Mehmet Ali Ağca
A Turkish extremist who carried out one of the 20th century's most shocking attacks, shooting and wounding Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square.
Born 1958 (age 68)·Turkish assassin·Birthday: January 9·Baby Boomers
Biography
Mehmet Ali Ağca emerged from Turkey's violent political turmoil of the late 1970s as a young right-wing militant. His notoriety began with the cold-blooded assassination of respected left-wing journalist Abdi İpekçi on a Istanbul street in 1979. After a brief imprisonment, he escaped from a military jail under mysterious circumstances, vanishing only to reappear in Rome in 1981. On May 13th, in the middle of St. Peter's Square, he fired four shots at close range, severely wounding Pope John Paul II. His motives remained a tangled web of personal fanaticism, possible political manipulation, and claims of being the 'messiah.' Captured immediately, his trial and subsequent years in Italian prisons were a spectacle. In a remarkable turn, the Pope visited him in prison in 1983, offering a personal forgiveness that became a global symbol of reconciliation. After serving nearly 30 years, Ağca was extradited to Turkey in 2010 to serve time for İpekçi's murder, eventually being released in 2014. His life stands as a dark thread connecting Turkish political violence, international terrorism, and an act that tested the very concept of forgiveness.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Mehmet was born in 1958, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Mehmet Was Born
The biggest hits of 1958
#1 Movie
South Pacific
Best Picture
Gigi
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Mehmet's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1958Born
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1963Started school
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1971Became a teenager
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1974Could drive
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1976Could vote
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Turned 21
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1988Turned 30
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 40
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 50
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 60
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 68 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square on May 13, 1981, wounding him multiple times.
- Assassinated prominent Turkish journalist Abdi İpekçi in 1979, a crime for which he was later convicted.
- Escaped from a Turkish military prison while awaiting trial for the İpekçi murder, facilitating his travel to Rome.
Did You Know?
After the shooting, he claimed to be Jesus Christ and said the assassination attempt was part of a divine mission.
Pope John Paul II visited him in prison in 1983, privately forgiving him for the attack.
He was released from a Turkish prison in 2014 after serving his sentence for killing Abdi İpekçi.
In 2005, he requested to be a pallbearer at Pope John Paul II's funeral; the Vatican declined.
“I am Jesus Christ, and I have returned to the world.”
