independent from Ukraine, and, despite international condemnation and sanctions, begins a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
• February 26 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: The EU, US, and their allies commit to removing Russian banks from the SWIFT payment system, as well as imposing measures on the Russian Central Bank and further restrictions on Russian elites. These and other sanctions fuel a financial crisis in Russia.
• February 27
  • 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: Putin orders Russia's nuclear deterrent forces to be on "special alert", their highest level, in response to what he calls "aggressive statements" by NATO. The move is condemned by the US.
  • 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: European nations ban Russian flights in their airspace.
  • In a constitutional referendum, Belarus votes to revoke its non-nuclear status and to allow the country to host Russian forces permanently.
• February 28
  • The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) releases the second part of its Sixth Assessment Report on climate change. It concludes that many impacts are on the verge of becoming "irreversible".
  • 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: Russian and Ukrainian officials meet on the Belarus-Ukraine border for the first round of peace talks, with no resolution.
  • 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: Football governing bodies FIFA and UEFA suspend Russian clubs and national teams from all competitions.
  • 2022 Russian financial crisis: In an unprecedented move, Switzerland, Monaco, Singapore and South Korea impose unilateral sanctions over Russia including the introduction of export controls and asset freezes.

March

• March 1
  • 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: World Athletics bans both Russia and Belarus from competing in all of its events.
  • 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: In an emergency session, United Nations member states pass a resolution deploring Russia's invasion of Ukraine and calling for the immediate withdrawal of its forces.
• March 2
  • 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: Russia seizes its first large city, the Black Sea port of Kherson, as shelling intensifies across many parts of Ukraine, including civilian areas.
  • 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: The United Nations reports that over a million refugees have now fled from Ukraine to other countries.
  • The International Criminal Court begins an investigation into possible war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.
• March 3
  • 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: Russia is condemned by world leaders following an attack by its troops on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – the largest in Europe – which led to a fire at the site.
  • The National Assembly of Armenia elects incumbent minister of High-Tech Industry and former mayor of Yerevan, Vahagn Khachaturyan, as president of Armenia following the resignation of Armen Sarkissian.
• March 4–13 – The 2022 Winter Paralympics are held in Beijing, China, making it the first city to host both Summer Paralympics and Winter Paralympics.
• March 4 – Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: An Afghan man on behalf of the Islamic State – Khorasan Province commits a suicide attack at a Shia mosque in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, killing 63 people.
• March 5 – Researchers in the Antarctic find Endurance, one of the greatest ever undiscovered shipwrecks, which sank in 1915 during Ernest Shackleton's exploration.
• March 7 – COVID-19 pandemic: The global death toll from COVID-19 surpasses 6 million.
• March 8 – The US and UK announce a ban on Russian oil, while the EU announces a two-thirds reduction in its demand for Russian gas.
• March 9
  • 2022 South Korean presidential election: People Power Party candidate Yoon Suk-yeol is narrowly elected President of South Korea.
  • 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: Russia is condemned by world leaders following an air strike in Mariupol that destroys a hospital including a maternity and children's ward.
• March 10 – The National Assembly of Hungary elects former minister for Family Affairs, Katalin Novák, as president of Hungary in a 137–51 vote.
• March 11 – Gabriel Boric is sworn in as President of Chile. He becomes the youngest head of state in the nation's history and the first to be born during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
• March 12 – 2022 Turkmenistan presidential election: Serdar Berdimuhamedow, son of former President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, wins with 89% of the total votes.
• March 16 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: A Russian airstrike on the Mariupol Theatre in Mariupol kills an estimated 600 civilians sheltering inside.
• March 21 – China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 crashes in Guangxi, China, killing all 133 people on board.
• March 24 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: NATO announces that four new battlegroups totaling 40,000 troops will be deployed in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, along with enhanced readiness for potential chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.
• March 29 – The Democratic Republic of the Congo is admitted to the East African Community.
• March 31 – Expo 2020 closes in Dubai after a 6-month run; originally scheduled for April 10, 2021, it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

April

• April 3
  • 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: As Russia's forces retreat from areas near Kyiv, it is accused by Ukraine of war crimes, amid mounting evidence of indiscriminate civilian killings, including the Bucha massacre.
  • The second round of voting of the 2022 Costa Rican general election is held, and Social Democratic Progress Party presidential candidate Rodrigo Chaves Robles is elected president.
• April 4 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) releases the third and final part of its Sixth Assessment Report on climate change, warning that greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025 at the latest and decline 43% by 2030, in order to limit global warming to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F).
• April 6 – The first known dinosaur fossil linked to the very day of the Chicxulub impact is reported by palaeontologists.
• April 7
  • The UN votes by 93–24 to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council, with 58 countries abstaining.
  • President of Yemen Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi resigns from office, dismisses vice president Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, and transfers both offices' powers to the newly formed eight-member Presidential Leadership Council, chaired by Rashad al-Alimi.
  • 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: Russia is condemned by world leaders following a missile attack on Kramatorsk train station, which kills 59 civilians trying to evacuate, including seven children.
  • Global food prices increase to their highest level since the UN's Food Price Index began in 1990, with commodities such as wheat rising by nearly 20% as a result of the Ukraine crisis.
• April 11 – The National Assembly of Pakistan elects leader of the opposition Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister of Pakistan, after Imran Khan is removed from office following a motion of no confidence two days prior.
• April 13 – COVID-19 pandemic: The number of confirmed cases exceeds 500 million worldwide.
• April 14 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: The Russian flagship Moskva becomes the largest warship to be sunk in action since World War II. Ukraine claims to have struck it with Neptune anti-ship missiles, while Russia claims it sank during stormy weather after an onboard fire.
• April 18 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: The Battle of Donbas begins, leading to the deaths of several thousand military personnel and civilians.
• April 19 – The second round of voting of the 2022 East Timorese presidential election is held and the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction party presidential candidate, former president and former prime minister José Ramos-Horta is elected.
• April 20 – A European Southern Observatory team announce the discovery of micronovae, a new type of exploding star.
• April 22 – The Large Hadron Collider recommences full operations, three years after being shut down for upgrades.
• April 24 – The 2022 Slovenian parliamentary election is held to elect all 90 members of the National Assembly of Slovenia, the lower house of the Slovenian Parliament; the Freedom Movement party becomes the largest party, winning 41 of 90 seats.
• April 27 – The European Union accuses Russia of blackmail after gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria are halted by energy giant Gazprom.
• April 28 – The Parliament of Montenegro elects a new government with Dritan Abazović as prime minister, following a motion of no confidence against the government of Zdravko Krivokapić.

