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 1 
Niccolò Machiavelli
(Diplomat & Philosopher Best Known for His Political Treatise 'The Prince')
Niccolò Machiavelli
5
Birthdate: May 3, 1469
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Florence, Italy
Died: June 22, 1527
Italian Renaissance philosopher, diplomat, and author Niccolò Machiavelli is remembered for his work The Prince. He believed that the end or the intention behind any action justifies the action. He gave rise to the term Machiavellianism, which signifies the use of deceit and treachery to achieve one’s goals. 
 2 
Eleanor Roosevelt
(Longest-Serving First Lady of The United States)
Eleanor Roosevelt
6
Birthdate: October 11, 1884
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States
Died: November 7, 1962

Feminist and civil rights icon Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was the longest-serving U.S First Lady. She was a prominent human rights activist, wrote columns, and hosted a radio show. She was named to Gallup's List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century in 1999.

 3 
Shirley Temple
(Actress, 27th United States Ambassador to Czechoslovakia)
Shirley Temple
9
Birthdate: April 23, 1928
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Santa Monica, California, United States
Died: February 10, 2014

After starting her film career at the age of three, Shirley Temple went on to become Hollywood's highest-grossing child actress from 1935 to 1938. She is the epitome of popular child stars who lose their charm as they grow up. Despite failing as an adult actress, she is ranked 18th in the greatest female screen legends of Classic Hollywood list.

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 4 
Henry Kissinger
(56th United States Secretary of State (1973-77))
Henry Kissinger
7
Birthdate: May 27, 1923
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Fürth, Germany
Died: November 29, 2023

Henry Kissinger's heart-warming story of a Jewish who fled Nazi Germany in 1938 to become an influential politician in the USA is truly inspirational. As a National Security Advisor and US Secretary of State, Kissinger played a key role in the US foreign policy from 1969 to 1977. 

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 5 
Madeleine Albright
(64th United States Secretary of State (1997 - 2001))
Madeleine Albright
5
Birthdate: May 15, 1937
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Smíchov, Prague, Czechia
Died: March 23, 2022
Madeleine Albright served as the U.S. Secretary of State from 1997 to 2001, under Bill Clinton, and was the first woman to hold the post. The Presidential Medal of Freedom awardee also chaired the Albright Stonebridge Group and taught at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.
 6 
Kofi Annan
(Former UN Secretary General)
Kofi Annan
4
Birthdate: April 8, 1938
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Kumasi, Ghana
Died: August 18, 2018

Ghanaian diplomat Kofi Annan served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. He was the founder and chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation and a co-recipient of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. During his stint with the UN, he launched the UN Global Compact and worked to combat HIV/AIDS. 

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 7 
Robert Todd Lincoln
(35th United States Secretary of War & Son of Abraham Lincoln)
Robert Todd Lincoln
5
Birthdate: August 1, 1843
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Springfield, Illinois, United States
Died: July 25, 1926

Lawyer Robert Todd Lincoln, son of Abraham Lincoln, served as the U.S. Secretary of War from 1881 to 1885 and as the U.S. minister to the U.K. from 1889 to 1893. He had served in the Civil War, too, and had also been the president of the Pullman Car Company

 8 
António Guterres
(9th Secretary-General of the United Nations)
António Guterres
4
Birthdate: April 30, 1949
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Lisbon

António Guterres is a Portuguese diplomat and politician who served as Portugal's prime minister from 1995 to 2002. A favorite among the masses, Guterres was ranked the best prime minister of Portugal over the last 30 years in polls conducted in 2012 and 2014. In 2009, he was named in Forbes magazine's list of world's most powerful people

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 9 
Zbigniew Brzezinski
(9th United States National Security Advisor)
Zbigniew Brzezinski
4
Birthdate: March 28, 1928
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Warsaw, Poland
Died: May 26, 2017
Polish-American diplomat Zbigniew Brzezinski had been a counselor to President Lyndon B. Johnson and the National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter. He believed in the realist school of international relations. He also taught foreign policy and was seen in programs such as The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.
 10 
John Jay
(1st Chief Justice of the United States (1789 - 1795))
John Jay
4
Birthdate: December 12, 1745
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
Died: May 17, 1829

One of the Founding Fathers of the United States who signed the famous Paris Treaty, John Jay was best known as the first Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, although he occupied various other important public positions. He was a diplomat, who shaped his country’s foreign policy. He passed legislation to gradually abolish slavery, but he himself owned five enslaved people.

