Patrick Dele-Cole: key obituary facts
Is Patrick Dele-Cole dead? Yes. Patrick Dele-Cole died on October 17, 2026, at age 86.
Cause of death: Patrick Dele-Cole's cause of death has not been publicly confirmed.
What was Patrick Dele-Cole known for?
He was a Nigerian politician, journalist and diplomat.
More about Patrick Dele-Cole
Gender: male.
Nationality: Nigeria.
Also known as: Patrick.
Known for: Managing director of Daily Times.
Patrick Dele-Cole, a Nigerian politician, journalist and historian who became managing director of the Daily Times, died October 17, 2026, aged 86.
His career brought together newspaper leadership, party politics, diplomacy and writing. In 1976, he became managing director of the Daily Times, the role most closely associated with his public profile.
In the early 1990s, he was a presidential candidate for the Social Democratic Party, entering national politics as a party representative in a presidential contest. He also served Nigeria as ambassador to Argentina and Brazil, representing the country in two South American nations. His work as an author included Modern Traditional Elites in the Politics of Lagos, a book focused, as its title indicates, on traditional elites and Lagos politics. Dele-Cole’s academic background included study at the University of Otago in New Zealand, where he earned a first-class honours degree, and further study at Cambridge University. The documented strands of his life span journalism and public service as well as historical writing and university study. His positions at the Daily Times, candidacy for the Social Democratic Party and ambassadorships were distinct parts of a career that extended from Nigerian media and politics to diplomatic representation abroad.