May

• May 6 – 2022 monkeypox outbreak: An outbreak of monkeypox begins when the first monkeypox virus case is reported in London, the United Kingdom.
• May 9
  • The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns as a result of massive protests against his government across the country. He is succeeded by Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister three days later.
  • 2022 Philippine general election: Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte are elected the 17th President and 15th Vice President of the Philippines in a landslide victory.
• May 10–14 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 is held in Turin, Italy. The contest is won by Ukrainian folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra with their song "Stefania".
• May 12 – The Event Horizon Telescope collaboration reveals its first image of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way.
• May 13 – Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is elected as the 3rd president of the United Arab Emirates by the Federal Supreme Council following the death of Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan a day earlier.
• May 15 – Former President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is elected president again, beating President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.
• May 16 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: The Siege of Mariupol ends in a Russian victory as Ukrainian troops are evacuated from Mariupol.
• May 20 – 2022 monkeypox outbreak: The World Health Organization (WHO) holds an emergency meeting to discuss the spread of monkeypox in nearly a dozen countries, as the number of reported cases reaches 100.
• May 21 – 2022 Australian federal election: The Labor party, led by Anthony Albanese, defeats the Liberal/National Coalition Government led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Albanese would be sworn in on May 23.
• May 28 – Spanish club Real Madrid beat English club Liverpool 1–0 to win the UEFA Champions League final played at the Stade de France in Paris, France.

June

• June 4 – Retired general Bajram Begaj is elected the 9th President of Albania by the parliament in the 4th round of voting.
• June 5 – At least 50 people are killed in a dual mass shooting-bomb attack in Owo, Nigeria.
• June 14 – Canada and Denmark end their competing claims for Hans Island by dividing the island roughly in half, ending what was referred to as the Whisky War.
• June 19 – The second round of the 2022 Colombian presidential election is held, and former guerrilla fighter for the 19th of April Movement and incumbent senator, Gustavo Petro, defeats businessman and former mayor of Bucaramanga, Rodolfo Hernández Suárez.
• June 22 – An earthquake measuring moment magnitude (M_w ) 6.2 strikes the Durand Line between Afghanistan and Pakistan, killing at least 1,163 people.
• June 23 – Dickon Mitchell's party wins a majority of seats in Grenada's general election, defeating Prime Minister Keith Mitchell's party. Mitchell is appointed Prime Minister of Grenada, following Keith Mitchell's resignation on June 24.
• June 26 – G7 leaders gather for a summit in Germany to discuss the situation in Ukraine. A ban on imports of Russian gold is announced.
• June 27 – 53 migrants from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador are found dead in a tractor trailer in San Antonio, Texas, United States.
• June 28–30 – A NATO summit is held in Madrid, Spain along with the presence of guest countries from the European Union and the Indo-Pacific primarily searching for a consensual defensive reinforcement after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the sustained threatening over the territorial integrity of other countries.

July

• July 1 – Yair Lapid succeeds Naftali Bennett as Prime Minister of Israel, while Bennett succeeds Lapid as Alternate Prime Minister of Israel; this arrangement had been created after the 2021 Israeli legislative election, in which no party won an outright majority.
• July 6–31 – UEFA Women's Euro 2022 is held in England, with the hosts winning their first major tournament since 1966.
• July 7–17 – The 2022 World Games is held in Birmingham, Alabama, United States.
• July 8 – Former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe is assassinated while giving a public speech in the city of Nara, Japan.
• July 11 – The first operational image from the James Webb Space Telescope, showing the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, is revealed to the public.
• July 18 – Droupadi Murmu is elected as President of India, making her the first tribal woman and youngest person to be elected to the office.
• July 19 – 2022 European heat waves: A series of severe heatwaves from July to August hit Europe, causing at least 53,000 deaths and additionally causing major wildfires, travel disruption, and record high temperatures in many countries.
• July 21
  • The Parliament of Sri Lanka elects Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as President of Sri Lanka, following the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa amid protests over the ongoing economic crisis.
  • The European Central Bank raises its key interest rate for the first time in more than 11 years, from minus 0.5 per cent to zero, with plans for further increases later in the year.
• July 23 – The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the recent monkeypox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, as the number of reported cases exceeds 17,000 in 75 countries.
• July 28 – August 8 – The 2022 Commonwealth Games is held in Birmingham, England.
• July 31 – Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian terrorist who became the 2nd Emir of al-Qaeda after Osama bin Laden's death in 2011, is killed in an airstrike in Kabul, Afghanistan conducted by the United States' Central Intelligence Agency.