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 11 
Dag Hammarskjöld
(Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1953 to 1961)
Dag Hammarskjöld
4
Birthdate: July 29, 1905
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Jönköping, Sweden
Died: September 18, 1961

Dag Hammarskjöld was a Swedish diplomat and economist. In 1953, Hammarskjöld became the youngest person to be appointed as the Secretary-General of the United Nations. He died in airplane crash in 1961. Dag Hammarskjöld became the first person to be honored with a Nobel Peace Prize posthumously.

 12 
Chiune Sugihara
(Diplomat)
Chiune Sugihara
4
Birthdate: January 1, 1900
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Kozuchi Town (now Mino, Gifu Prefecture), Japan
Died: July 31, 1986

Chiune Sugihara was a Japanese diplomat best remembered for helping thousands of Jews flee Europe during the Second World War. He did so by issuing transit visas to the Jews, enabling them to travel through Japanese territory. Sugihara helped the Jews despite knowing that he was risking the lives of his family and his job. 

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 13 
Kurt Waldheim
(Fourth Secretary-General of the United Nations )
Kurt Waldheim
4
Birthdate: December 21, 1918
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Sankt Andrä-Wördern, Austria
Died: June 14, 2007

While he claimed he studied at the University of Vienna during World War II, documents recovered later suggested that Kurt Waldheim was in fact part of the German army in the Balkans. Waldheim later became the president of Austria and the secretary-general of the United Nations.

 14 
Nikki Haley
(The First Female Governor of South Carolina)
Nikki Haley
4
Birthdate: January 20, 1972
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Bamberg, South Carolina, United States

Born to Indian immigrant parents, Nikki Haley went on to become the first Indian-American to hold an office in South Carolina and later became its governor—the first woman and second Indian American to be appointed governor in the US. A published author, she has also served as the US ambassador to the United Nations.

 15 
Sidney Poitier
(Director and the First African-American to Win an Academy Award for Best Actor)
Sidney Poitier
4
Birthdate: February 20, 1927
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Miami, Florida, United States
Died: January 6, 2022

Sidney Poitier was a Bahamian-American actor who became the first Afro-Bahamian and Black male actor to receive an Oscar for Best Actor in 1964. In 2009, he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His life and work inspired a couple of documentary films, including the 2008 film Sidney Poitier, an Outsider in Hollywood.

 16 
Colin Powell
(The First African-American Secretary of State)
Colin Powell
4
Birthdate: April 5, 1937
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Harlem, New York, United States
Died: October 18, 2021

A veteran politician who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State, Colin Powell was the first African-American Secretary of State. A member of the Republican Party, he was an army man prior to entering politics. He was a  four-star general at the time of his retirement. After leaving politics, he pursued a career as a public speaker.

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 17 
James Madison
(4th President of The United States)
James Madison
5
Birthdate: March 16, 1751
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Port Conway, Virginia, United States
Died: June 28, 1836

James Madison played an important role in drafting the US Constitution and the US Bill of Rights and is hailed as the Father of the Constitution. He also co-wrote The Federalist Papers, considered to be a seminal work of political science. As president, he led the country into the 1812 war and historians place him as an above-average president.

 18 
Condoleezza Rice
(66th United States Secretary of State (2005-09))
Condoleezza Rice
4
Birthdate: November 14, 1954
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Birmingham, Alabama, United States

The 66th United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made history in 2005 when she became the first female black Secretary of State. She is also the first female to serve as National Security Advisor, a position which she served from 2001 to 2005. One of the most powerful women in the world at one point of time, she has been depicted in Hollywood films.

