List of Famous people who died in 2008

Franz Künstler was, at age 107, the last known surviving veteran of the First World War who fought for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Following the death of 110-year-old Ottoman veteran Yakup Satar on 2 April 2008, he was also the last Central Powers veteran of any nationality. He was born in Sósd, in the Kingdom of Hungary, now Măureni, Romania.

Elizabeth Gilels was a Soviet violinist and a professor.

Imad Fayez Mughniyeh, alias al-Hajj Radwan, was the founding member of Lebanon's Islamic Jihad Organization and number two in Hezbollah's leadership. Information about Mughniyeh is limited, but he is believed to have been Hezbollah's Chief of Staff and understood to have overseen Hezbollah's military, intelligence, and security apparatuses. He was one of the main founders of Hezbollah in the 1980s. He has been described as "a brilliant military tactician and very elusive".

Alexander Bichkov (1953—2008),known as Russia's Rambo, was a man who lived alone in a Russian forest for nearly 20 years. Bichkov was known for stealing from and "terrorizing" locals, and burning down nearby houses. Upon his death a search of his home revealed a large amount of weaponry and other survival supplies. He was shot to death by police on 14 March 2008, following a manhunt in which two law enforcement agents were injured.

Imam Samudra, also known as Abdul Aziz, Qudama/Kudama, Fatih/Fat, Abu Umar or Heri, was an Indonesian who was convicted and executed for his role in carrying out the 2002 Bali bombings, an act of terrorism. Samudra, together with Huda bin Abdul Haq and Amrozi bin Nurhasyim were executed together for their part in coordinating and carrying out the Bali bombings.

Wera Frydtberg (1926–2008) was a German film and television actress. She appeared in I Often Think of Piroschka (1955) Her best known film Wir Wunderkinder won the Golden Globe for the most successful International Picture in 1960 and the Golden Medal at the Moscow International Film Festival.

Boris Grigoryevich Fyodorov was a Russian economist, politician, and reformer. He was awarded a doctor of economics degree from the Moscow Finance Institute and authored over 200 publications. Fyodorov was Minister of Finance of the Russian SFSR in 1990. From 1991 to 1992 he worked for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London. In 1992 he became director of the World Bank. He served as Finance Minister of Russia from 1993 until 1994, when he resigned. Fyodorov was a member of the State Duma between 1994 and 1998. In 1998 he became a tax minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Russia.

Vitaly Vasilyevich Fedorchuk was a Ukrainian Soviet security and intelligence officer and politician.

David Paul Scofield was an English actor. Regarded as one of the greatest Shakespearean performers, Scofield earned the Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Award, Emmy, and Tony for his work. He won the three awards in a seven-year span, the fastest of any performer to accomplish the feat.

Vincent Ford, known as "Tata" or "Tartar", was a Jamaican songwriter best known for receiving writing credit for "No Woman, No Cry", the reggae song made famous by Bob Marley & The Wailers, as well as three other Bob Marley songs. However, controversy persisted as to whether the compositions had actually been written by Marley himself, and had been credited to Ford to allow Marley to avoid contractual obligations, resulting in a legal battle that ended with the Marley estate being granted control of the songs.