August

• August 4
  • China conducts its largest ever military exercise around Taiwan in response to a controversial visit by Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking U.S official to visit Taiwan since the 1990s.
  • The Prime Minister of Peru, Aníbal Torres, resigns following multiple criminal investigations against the President of Peru, Pedro Castillo.
• August 5–7 – Israel launches airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, killing Islamic Jihad military leader Tayseer Jabari. Both parties agree to a ceasefire after three days of skirmish.
• August 6 – Terrance Drew is sworn in as prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
• August 9 – 2022 Kenyan general election: William Ruto is elected as Kenya's 5th president, defeating longtime opposition leader Raila Odinga. His victory is certified by the nation's election supervisory agency on August 15 amid protests and violence by Odinga supporters.
• August 10 – Spanish club Real Madrid beat German club Eintracht Frankfurt 2–0 to win the 2022 UEFA Super Cup played at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland.
• August 12 – Indian-born British-American novelist Salman Rushdie is stabbed multiple times as he is about to give a public lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York, United States.
• August 17 – Turkey and Israel agree to restore full diplomatic relations after a period of tensions.
• August 19 – The coalition government of Montenegrin prime minister Dritan Abazović collapses after the 81-seat Parliament of Montenegro passes a motion of no confidence in a vote of 50–1, following dispute within the coalition over an agreement the government signed with the Serbian Orthodox Church.
• August 27 – September 11 – The 2022 Asia Cup is held in the United Arab Emirates, and is won by Sri Lanka.
• August 28 – 2022 Pakistan floods: Pakistan declares a "climate catastrophe" and appeals for international assistance, as the death toll from recent flooding in the country exceeds 1,000, the world's deadliest flood since 2017. Several nations, alongside the UN, pledge millions in funding for aid.

September

• September 1 – The UN releases a report stating that the Chinese government's Xinjiang internment camps and treatment of Uyghurs may constitute crimes against humanity.
• September 2 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: The G7 economies agree to impose a price cap on Russian petroleum exports.
• September 6 – Liz Truss is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after winning the July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.
• September 8 – Queen Elizabeth II dies at Balmoral Castle in Scotland at the age of 96. Her son Charles III succeeds her as King.
• September 11 – The 2022 Swedish general election is held to elect all 349 seats of the Riksdag. Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson resigns after her centre-left bloc narrowly loses to a bloc of right-wing parties, 176 seats to 173; Andersson is succeeded as prime minister by Ulf Kristersson in October.
• September 12 – September 2022 Armenia–Azerbaijan clashes: Azerbaijan attacks Armenian positions near the cities of Vardenis, Goris, Sotk and Jermuk, and occupies certain areas of its territory along the Armenia–Azerbaijan border. Over the next few days, more than 100 Armenian soldiers are killed in the clashes, while Azerbaijan acknowledges 71 fatalities among its forces.
• September 14–20 – 2022 Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan clashes: Dozens are killed as sporadic clashes occur between Kyrgyz and Tajik troops along their countries' respective border.
• September 14–25 – The Atlantic hurricane Fiona hits Guadeloupe, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, the Lucayan Archipelago, Bermuda, and Eastern Canada.
• September 16 – Protests erupt in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country's "morality police".
• September 19 – The state funeral of Elizabeth II is held in Westminster Abbey, London. Her coffin is then taken by procession to Windsor Castle for burial with her husband, parents and sister in the King George VI Memorial Chapel. The funeral is speculated to be the most watched television event in world history.
• September 21 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: Following a major counteroffensive by Ukraine in the east of the country, Putin announces a partial mobilisation of Russia and threatens nuclear retaliation, saying "this is not a bluff".
• September 24 – The 2022 Nauruan parliamentary election was held which saw Ubenide parliament member Russ Kun be elected president by parliament.
• September 25 – The 2022 Italian general election is held to elect all 400 seats of the Chamber of Deputies and 200 seats of the Senate of the Republic (reduced from 630 and 215 respectively according to the outcome of the 2020 constitutional referendum). Observers commented that the results shifted the geopolitics of the European Union, following far-right gains in France, Spain, and Sweden. It was also noted that the election outcome would mark Italy's most right-wing government since 1945.
• September 26 – NASA's DART crashes into the asteroid Dimorphos in a first test of potential planetary defense.
• September 27–30 – Hurricane Ian impacts Cuba and the United States, causing catastrophic damage to both nations, killing at least 157 people, 16 missing, and leaving millions without power, including the entire nation of Cuba.
• September 27 – Russian occupation authorities in Ukraine claim that their annexation referendums show an overwhelming support for the annexation by Russia of the Donetsk People's Republic, the Luhansk People's Republic, and parts of Kherson Oblast and Zaporizhzhia Oblast. However, the voting is widely dismissed as a sham referendum.
• September 30
  • Annexation of Southern and Eastern Ukraine: Russian President Vladimir Putin signs treaties absorbing the occupied regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia into the Russian Federation. This annexation is seen as a breach of international law by the global community.
  • Burkina Faso's military junta is overthrown by the country's second coup of the year, led by army captain Ibrahim Traoré.

