List of Famous people who died in 2016

Donald Ross Getty, was a Canadian politician who served as the 11th Premier of Alberta between 1985 and 1992. A member of the Progressive Conservatives, he served as Energy Minister and Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister in the government of Peter Lougheed before leaving politics for the private sector in 1979. He returned to politics six years later to contest the leadership contest resulting from Lougheed's retirement. He defeated two other candidates, and became Premier November 1, 1985.

Kurt Pätzold was a German Marxist historian.

William Randall Henderson was an American jazz singer and actor in television and film.

Huguette Dreyfus was a French harpsichordist.

Nabile Farès was an Algerian-born French novelist. He was born in Collo, a part of Skikda Province, Algeria.

Mário Moniz Pereira was a teacher, sportsman, athlete, coach and songwriter. He practiced handball, basketball, football, roller hockey, table tennis, volleyball and athletics. He was also a songwriter and poet, author of fados sung by national fadistas like Valeu a Pena, Fado Varina, Rosa da Madragoa, Rosa da Noite, Não me Conformo, Leio em teus Olhos, among many others.

Jean-Baptiste Bagaza was a Burundian army officer and politician who ruled Burundi as president and de facto military dictator from November 1976 to September 1987.

Michel Vaxès was a French politician.

Phyllis Curtin was an American classical soprano who had an active career in operas and concerts from the early 1950s through the 1980s. She was known for her creation of new roles such as the title role in the Carlisle Floyd opera Susannah, Catherine Earnshaw in Floyd's Wuthering Heights, and in other works by this composer. She was a dedicated song recitalist and retired from singing in 1984. She was named Boston University's Dean Emerita, College of Fine Arts in 1991.

Yu Qiangsheng was a spy chief of the People's Republic of China who defected to the United States in 1985. The information he provided led to the arrest and suicide of the top Chinese spy Larry Wu-Tai Chin. He was a son of Communist revolutionaries Huang Jing and Fan Jin, and the elder brother of Yu Zhengsheng, the fourth highest-ranking leader of the Communist Party of China since November 2012.