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 19 
U Thant
(3rd Secretary General of the United Nations (1961 - 1971))
U Thant
4
Birthdate: January 22, 1909
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Pantanaw, Burma
Died: November 25, 1974

Burmese diplomat U Thant made history by becoming the first non-Scandinavian to be named the UN secretary-general. Later in life, he tried applying Buddhist principles such as detachment to solve major international conflicts. Following his death in New York, his burial in Burma became a source of riots.

 20 
Gary Hart
(Politician)
Gary Hart
4
Birthdate: November 28, 1936
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Ottawa, Kansas, United States
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 21 
J. Christopher Stevens
(10th United States Ambassador to Libya)
J. Christopher Stevens
4
Birthdate: April 18, 1960
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Grass Valley, California, United States
Died: September 11, 2012
 22 
Gertrude Bell
(Writer, Diplomat)
Gertrude Bell
5
Birthdate: July 14, 1868
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Washington, United Kingdom
Died: July 12, 1926

Born into a wealthy English family, Gertrude Bell was an explorer at heart and went down in history for her journeys across the Middle East and for helping establish the Hāshimite dynasty in Iraq. Though she graduated in history from Oxford, being a woman, she wasn’t awarded a degree.

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 23 
Rory Stewart
(British Politician Who Served as Minister in Theresa May's Cabinet)
Rory Stewart
4
Birthdate: January 3, 1973
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: British Hong Kong

The son of a soldier and intelligence officer, Rory Stewart was educated at Eton and Oxford and was also a tutor to princes William and Harry. Apart from being a diplomat and MP later, he also traveled across several countries on foot and wrote about this remarkable journey in a bestselling book.

 24 
Adlai Stevenson II
(5th United States Ambassador to the United Nations)
Adlai Stevenson II
4
Birthdate: February 5, 1900
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States
Died: July 14, 1965
Adlai Stevenson II served as the Illinois governor from 1949 to 1953. He contested as the Democratic presidential nominee in 1952 and 1956 but was defeated by Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower both the times. Stevenson II also served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 1961 to 1965.
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 25 
Zheng He
(Chinese Explorer, Admiral and Diplomat)
Zheng He
5
Birthdate: September 23, 1371
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Yunnan
Died: 1433 AD
Chinese explorer Zheng He was also Chinese Ming dynasty eunuch. He was born Ma He, a Muslim, and was named Zheng by the Yongle Emperor, whom he helped to depose the Jianwen Emperor. He became the commander of Nanjing and led expeditions to places such as Southeast Asia and India.
 26 
Washington Irving
(Author, Historian, Diplomat)
Washington Irving
4
Birthdate: April 3, 1783
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: New York City, New York
Died: November 28, 1859

Widely known as the first American man of letters, Washington Irving penned the legendary tales of Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, which are also called the first short stories by an American author. He had also had a brief stint as a lawyer.

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 27 
Sargent Shriver
(American Politician and United States Ambassador to France (1968–1970))
Sargent Shriver
4
Birthdate: November 9, 1915
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Westminster, Maryland, United States
Died: January 18, 2011
Sargent Shriver was part of the Kennedy family, as the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of President John F. Kennedy. He was part of the U.S. Navy and also worked as an assistant editor at Newsweek. He developed many anti-poverty programs and was the Democratic vice-presidential nominee in 1972.
 28 
Boutros Boutros-Ghali
(Egyptian Statesman and Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1992 to 1996)
Boutros Boutros-Ghali
4
Birthdate: November 14, 1922
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Cairo, Egypt
Died: February 16, 2016

Grandson of former Egyptian prime minister Boutros Ghali Bey, politician Boutros Boutros-Ghali is remembered for his tenure as the secretary-general of the UN, which witnessed peacekeeping activities in war-torn areas such as Bosnia and Herzegovina. His illustrious career boasted of various prestigious academic positions and a Fulbright scholarship.