October

• October 1 – A fatal human crush occurs during an association football match at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang Regency, East Java, Indonesia, killing 131 people and injuring more than 500.
• October 5 – OPEC+ imposes a production cut of up to 2 million barrels per day.
• October 8 – 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: An explosion occurs on the Crimean Bridge connecting Crimea and Russia, killing three and causing a partial collapse of the only road bridge between the Crimean Peninsula and the Russian mainland. Two days later, retaliatory missile strikes are conducted by Russia across Ukraine, the most widespread since the start of the invasion, notably including attacks on Kyiv.
• October 16–23 – The 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is held. Xi Jinping is elected as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party by the Central Committee, beginning a third term as the paramount leader of China.
• October 25 – Amid a government crisis, Rishi Sunak becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, following the resignation of Liz Truss the previous week resulting in a 50-day tenure.
• October 28
  • Elon Musk completes his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter.
  • Sam Matekane is sworn in as Prime Minister of Lesotho after securing a victory in the 7 October elections.
• October 29
  • At least 158 people are killed and another 197 injured in a crowd crush during Halloween festivities in Seoul, South Korea.
  • A double car bombing by al-Shabaab in Mogadishu, Somalia kills at least 100 people and injures around 300.
  • 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: In response to an alleged Ukrainian drone attack against the Black Sea Fleet, Russia withdraw from a U.N.-brokered deal on the shipment of grain, which had brought down soaring global food prices.
• October 30
  • 2022 Brazilian general election: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeats incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in a runoff election after neither candidate secured a majority in the first round of voting.
  • The collapse of a suspension bridge in Gujarat, India, leaves at least 141 dead.

November

• November 1
  • 2022 Israeli legislative election: A bloc of right wing and far right political parties led by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wins a 64 seat majority, allowing him to most likely become Prime Minister for a third time.
  • 2022 Danish general election: A bloc of left-leaning political parties wins a narrow one-seat majority of 90 seats. The governing Social Democrats attains the best result in 20 years with approximately 27.5% of the vote.
• November 6–18 – The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) on climate change mitigation takes place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
• November 11
  • The cryptocurrency exchange FTX, once valued at $18 billion, files for bankruptcy, in a collapse that affects the cryptocurrency environment.
  • 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: Ukrainian forces recapture Kherson, the only regional capital to be taken by Russia since the start of the war.
• November 15
  • The world population reaches 8 billion.
  • The 2022 G20 Bali summit in Bali, Indonesia takes place.
  • 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: Two civilians are killed when missiles explode within Poland near the village of Przewodów, close to the border with Ukraine. Initially believed to be Russian, an investigation determines the missiles to be of Ukrainian origin.
• November 16 – NASA launches Artemis 1, the first uncrewed mission of its Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket ever to reach orbit. The onboard Orion capsule orbits the Moon before returning to Earth, as a demonstration of planned human missions.
• November 19 – The 2022 Malaysian general election results in a hung parliament, which is the first in the country's history. Long-time opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is appointed by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Abdullah as prime minister five days later to break the political deadlock and form unity government.
• November 20 until December 18 – The 2022 FIFA World Cup is held in Qatar and won by Argentina.
• November 20 – 2022 Nepalese general election: Nepali Congress, led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba emerged as the largest party with 89 seats, but the governing bloc falls short of the majority by two seats, leading into likely coalition government.

December

• December 2 – The G7 and Australia join the EU in imposing a cap of $60 a barrel on Russian crude oil, designed to "prevent Russia from profiting from its war of aggression against Ukraine."
• December 5 – The National Ignition Facility achieves fusion ignition, a major milestone in the development of nuclear fusion power.
• December 7
  • The Congress of Peru removes President Pedro Castillo from office and arrests him after he tries to dissolve congress in a coup attempt, Vice President Dina Boluarte succeeds him.
  • After substantial protests against China's Zero-COVID policies, the Chinese government eases on its COVID restrictions.
• December 17 – Leo Varadkar succeeds Micheál Martin as Taoiseach of Ireland, as part of a rotation agreement made in 2020.
• December 19 – At the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15), nearly 200 countries agree a landmark deal to protect a third of the planet for nature by 2030.
• December 24 – 2022 Fijian general election: The Parliament of Fiji elects Sitiveni Rabuka as Prime Minister of Fiji, defeating incumbent Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama after a contentious election.
• December 29 – Benjamin Netanyahu is sworn in as Prime Minister of Israel for a third time after his bloc won a prior election in November.

