List of Famous people who died at 85
Redha Malek
Redha Malek was Prime Minister of Algeria from 21 August 1993 to April 1994. During his short term of office, which came in the early years of the Algerian Civil War, he pursued a hardline anti-Islamist policy and successfully negotiated debt relief with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), following the implementation of an IMF reform plan.
Claus Ogerman
Claus Ogerman was a German arranger, conductor, and composer best known for his work with Billie Holiday, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Frank Sinatra, Michael Brecker, and Diana Krall.
Marc-André Bédard
Marc-André Bédard was a Canadian attorney and politician. Born in Lac-à-la-Croix, Quebec, Bédard served in the National Assembly of Quebec from 1973 to 1985 and was Minister of Justice and Deputy Premier. Bédard was the father of politician Stéphane Bédard.
Ayhan Aydan
Ayhan Aydan was a Turkish opera singer.
Philaret
Metropolitan Philaret was the emeritus Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk, the Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus and the leader of the Belarusian Orthodox Church that is an autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church. He resigned on 25 December 2013, and was succeeded by Metropolitan Pavel.
Chiang Pin-kung
Chiang Pin-kung was a Taiwanese politician. He led the Ministry of Economic Affairs from 1993 to 1996, when he was named Minister of the Council for Economic Planning and Development, where he served until 2000. Chiang was subsequently elected to consecutive terms on the Legislative Yuan from 2002 to 2008. During his first term as a legislator, Chiang was Vice President of the Legislative Yuan. He was Chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation from 2008 to 2012.
Palden Gyatso
Palden Gyatso was a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Arrested for protesting during the Chinese invasion of Tibet, he spent 33 years in Chinese prisons and labor camps, where he was extensively tortured, and served the longest term of any Tibetan political prisoner. After his release in 1992 he fled to Dharamsala in North India, in exile. He was still a practicing monk and became a political activist, traveling the world publicizing the cause of Tibet up until his death in 2018. His autobiography Fire Under the Snow is also known as The Autobiography of a Tibetan Monk. He was the subject of the 2008 documentary film Fire Under the Snow.
Hans Hartung
Hans Hartung was a German-French painter, known for his gestural abstract style. He was also a decorated World War II veteran of the French Foreign Legion.
Bira
Ubirajara Penacho dos Reis, better known as Bira, was a Brazilian musician and bassist. He was best known for being a member of the house band of the talk shows Jô Soares Onze e Meia, broadcast on SBT, and Programa do Jô, broadcast on Rede Globo, both presented by Jô Soares.
Leon Gast
Leon Jacques Gast was an American documentary film director, producer, cinematographer, and editor. His documentary, When We Were Kings depicts the iconic heavyweight boxing match: The Rumble in the Jungle between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. This film would go on to win the 1996 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and the Independent Spirit Award. Gast co-directed the 1977 documentary, The Grateful Dead Movie with guitarist Jerry Garcia. The film captured the band's October 1974, five-night performance at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. Gast also co-directed the 1983 film Hell's Angels Forever, which focused on the notorious motorcycle club Hells Angels. The Angels are believed to have learned that Gast put material in the documentary which they didn't prefer. To this end, Gast claimed that the Angels tracked him down and beat him up. Gast also produced works on B.B. King and Celia Cruz.