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 29 
Warren Christopher
(Lawyer)
Warren Christopher
4
Birthdate: October 27, 1925
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Scranton, North Dakota, United States
Died: March 18, 2011
 30 
John Gavin
(Actor)
John Gavin
4
Birthdate: April 8, 1931
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States
Died: February 9, 2018
Height: 6'4" (193 cm)
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 31 
Alexander Haig
(United States Secretary of State (1981-82))
Alexander Haig
4
Birthdate: December 2, 1924
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: February 20, 2010
 32 
Raoul Wallenberg
(Humanitarian)
Raoul Wallenberg
4
Birthdate: August 4, 1912
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Lidingö, Sweden
Died: January 17, 1945

Swedish architect Raoul Wallenberg went down in history as a savior for Jews during the Nazi regime. He not only issued provisional Swedish passports, or Schutzpass, to protect Jews, but also set up safe houses for them. He disappeared amid mysterious circumstances. Many believe he died in a Soviet prison.

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 33 
Klemens von Metternich
(Chancellor of the Austrian Empire from 1821 to 1848)
Klemens von Metternich
4
Birthdate: May 15, 1773
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Koblenz, Germany
Died: June 11, 1859
After being appointed the Austrian ambassador to France, Klemens von Metternich met Napoleon many times and apparently had a brief affair with Napoleon’s sister, Caroline, too. He duped Napoleon into thinking he supported France against Russia, and secretly made an alliance with Russia, Prussia, and Britain, to eventually overthrow Napoleon.
 34 
Folke Bernadotte
(Swedish Diplomat Who Negotiated the Release of 31000 Prisoners from German Concentration Camps in World War II)
Folke Bernadotte
3
Birthdate: January 2, 1895
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Stockholm, Sweden
Died: September 17, 1948

Folke Bernadotte was a Swedish diplomat and nobleman. He is best remembered for negotiating the release of over 30,000 prisoners from German concentration camps during World War II. Folke Bernadotte was assassinated at the age of 53 by a Zionist paramilitary organization called Lehi.

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 35 
George F. Kennan
4
Birthdate: February 16, 1904
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Died: March 17, 2005
 36 
Lawrence Durrell
4
Birthdate: February 27, 1912
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Jalandhar
Died: November 7, 1990
Lawrence Durrell, eldest brother of naturalist and author Gerald Durrell, was a poet and writer whose best-known work is The Alexandria Quartet, the tetralogy of novels, including the famous book Justine. Constance from The Avignon Quintet earned a Booker Prize nomination. He is also known for his extensive travel writing.
 37 
Sergey Lavrov
(Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia)
Sergey Lavrov
7
Birthdate: March 21, 1950
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia

Sergey Lavrov is a Russian diplomat and politician. Since 2004, he has been serving as the foreign minister of Russia. An alumnus of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), he began his diplomatic career in 1972. Considered a brilliant diplomat, he was later appointed to the post of minister of foreign affairs. He is multi-lingual. 

 38 
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
(Nigerian-American Economist Who Has Served in Several Ministerial Positions in Nigeria)
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
4
Birthdate: June 13, 1954
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Ogwashi Ukwu, Nigeria
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a Nigerian-American economist and political figure. She served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2006 before serving as the Coordinating Minister for the Economy of Nigeria from 17 August 2011 to 29 May 2015. Ngozi also served as the Minister of Finance on two separate occasions; from 2003 to 2006 and again from 2011 to 2015.
 39 
John Eisenhower
(Diplomat, Military historian, Author, Writer, Biographer)
John Eisenhower
4
Birthdate: August 3, 1922
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Denver
Died: December 21, 2013

U.S. Army officer John Eisenhower was the son of military-general-turned-president Dwight D. Eisenhower. He had donned many hats, from teaching English to serving on his father's White House staff. He also assisted his father in writing his memoirs and had been the American ambassador to Belgium, too.

