This page attempts to list the many extinct sovereign states, countries, nations, empires or territories that have ceased to exist as political entities, grouped geographically and by constitutional nature.

The criteria for inclusion in this list is similar to that of the List of states with limited recognition. To be included here, a polity must have claimed statehood and either:

In the Nordic countries, unions were personal, not unitary

These were all colonies, most of which were renamed after their independence.

These states are now dissolved into a number of states, none of which retain the old name.

These country names have been replaced. Only major and/or famous cases are listed, there are thousands of relatively obscure former names.

Four of the homelands, or bantustans, for black South Africans, were granted nominal independence from South Africa. Not recognised by other nations, these puppet states were re-incorporated in 1994.

These nations declared themselves independent, but failed to achieve it in fact or did not seek permanent independence and were either re-incorporated into the mother country or incorporated into another country.

Nicole LeFavour (born February 8, 1964) is an American politician and educator from Idaho, who has served in the Idaho Senate. Elected to the Senate in 2008, she had previously served four years in the Idaho House of Representatives.

Nicole LeFavour was born in Colorado to Pat and Bruce LeFavour. She grew up in Central Idaho in Custer County, near the Frank Church Wilderness where she later worked. She received her Bachelor's degree in Cognitive Science from the University of California, Berkley and a Master's of Fine Arts in Writing from the University of Montana-Missoula. She moved to Boise in 1990.

She taught at the University of Montana from 1989-1990. In 1991, she decided to teach at the Boise River School. She worked for the Snake River Alliance from 1992-1994. In 1996, she taught at the Fort Boise School. She was a news reporter for the Boise Weekly from 1997-1998. She was a board member for the Ada County Human Rights Task Force from 1999-2002. She was also a board member of the Choices in Community Giving from 2000-2002 and the Western States Center from 2002-2005. She worked for the Idaho Center on Budget & Tax Policy from 2000-2004.

Russell Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. Wilson played for the University of Wisconsin, where he led the Wisconsin Badgers to the 2012 Rose Bowl and a Big Ten Title. Prior to his time at Wisconsin, Wilson played for the North Carolina State Wolfpack football and baseball teams. In 2008, Wilson was named the ACC Rookie of the Year in football and became the first ever freshman quarterback named First-team All-ACC. The Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball selected Wilson in the 2010 draft with the 140th pick. He played second base for the Asheville Tourists, the Rockies' Class A affiliate of the South Atlantic League in the summer of 2011. On April 27, 2012 he was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks with the 75th pick of the 2012 NFL Draft.

Wilson attended the Collegiate School, a preparatory school in Richmond, Virginia, US. As a junior there in 2005, he threw for 3,287 yards and 40 touchdowns. He also rushed for 634 yards and 15 touchdowns. He was named an all-district, all-region, and all-state player. Wilson was twice named the Richmond Times-Dispatch Player of the Year.

Steve Ogden (born 21 September 1950) is a Republican member of the Texas Senate representing the 5th District. Ogden was elected to the Texas Senate in January 1997, and chairs the Texas Senate Finance Committee. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy and a Master of Business Administration degree at Texas A&M University.

Ogden has been in the oil and gas exploration business for 20 years and is currently president of Ogden Resources, an independent oil and gas company based in Bryan. Prior to entering the oil business, Ogden served as an officer in the U.S. Navy's nuclear submarine force for nine years.

Before his election to the Texas Senate, Ogden served three terms in the Texas House of Representatives.

As a State Senator, he has been honored by the Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association, the Texas Association of District and County Attorneys, Scott & White, The Texas A&M University System, the Texas Veterans Commission, the Texas Municipal Police Association, and the Free Market Committee. Senator Ogden received the sixth annual Bob Bullock Award for Outstanding Public Stewardship and was awarded the 2004 Defensor Pacem medal by Sam Houston State University. Following the 79th regular session of the Texas Legislature in 2005, he was named one of the Ten Best Legislators by Texas Monthly Magazine, a Top Legislator by Capital Inside, and Pro-Life Chairman of the Year by Texas Right to Life.

Serphin R. Maltese (born December 7, 1932) is a former Republican New York State Senator representing New York's 15th State Senate District, located in southern and central Queens. From 1986 to 1988, he was the chairman of the Conservative Party of New York.

Born and reared in the once heavily Italian-American neighborhood of Corona in Queens, New York. In 1951, Maltese graduated from Stuyvesant High School in New York City. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Manhattan College and a JD and LLB from the Fordham University Law School in New York City.

In 1984, Maltese ran for a seat in the United States House of Representatives from Central Queens. The seat was being vacated by Geraldine Ferraro who was chosen to run for Vice President on the Democratic ticket with Walter Mondale. Maltese faced Democrat Thomas Manton and lost narrowly; 53-47 percent. Maltese's loss was attributed to the presence of Ferraro on the national ticket, as the district had a former history of leaning Republican.

Maltese was first elected to the New York State Senate in November 1988, and was reelected nine times to two-year terms, often by comfortable margins in a normally strongly Democratic district. However, in 2006, he was nearly defeated, narrowly winning against Albert Baldeo, a relatively unknown Democrat, 51%-49% (a 783 vote margin). In 2008, Maltese was heavily defeated by City Councilman Joseph Addabbo, Jr., garnering only 42% of the vote as the Democrats took control of the State Senate.