List of Famous people who died at 72

Abd al-Sattar Tawfiq Qasim al-Khader is a Palestinian writer, thinker, political analyst, and academic. He was born in the town of Deir Al-Ghusoun in Tulkarm Governorate and died in Nablus. He is a professor of political science and Palestinian studies at An-Najah National University in Nablus. He is known for his positions rejecting the settlement with Israel and critical of the Palestinian Self-Government Authority.

Pierre Péladeau, was a French-Canadian businessman. He was the founder of Quebecor Inc., a Canadian media and telecommunications conglomerate in Quebec.

Hamani Diori was the first President of the Republic of Niger. He was appointed to that office in 1960, when Niger gained independence. Although corruption was a common feature of his administration, he gained international respect for his role as a spokesman for African affairs and as a popular arbitrator in conflicts. His rule ended with a coup in 1974.

Nicolae Dabija was a writer, literary historian and politician from the Republic of Moldova, honorary member of the Romanian Academy and correspondent member of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova (2012).

Athanasios "Thanos" Mikroutsikos was a Greek composer and politician. He is considered one of the most important composers of the recent Greek musical scene.

Arthur Dietzsch was a German KZ trustee (Funktionshäftling) and Kapo as well as an inmate nurse (KZ-Häftlingspfleger) in Block 46 of KZ Buchenwald.

Csaba Fenyvesi was a Hungarian fencer and Olympic champion in épée competition.

Riay Tatary Bakry (1948–2020) was a Syrian religious leader, chairman of the Union of Islamic Communities of Spain. He was imam of the Central Mosque in Madrid, Spain, as well as president of the Islamic Commission of Spain.

Valerian Trifa was a Romanian Orthodox cleric and former Nazi, who served as archbishop of the Romanian Orthodox Church in America and Canada. For part of his life, he was a naturalized citizen of the United States, until he was stripped of his American citizenship for lying about his involvement in the murder of hundreds of Jews during the Holocaust and World War 2.

Joanna Lee was an American writer, producer, director and actress.