Mehmet Ali Ağca

Turkish contract killer (born 1958)

  • Fame62.7
  • Momentum14.9
  • Turkey rank#227
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  • Fame62.7
  • Momentum14.9
  • Turkey rank#227
  • Wikipedia73.7K
Born 1958 · age 68Turkey

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  • Wikipedia
    55 languages
    Cross-language footprint
  • Rank in Turkey
    #227
    Historical Figures
  • Age
    68
    Born 1958
  • Known for
    12 September: On the B…
    1998
Summary
Updated 2026-06-09

Shot Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square in 1981. The attempt failed; the Pope survived, later visited him in prison, and eventually forgave him. The gunman served 19 years in Italy, then ten more in Turkey.

Biography

About

Mehmet Ali Ağca was born 9 January 1958 in Turkey and became a hitman for the Grey Wolves, a far-right organisation. On 1 February 1979 he murdered leftist journalist Abdi İpekçi, was imprisoned, then escaped. He travelled illegally to Vatican City on 13 May 1981 and that same day attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II in the square; the Pope survived, Ağca was captured. He served 19 years in Italian prison — where John Paul II visited him — then was deported to Turkey for a ten-year sentence. Released 18 January 2010, he called himself a mercenary with no political orientation, though his…

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Score breakdown

The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.

Fame
Rising
62.7
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Momentum14.9
Historical26.7
Now attention60.7
Source confidence65.0
Completeness75.0
Global rank
Country rank
#227
Category rank
Receipts

Sources

  • Wikipedia
    wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
    High confidence
  • Wikidata
    wikidata · wikidata.org
    High confidence
  • Pantheon 2.0
    database · pantheon.world
    High confidence