List of Famous people who died in 1997

Vladimir Aleksandrovich Andrunakievich was a Soviet and Moldovan mathematician, known for his work in abstract algebra. He was a doctor of physical and mathematical sciences (1958), academician (1961) and vice-president of the Moldavian Soviet Academy of Sciences. Laureate of the State Prize of the Moldavian SSR (1972).

Chobyo Yara was a Japanese politician. He served as the Chief Executive of the Government of the Ryukyu Islands (1968–1972) and Governor of Okinawa Prefecture (1972–1976). He graduated from Hiroshima University.

Georgy Stepanovich Shonin was a Soviet cosmonaut, who flew on the Soyuz 6 space mission.

Juan Landázuri Ricketts was one of the most prominent Roman Catholic Churchmen during the 1960s and 1970s in Latin America. This was a period in which the Church took a strong stance against human rights abuses by numerous military juntas; it also expressed a preference for the poor and concerns about extreme poverty and wealth inequality. Before he turned 80 on December 19, 1993, Juan Landázuri Ricketts was the last Cardinal elevated by Pope John XXIII to retain voting rights in a papal conclave.

Elena Altieri was an Italian film and stage actress. She appeared in 27 films between 1937 and 1955. She was born in Stresa, the daughter of an Italian father and an English mother. She was mainly cast, both on stage and in films, in roles of haughty and aristocratic women.

Boris Ivan Balinsky was a Ukrainian and South African biologist, embryologist, entomologist, professor of Kiev University and University of the Witwatersrand. Pioneer researcher in the field of experimental embryology, electron microscopy and developmental biology. He was author of popular textbook in embryology An Introduction to Embryology.