Deaths

Main article: Deaths in 2022

Further information: Category:2022 deaths

January

Main article: Deaths in January 2022

Richard Leakey

Sidney Poitier

Toshiki Kaifu

Meat Loaf

Thích Nhất Hạnh

• January 2
  • Eric Walter Elst, Belgian astronomer (b. 1936)
  • Richard Leakey, Kenyan paleoanthropologist and conservationist (b. 1944)
• January 3
  • Beatrice Mintz, American embryologist (b. 1921)
  • Viktor Saneyev, Soviet and Georgian triple jumper and Olympic champion (b. 1945)
• January 6
  • Peter Bogdanovich, American film director (b. 1939)
  • F. Sionil José, Filipino writer (b. 1924)
  • Sidney Poitier, Bahamian-American actor, activist and ambassador (b. 1927)
• January 8 – Viktor Mazin, Russian weightlifter, Olympic champion (b. 1954)
• January 9 – Toshiki Kaifu, 48th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1931)
• January 11
  • Anatoly Alyabyev, Soviet and Russian athlete and Olympic champion (b. 1951)
  • David Sassoli, 16th President of the European Parliament (b. 1956)
  • Ernest Shonekan, 9th Head of State of Nigeria (b. 1936)
• January 12 – Ronnie Spector, American singer (b. 1943)
• January 13 – Jean-Jacques Beineix, French film director (b. 1946)
• January 14 – Ricardo Bofill, Spanish architect (b. 1939)
• January 16 – Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, 5th President and 6th Prime Minister of Mali (b. 1945)
• January 18
  • Sir David Cox, English statistician (b. 1924)
  • Paco Gento, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1933)
  • André Leon Talley, American fashion journalist and stylist (b. 1948)
• January 19
  • Gaspard Ulliel, French actor (b. 1984)
  • Hardy Krüger, German actor (b. 1928)
  • Hans-Jürgen Dörner, German football player, and Olympic champion (b. 1951).
• January 20
  • Heidi Biebl, German alpine skier and Olympic champion (b. 1941)
  • Meat Loaf, American singer and actor (b. 1947)
• January 21 – Rex Cawley, American hurdler and Olympic champion (b. 1940).
• January 22 – Thích Nhất Hạnh, Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist (b. 1926)
• January 23
  • Keto Losaberidze, Soviet and Georgian archer and Olympic champion (b. 1949)
  • Thierry Mugler, French fashion designer (b. 1948)
• January 24 – Szilveszter Csollány, Hungarian gymnast and Olympic champion (b. 1970)
• January 25 – Wim Jansen, Dutch footballer and manager (b. 1946)
• January 27 – Charanjit Singh, Indian field hockey player and Olympic champion (b. 1931)
• January 30 – Leonid Kuravlyov, Soviet and Russian actor (b. 1936)

February

Main article: Deaths in February 2022

Monica Vitti

Lata Mangeshkar

Luc Montagnier

Sir Manuel Esquivel

• February 2 – Monica Vitti, Italian actress (b. 1931)
• February 3
  • Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, leader and 2nd Caliph of the Islamic State (b. 1976)
  • Christos Sartzetakis, 4th President of Greece (b. 1929)
• February 5
  • Don Johnston, 4th Secretary-General of the OECD (b. 1936)
  • Boris Melnikov, Soviet and Russian fencer and Olympic champion (b. 1938)
• February 6
  • Ronnie Hellström, Swedish footballer (b. 1949)
  • Lata Mangeshkar, Indian playback singer and composer (b. 1929)
• February 7 – Douglas Trumbull, American film director, special effects supervisor and inventor (b. 1942)
• February 8 – Luc Montagnier, French Nobel virologist (b. 1932)
• February 10
  • Sir Manuel Esquivel, 2nd Prime Minister of Belize (b. 1940)
  • Duvall Hecht, American rower, publisher and Olympic champion (b. 1930)
• February 12 – Ivan Reitman, Czechoslovak-born Canadian film director and producer (b. 1946)
• February 14 – Borislav Ivkov, Serbian chess Grandmaster (b. 1933)
• February 15 – Józef Zapędzki, Polish sport shooter and Olympic champion (b. 1929)
• February 16 – Amos Sawyer, interim President of Liberia (b. 1945)
• February 19
  • Gary Brooker, British singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1945)
  • Kakuichi Mimura, Japanese footballer and manager (b. 1931)
• February 20 – Oleksandr Sydorenko, Soviet and Ukrainian swimmer and Olympic champion (b. 1960)
• February 22 – Mark Lanegan, American singer, musician and writer (b. 1964)
• February 24 – Ivanka Khristova, Bulgarian shot putter and Olympic champion (b. 1941)
• February 28 – Abuzed Omar Dorda, 18th Prime Minister of Libya (b. 1944)

