List of Famous people who died in 1997

Robert Soetens was a French violinist, remembered particularly for premiering the Violin Concerto No. 2 of Sergei Prokofiev in 1935.

Gong Deok-gwi was the wife of Yun Bo-seon, and thus was the second First Lady of South Korea from 1960 to 1962.

Margaret Penelope June Wallace was an English crime writer and the daughter of Edgar Wallace.

Veikko Emil Aleksander Vennamo was a Finnish politician. In 1959, he founded the Finnish Rural Party, which was succeeded by the True Finns in 1995. He had originally been the leader of a faction of the Agrarian League. When his opponent, Urho Kekkonen, was elected president of Finland, Vennamo broke off his Agrarian League affiliation. Vennamo was a member of Parliament in 1945–1962 and 1966–1987. He was also the director of the Agricultural ministry's Resettlement office in 1944–1959 and was responsible for the resettlement of the farmers evacuated from the ceded Karelia. Later he was a department director at the Board of Customs.

Paul Lavalle was an American conductor, composer, arranger and performer on clarinet and saxophone.

Louis Pauwels was a French journalist and writer.

Harald Torsten Leonard Nilsson was a Swedish Social Democratic politician. He served as Minister for Defence from 1951 to 1957, and as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1962 to 1971. Torsten Nilsson also served as Minister of Social Affairs and Minister of Communications.