 40 
Caroline Kennedy
0
Birthdate: November 27, 1957
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Cornell Medical Center Hospital, New York City, New York, U.S.

Caroline Kennedy is an American author, diplomat, and attorney. The only surviving child of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, Caroline served as the US Ambassador to Japan between 2013 and 2017. A prolific author who writes about civil liberties, Caroline Kennedy has also served as a spokesperson for the Kennedy family's legacy.

 41 
Richard Francis Burton
4
Birthdate: March 19, 1821
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Torquay
Died: October 20, 1890

Richard Francis Burton was a British explorer, soldier, and scholar. He is best remembered for his explorations in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Along with John Hanning Speke, Burton was the first European to witness the Great Lakes of Africa. A prolific writer, Burton wrote several scholarly articles about numerous subjects like sexual practices, falconry, human behavior, travel, and ethnography.

 42 
Dan Coats
(Politician, Diplomat)
Dan Coats
4
Birthdate: May 16, 1943
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Jackson, Michigan, United States
 43 
Bill Richardson
(Politician)
Bill Richardson
4
Birthdate: November 15, 1947
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Pasadena, California Pasadena, California, United States
Height: 6'2" (188 cm)
 44 
Pamela Harriman
(58th United States Ambassador to France)
Pamela Harriman
4
Birthdate: March 20, 1920
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Farnborough, Hampshire, England
Died: February 5, 1997

Apart from serving as the US ambassador to France and as a Democratic political activist, Pamela Harriman had also been in the news for her three marriages, all to high-profile men, namely, Randolph Churchill, Leland Hayward, and W. Averell Harriman. She also had countless affairs with rich and influential men.

 45 
Sérgio Vieira de Mello
(Brazilian Diplomat)
Sérgio Vieira de Mello
4
Birthdate: March 15, 1948
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Died: August 19, 2003
 46 
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
(Politician)
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
4
Birthdate: February 2, 1754
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: May 17, 1838

French diplomat and bishop Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord is counted among the most pragmatic and prominent diplomats in European history. He served King Louis XVI and thereafter changed sides several times, serving at highest levels of successive French governments of Napoleon I, Louis XVIII and Louis Philippe I. He served as the first Prime Minister of France under Louis XVIII.

 47 
Roger Casement
(British Diplomat Known as ‘Father of Twentieth-Century Human Rights Investigations')
Roger Casement
4
Birthdate: September 1, 1864
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Sandycove, Ireland
Died: August 3, 1916

Roger Casement was an Irish nationalist and diplomat. Also a well-known humanitarian activist, Casement is remembered for the Casement Report, a 1904 document in which he wrote about the abuses in the Congo Free State. His investigations of human rights abuses earned him a knighthood in 1911. However, Casement was stripped of his knighthood after being charged with high treason.

 48 
Jon Huntsman Jr.
(Politician)
Jon Huntsman Jr.
4
Birthdate: March 26, 1960
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Redwood City, California, U.S.
 49 
Francis Walsingham
(Principal Secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England and Popularly Remembered as Her 'Spymaster')
Francis Walsingham
4
Birthdate: 1532 AD
Birthplace: Chislehurst, Kent, England
Died: April 6, 1590

Remembered as the principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I, Francis Walsingham had initially followed in his father’s footsteps to study law. He fled after Mary Tudor came to power and returned when Elizabeth took over the throne. He later employed spies to counter Catholic conspiracies such as the Throckmorton Plot.

 50 
Shashi Tharoor
(Writer, Politician, Diplomat)
Shashi Tharoor
6
Birthdate: March 9, 1956
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: London

Born in London, to an Indian couple, Shashi Tharoor is known for his award-winning books such as the The Great Indian Novel and his over-the-top English vocabulary. Tharoor is also a Congress MP. He made headlines when his wife Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in a luxury hotel.