March

Main article: Deaths in March 2022

Shane Warne

Rupiah Banda

William Hurt

Eugene Parker

File:Ayaz Mutalibov 1992 (cropped 2).jpg

Ayaz Mutalibov

• March 1 – Alevtina Kolchina, Soviet and Russian cross-country skier and Olympic champion (b. 1930)
• March 4
  • Rod Marsh, Australian cricketer (b. 1947)
  • Shane Warne, Australian cricketer (b. 1969)
• March 6
  • Frank O'Farrell, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1927)
  • Giuseppe Wilson, Italian footballer (b. 1945)
• March 7 – Muhammad Rafiq Tarar, 9th President of Pakistan (b. 1929)
• March 8 – Tomás Boy, Mexican footballer (b. 1951)
• March 10 – Jürgen Grabowski, German footballer (b. 1944)
• March 11
  • Rupiah Banda, 4th President of Zambia (b. 1937)
  • Rustam Ibragimbekov, Soviet and Azerbaijani screenwriter, playwright and producer (b. 1939)
• March 12 – Karl Offmann, 3rd President of Mauritius (b. 1940)
• March 13 – William Hurt, American actor (b. 1950)
• March 14
  • Steve Wilhite, American computer scientist (b. 1948)
  • Charles Greene, American sprinter and Olympic champion (b. 1945)
• March 15 – Eugene Parker, American solar physicist (b. 1927)
• March 16 – Kunimitsu Takahashi, Japanese racing driver, motorcyclist, and team owner (b. 1940)
• March 17
  • Christopher Alexander, Austrian-born British-American architect, design theorist, and writer (b. 1936)
  • Tony Nash, British bobsledder and Olympic champion (b. 1936).
• March 19 – Shahabuddin Ahmed, 12th President of Bangladesh (b. 1930)
• March 21 – Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga, 16th Prime Minister of Mali (b. 1954)
• March 23 – Madeleine Albright, Czechoslovak-born American politician (b. 1937)
• March 25 – Taylor Hawkins, American musician (b. 1972)
• March 27
  • Ayaz Mutallibov, 1st President of Azerbaijan (b. 1938)
  • Alexandra Zabelina, Russian fencer and Olympic champion (b. 1937)
• March 30 – Egon Franke, Polish fencer and Olympic champion (b. 1935)
• March 31
  • Georgi Atanasov, 39th Prime Minister of Bulgaria (b. 1933)
  • Patrick Demarchelier, French fashion photographer (b. 1943)

April

Main article: Deaths in April 2022

Leonel Sánchez

Sidney Altman

Mwai Kibaki

• April 2 – Leonel Sánchez, Chilean footballer (b. 1936)
• April 3 – Lygia Fagundes Telles, Brazilian writer (b. 1918)
• April 4 – Django Sissoko, Acting Prime Minister of Mali (b. 1948)
• April 5
  • Sidney Altman, Canadian-American Nobel molecular biologist (b. 1939)
  • Josef Panáček, Czech sport shooter and Olympic champion (b. 1936)
  • Bjarni Tryggvason, Icelandic-born Canadian astronaut (b. 1945)
• April 9 – Jack Higgins, English author (b. 1929)
• April 13
  • Michel Bouquet, French actor (b. 1925)
  • Freddy Rincón, Colombian footballer (b. 1966)
• April 14 – Mike Bossy, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1957)
• April 15
  • Henry Plumb, Baron Plumb, 4th President of the European Parliament (b. 1925)
  • Bernhard Germeshausen, German bobsledder and Olympic champion (b. 1951)
• April 17 – Radu Lupu, Romanian pianist (b. 1945)
• April 18 – Sir Harrison Birtwistle, English composer (b. 1934)
• April 19 – Kane Tanaka, Japanese supercentenarian (b. 1903)
• April 21
  • Mwai Kibaki, 3rd President of Kenya (b. 1931)
  • Jacques Perrin, French actor and filmmaker (b. 1941)
• April 22 – Guy Lafleur, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1951)
• April 26 – Klaus Schulze, German composer and musician (b. 1947)
• April 27 – İsmail Ogan, Turkish freestyle wrestler and Olympic champion (b. 1933)
• April 30 – Mino Raiola, Italian football agent (b. 1967)

May

Main article: Deaths in May 2022

Leonid Kravchuk

Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Vangelis

• May 1 – Ivica Osim, Bosnian footballer and manager (b. 1941)
• May 3
  • Tony Brooks, English Formula One driver (b. 1932)
  • Stanislav Shushkevich, 1st Chairman of the Supreme Council of Belarus (b. 1934)
• May 7 – Yuri Averbakh, Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster and author (b. 1922)
• May 8 – Maria Gusakova, Russian cross-country skier and Olympic champion (b. 1931)
• May 10 – Leonid Kravchuk, 1st President of Ukraine (b. 1934)
• May 13
  • Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, 2nd President of the United Arab Emirates (b. 1948)
  • Teresa Berganza, Spanish mezzo-soprano (b. 1933)
  • Ben Roy Mottelson, American-born Danish Nobel nuclear physicist (b. 1926)
  • Yang Hyong-sop, 4th Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly (b. 1925)
• May 14 – Andrew Symonds, Australian cricketer (b. 1975)
• May 17 – Vangelis, Greek composer and musician (b. 1943)
• May 26
  • Ciriaco De Mita, 47th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1928)
  • Andy Fletcher, English keyboardist (b. 1961)
  • Ray Liotta, American actor and producer (b. 1954)
  • Alan White, English drummer and songwriter (b. 1949)
• May 27 – Angelo Sodano, 54th Secretary of State of the Holy See (b. 1927)
• May 28
  • Evaristo Carvalho, 5th Prime Minister and 4th President of São Tomé and Príncipe (b. 1941)
  • Bujar Nishani, 7th President of Albania (b. 1966)
• May 30 – Boris Pahor, Slovenian writer (b. 1913)

June

Main article: Deaths in June 2022

Valery Ryumin

Jean-Louis Trintignant

• June 6 – Valery Ryumin, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1939)
• June 7
  • Isaac Berger, American weightlifter and Olympic champion (b. 1936)
  • Marco Luzzago, Lieutenant of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (b. 1950)
• June 8
  • Romeo Morri, Captain Regent of San Marino (b. 1952)
  • Dame Paula Rego, Portuguese-born English visual artist (b. 1935)
• June 14 – A. B. Yehoshua, Israeli novelist, essayist and playwright (b. 1936)
• June 16 – Steinar Amundsen, Norwegian sprint canoeist and Olympic champion (b. 1945).
• June 17 – Jean-Louis Trintignant, French actor, filmmaker and racing driver (b. 1930)
• June 21 – Dragan Tomić, Acting President of Serbia (b. 1935)
• June 22
  • Jonny Nilsson, Swedish speed skater and Olympic champion (b. 1943)
  • Jüri Tarmak, Estonian high jumper and Olympic champion (b. 1946)
• June 23 – Stien Kaiser, Dutch speed skater and Olympic champion (b. 1938)
• June 27 – Leonardo Del Vecchio, Italian businessman (b. 1935)

July

Main article: Deaths in July 2022

Robert Curl

Shinzo Abe

José Eduardo dos Santos

• July 1 – Richard Taruskin, American musicologist (b. 1945)
• July 2 – Peter Brook, English theatre and film director (b. 1925)
• July 3 – Robert Curl, American Nobel chemist (b. 1933)
• July 5
  • Arne Åhman, Swedish triple jumper and Olympic champion (b. 1925)
  • Mohammed Barkindo, 28th Secretary General of OPEC (b. 1959)
• July 6 – James Caan, American actor (b. 1940)
• July 7 – Jacob Nena, 4th President of Micronesia (b. 1941)
• July 8
  • Shinzo Abe, 57th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1954)
  • José Eduardo dos Santos, 2nd President of Angola (b. 1942)
  • Luis Echeverría, 57th President of Mexico (b. 1922)
• July 14 – Francisco Morales-Bermúdez, 112th Prime Minister and 51st President of Peru (b. 1921)
• July 18 – Claes Oldenburg, Swedish-born American sculptor (b. 1929)
• July 21 – Uwe Seeler, German footballer (b. 1936)
• July 25 – David Trimble, Northern Irish politician and Nobel Peace laureate (b. 1944)
• July 26 – James Lovelock, English scientist, environmentalist and futurist (b. 1919)
• July 27 – Yelizaveta Dementyeva, Soviet sprint canoeist and Olympic champion (b. 1928)
• July 29 – Juris Hartmanis, Latvian-born American computer scientist (b. 1928)
• July 31
  • Fidel V. Ramos, 12th President of the Philippines (b. 1928)
  • Ayman al-Zawahiri, 2nd General Emir of al-Qaeda (b. 1951)

August

Main article: Deaths in August 2022

Dame Olivia Newton-John

Mikhail Gorbachev

• August 3 – Raymond Damadian, American physician and inventor (b. 1936)
• August 5
  • Issey Miyake, Japanese fashion designer (b. 1938)
  • Judith Durham, Australian singer (b. 1943)
• August 7
  • Anatoly Filipchenko, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1928)
  • Ezekiel Alebua, 3rd Prime Minister of Solomon Islands (b. 1947)
• August 8 – Dame Olivia Newton-John, Australian singer and actress (b. 1948)
• August 9 – Raymond Briggs, English author and cartoonist (b. 1934)
• August 10 – Yi-Fu Tuan, Chinese-American geographer (b. 1930)
• August 11
  • Hanae Mori, Japanese fashion designer (b. 1926)
  • Jean-Jacques Sempé, French cartoonist (b. 1932)
• August 12 – Wolfgang Petersen, German film director and producer (b. 1941)
• August 24 – Kazuo Inamori, Japanese businessman, philanthropist, and entrepreneur (b. 1932)
• August 30
  • Gheorghe Berceanu, Romanian wrestler and Olympic champion (b. 1949)
  • Mikhail Gorbachev, 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union and Nobel Peace Prize recipient (b. 1931)

September

Main article: Deaths in September 2022

Frank Drake

Elizabeth II

Jean-Luc Godard

• September 2 – Frank Drake, American astronomer and astrophysicist (b. 1930)
• September 4 – Boris Lagutin, Soviet and Russian boxer and Olympic champion (b. 1938)
• September 7 – Valeri Polyakov, Soviet and Russian cosmonaut (b. 1942)
• September 8 – Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms (b. 1926)
• September 10 – William Klein, American-born French photographer, film director and screenwriter (b. 1926)
• September 11 – Javier Marías, Spanish novelist (b. 1951)
• September 13 – Jean-Luc Godard, French-Swiss film director (b. 1930)
• September 14 – Irene Papas, Greek actress and singer (b. 1929)
• September 15 – Saul Kripke, American philosopher and logician (b. 1940)
• September 18
  • Mustafa Dağıstanlı, Turkish wrestler and Olympic champion (b. 1931)
  • Nick Holonyak, American engineer and educator (b. 1928)
• September 22 – Dame Hilary Mantel, English author (b. 1952)
• September 23 – Louise Fletcher, American actress (b. 1934)
• September 24 – Hudson Austin, 4th head of government of Grenada (b. 1938)
• September 25 – Rafael Chimishkyan, Georgian weightlifter and Olympic champion (b. 1929)
• September 26 – Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Egyptian Islamic scholar (b. 1926)
• September 28 – Coolio, American rapper and actor (b. 1963)
• September 30 – Yury Zaitsev, Soviet and Russian weightlifter and Olympic champion (b. 1951)

October

Main article: Deaths in October 2022

Dame Angela Lansbury

Jerry Lee Lewis

• October 1 – Antonio Inoki, Japanese professional wrestler and promoter (b. 1943)
• October 4 – Loretta Lynn, American country singer and songwriter (b. 1932)
• October 6 – Phil Read, English motorcycle racer (b. 1939)
• October 7 – Bill Nieder, American shot putter and Olympic champion (b. 1933)
• October 9 – Bruno Latour, French philosopher and sociologist (b. 1947)
• October 11 – Dame Angela Lansbury, Irish-British American actress and singer (b. 1925)
• October 13 – James McDivitt, American astronaut (b. 1929)
• October 14 – Robbie Coltrane, Scottish actor and comedian (b. 1950)
• October 15 – Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, 3rd Caliph of the Islamic State
• October 17 – Younoussi Touré, 4th Prime Minister of Mali (b. 1941)
• October 18 – Ole Ellefsæter, Norwegian cross-country skier and Olympic champion (b. 1939)
• October 22
  • Leszek Engelking, Polish writer and translator (b. 1955)
  • Dietrich Mateschitz, Austrian businessman (b. 1944)
• October 26 – Pierre Soulages, French painter, printmaker and sculptor (b. 1919)
• October 28 – Jerry Lee Lewis, American musician (b. 1935)

November

Main article: Deaths in November 2022

Jiang Zemin

Christine McVie

• November 4 – Balakh Sher Mazari, Caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan (b. 1928)
• November 5 – Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, 9th Prime Minister of Malta (b. 1933)
• November 6 – Edward C. Prescott, American Nobel economist (b. 1940)
• November 8 – Lee Bontecou, American sculptor (b. 1931)
• November 17
  • Fred Brooks, American computer scientist and writer (b. 1931)
  • Aleksandr Gorshkov, Russian figure skater and Olympic champion (b. 1946)
• November 18 – Ned Rorem, American composer (b. 1923)
• November 23 – David Johnson, English footballer (b. 1951)
• November 24 – Hans Magnus Enzensberger, German author and poet (b. 1929)
• November 25 – Irene Cara, American singer and actress (b. 1959)
• November 30
  • Sir Murray Halberg, New Zealand runner and Olympic champion (b. 1933)
  • Jiang Zemin, 9th General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and 5th President of China (b. 1926)
  • Christine McVie, British musician and songwriter (b. 1943)

December

Main article: Deaths in December 2022

Pelé

Edgar Savisaar

Pope Benedict XVI

• December 1 – Ercole Baldini, Italian cyclist and Olympic champion (b. 1933)
• December 6 – Adolfas Šleževičius, 6th Prime Minister of Lithuania (b. 1948)
• December 8 – Miodrag Ješić, Serbian football manager and player (b. 1958)
• December 9 – Joseph Kittinger, United States Air Force officer (b. 1928)
• December 11 – Angelo Badalamenti, American composer (b. 1937)
• December 12 – Mirosław Hermaszewski, Polish cosmonaut (b. 1941)
• December 16
  • Siniša Mihajlović, Serbian footballer and manager (b. 1969)
  • Jose Maria Sison, Filipino writer and activist (b. 1939)
• December 20 – Subroto, 16th and 19th Secretary General of OPEC (b. 1923)
• December 22 – Anton Tkáč, Slovak cyclist and Olympic champion (b. 1951)
• December 23
  • George Cohen, English footballer (b. 1939)
  • Maxi Jazz, English musician (b. 1957)
• December 24 – Franco Frattini, Italian politician and magistrate (b. 1957)
• December 28 – Sribhashyam Vijayasarathi, Indian writer, Sanskrit grammarian, and literary critic. (b. 1936)
• December 29
  • Ruggero Deodato, Italian film director (b. 1939)
  • Arata Isozaki, Japanese architect (b. 1931)
  • Maximilian, Margrave of Baden (b. 1933)
  • Pelé, Brazilian footballer (b. 1940)
  • Edgar Savisaar, 1st Prime Minister of the Interim Government of Estonia (b. 1950)
  • János Varga, Hungarian wrestler and Olympic champion (b. 1939)
  • Dame Vivienne Westwood, British fashion designer (b. 1941)
• December 30
  • Janez Zemljarič, 9th Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia (b. 1928)
  • Barbara Walters, American journalist (b. 1929)
• December 31 – Pope Benedict XVI (b. 1927)

Nobel Prizes

Nobel medal

Category	Recipient	Country	Rationale	Source
Chemistry	Carolyn Bertozzi	United States	for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry
	Morten P. Meldal	Denmark
	Karl Barry Sharpless	United States
Economics	Ben Bernanke	United States	for research on banks and financial crises
	Douglas Diamond	United States
	Philip H. Dybvig	United States
Literature	Annie Ernaux	France	for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory
Peace	Ales Bialiatski	Belarus	for their efforts in documenting war crimes, human rights abuses, and the abuse of power in their respective home countries.
	Memorial	Russia
	Center for Civil Liberties	Ukraine
Physics	Alain Aspect	France	for experiments with entangled photons, establishing the violation of Bell inequalities and pioneering quantum information science.
	John Clauser	United States
	Anton Zeilinger	Austria
Physiology or Medicine	Svante Pääbo	Sweden	for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution