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List of dictators (view source)

Revision as of 14:28, May 26, 2008

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List of Dictators

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: ''For a list of [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] dictators, see [[Roman dictator#Roman dictators|Roman dictator]].''

: ''See also the [[#See also|related lists]] at the end of this article.''

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|align=center|[[Mohamed Siad Barre]] ||align=center| [[Somalia]] ||align=center| 1969–1991 || Chairman of the Supreme Revolutionary Council 1969-1976; President of Somalia 1976-1991. In 1969, during the power vacuum following the assassination of President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke, the military staged a coup and took over. Barre was to rule for the next twenty-two years. He attempted to develop a personality cult; large posters of him were common in the capital Mogadishu during his reign, many of which can still be seen today. He dreamed of a "[[Greater Somalia]]" and tried unsuccessfully to annex the [[Ogaden]]—legally Ethiopian territory—in 1977 to realize this end (see [[Ogaden War]]).

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|align=center|[[Anwar Sadat]] || align=center|[[Egypt]] || align=center|1970-1981 || President of Egypt 1970-1981. Unelected, suppressed opposition in what was termed "The Corrective Revolution". Assassinated.

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|align=center|[[Idi Amin]] ||align=center| [[Uganda]] ||align=center| 1971–1979 || [[President of Uganda]], later (1976) declared as [[President for Life|for Life]]. Deposed in 1979 after declaring war on [[Tanzania]].

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|align=center|[[Mengistu Haile Mariam]] ||align=center| [[Ethiopia]] ||align=center| 1974–1991 || Chairman of the Provisional Military Administrative Council ([[Derg]]) in 1974 and 1977-1987; President of Ethiopia 1987-1991. One-party state; repression of opposition; tens of thousands of extra-judicial killings.

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|align=center|[[Olusegun Obasanjo]] ||align=center| [[Nigeria]] ||align=center| 1976-1979 || Head of the Federal Military Government of Nigeria between 1976 and 1979. Elected President of Nigeria in 1999. Chairman of the [[African Union]] 2004-2006.

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|align=center|[[André Kolingba]] ||align=center| [[Central African Republic]] ||align=center| 1981–1993 || Chairman of the Military Committee of National Recovery 1981-1985; President of the Central African Republic 1985-1993. Gained power in a coup; persecuted opposition; allowed (and lost) free elections in 1993. Attempted second coup in 2001.

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|align=center|[[Hosni Mubarak]] || align=center|[[Egypt]] || align=center|'''1981-present''' || President of Egypt. Did not stand in a contested election until 2005, when a highly-restricted democratic process was allowed.

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|align=center|[[Paul Biya]] ||align=center| [[Cameroon]] ||align=center| '''1982–present''' || He served under President Ahmadou Ahidjo and became Prime Minister in 1975. Ahidjo resigned on November 6, 1982 and Biya became president. After years of totalitarian rule, he allowed the creation of opposition parties in 1990 but his re-elections have been marked by widespread fraud and intimidation.

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|align=center|[[Sani Abacha]] ||align=center| [[Nigeria]] ||align=center| 1993–1998 || Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council 1993-1998. Seized power in a coup; persecuted opposition; never stood for election. Jailed Chief [[Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola]], the presumed winner of the annulled 1993 presidential election; presided over execution of activist [[Ken Saro-Wiwa]].

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|align=center|[[Paul Kagame]] || align=center|[[Rwanda]] || align=center|'''1994-present''' || Vice-President of Rwanda 1994-2000; President 2000-Present. Brouhgt to power by a guerilla movement which plunged the country into bloodshed and led to the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. Responsible of the the killings of innocent civilians, women and children in Kibeho refugee camp. Responsible of the killings of 4 millions congolese. Responsible of the killings of Priests and Archbishops in Kabgayi.

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|align=center|[[Yahya Jammeh]] ||align=center| [[The Gambia]] ||align=center| '''1994-Present''' || President of The Gambia. Gained power in coup d'état. Right to the press and free speech supressed. Stood for three elections (1996, 2001, and 2006); last election deemed unfair by opposition.

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| align=center|[[Rafael Carrera]] || align=center|[[Guatemala]] || align=center|1844–1848 1851–1865 || President of Guatemala. Gained power in a coup; styled himself [[President for Life]].

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|align=center|[[William Walker]] ||align=center| [[Nicaragua]] ||align=center| 1856-1857 || An american fillibuster takes over and proclaims himself President of Nicaragua. Tried to conquer several central american countries. Eventually executed.

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| align=center|[[Justo Rufino Barrios]] || align=center|[[Guatemala]] || align=center|1873–1885 || President of Guatemala. Gained power in a bloody coup, but introduced reforms.

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|align=center| [[Alberto Fujimori]] || align=center|[[Peru]] || align=center|1992-1993 || President of Peru 1990-2000, widely critizised for his political authoritarism. [http://www.fpif.org/briefs/vol5/v5n34peru_body.html][http://www.aprodeh.org.pe/fujimori/delitos-eng.htm] [http://www.cverdad.org.pe/ingles/pagina01.php]. After enjoying a certain degree of popular support, Fujimori was forced from office following controvertial third term re-election[http://archives.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/americas/05/29/peru.elections.04/]. In 2000 political opponent Mario Vargas Llosa called Fujimori a "dictator" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/741841.stm]. His government was also marked by the influence of the director of the SIN, [[Vladimiro Montesinos]] [http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1477-7053.2005.00165.x?cookieSet=1&journalCode=goop][http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB37/]. Currently in Peru, Fujimori is in trial for presumed charges ranging from corruption to participation in crimes against humanity. [http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/americas/peru-qna-1030.htm].

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|align=center|[[Hugo Chávez]] ||align=center| [[Venezuela]] ||align=center| '''1999-present || Appointed special powers, nationalized the media and oil companies,Shut down opposition media and banned "The Simpsons."

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| align=center|[[François Duvalier]] || align=center|[[Haiti]] || align=center|1957-1971 || President of Haiti. Elected in 1957, but banned opposition; declared himself [[President for Life]] in 1964; highly repressive.

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| align=center|[[Fidel Castro]] || align=center|[[Cuba]] || align=center| ~~'''~~1959-~~present'''~~ || Prime Minister of Cuba 1959-1976; President of the Council of State and the Council of Ministers from 1976. Gained power after [[Cuban Revolution|revolution]]. Castro was elected President [[Elections in Cuba|after 1976]], but within a one-party [[Communist state]].

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| align=center|[[Fidel Castro]] || align=center|[[Cuba]] || align=center| 1959-2006 || Prime Minister of Cuba 1959-1976; President of the Council of State and the Council of Ministers from 1976. Gained power after [[Cuban Revolution|revolution]]. Castro was elected President [[Elections in Cuba|after 1976]], but within a one-party [[Communist state]].

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| align=center|[[Jean-Claude Duvalier]] || align=center|[[Haiti]] || align=center|1971-1986 || President of Haiti. Inherited presidency aged 19 from his father; never elected.

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| align=center|[[Raoul Cédras]] || align=center|[[Haiti]] || align=center|1991-1994 || ''De facto'' ruler for a relatively short period of time. Gained power in a coup (see [http://www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org/infamous.htm]).

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|align=center|[[Raul Castro]] ||align=center| [[Cuba]] ||align=center| '''2006-present''' || Appointed successor by his brother of the Communist Party of Cuba.

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==Asia==

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===Western Asia ("Middle East")===

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! Name !! Country !! Years in power !! Notes

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| align=center|[[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]] || align=center|[[Iran]] || align=center|1941/1953–1979 || Installed over his father [[Reza Shah|Rezah Shah Pahlavi]] by [[Allies (World War II)|Allied]] occupation forces. Fled Iran in 1953 amid a power struggle with Prime Minister [[Mohammad Mossadegh]] and was restored with help from the United States and Great Britain. Abolished all rival political parties and used a secret police, [[Savak]], to torture and imprison thousands of political dissidents; yet, modernized Iran.

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| align=center|[[Abdul Karim Qassem]] || align=center|[[Iraq]] || align=center|1958–1963 || Gained power by coup; viewed by some as benevolent (see [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/03/18/wisad18.xml]).

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| align=center|[[Abdul Salam Arif]] || align=center|[[Iraq]] || align=center|1963–1966 || Gained power in a coup; military ruler.

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| align=center|[[Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr]] || align=center|[[Iraq]] || align=center|1968–1979 || Gained power in a coup; never elected.

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| align=center|[[Hafez al-Assad]] || align=center|[[Syria]] || align=center|1970–2000 ||Gained power in a coup; totalitarian;{{fact}} cult of personality; oversaw [[Hama massacre]] yielding twenty to forty thousand dead (see [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0012197]).

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| align=center|[[Ruhollah Khomeini]] || align=center|[[Iran]] || align=center|1979–1989 || As [[Supreme Leader of Iran|Supreme Leader]], held ultimate and uncontested authority over all government matters under the principle of [[Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists|Guardianship]]. Created the extra-constitutional [[Special Clerical Court]] system in 1987, accountable only to the Supreme Leader and used principally for suppression of political dissent. Instituted routine torture, beheadings for children.

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| align=center|[[Saddam Hussein]] || align=center|[[Iraq]] || align=center|1979–2003 || Pressured Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr to resign in 1979 and formally became president. Repressive; developed extensive personality cult; deposed by [[United States]] and coalition forces in an invasion.

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| align=center|[[Ali Khamenei|Ayatollah Ali Khamenei]]||align=center| [[Iran]] ||align=center| '''1989-present''' || Continues Khomeini's [[Islamist]] path & uses religion as a tool, cracks down on all authentic dissent, tortures, and has given orders that permit killings like that of [[Akbar Mohammadi]] and [[Zahra Kazemi]]. Only permitts [[government-organized demonstrations]]. Allows a multi-party government but disallows the candidacy of true moderates.[http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=9940][http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1527919/][http://www.nationalreview.com/ledeen/ledeen200505310823.asp][http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1154652871.shtml][http://isd.georgetown.edu/demo_0102.pdf][http://www.boycottliberalism.com/liberalcelebrity.htm]ISBN 0-16-074590-X

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| align=center|[[Bashar al-Assad]] || align=center|[[Syria]] || align=center|'''2000–present''' || No opposition permitted in election following death of his father; widely described as a dictator (see[http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/?id=110007449], [http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP92405], [http://www.freeman.org/m_online/feb04/pasko.htm]).

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===Central Asia===

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|align=center|[[Hossain Mohammad Ershad]] || align=center|[[Bangladesh]] || align=center|1982–1990 ||Gained power in a coup; declared martial law; never elected.

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|align=center| [[Pervez Musharraf]] || align=center| [[Pakistan]] || align=center| 1999-2008 || Deposed Nawaz Sharif in a military coup, calling it a necessity during a state of emergency. Governed directly as commander in chief until Parliament reconvened in November 2002. Assumed the title of President upon Rafiq Tarar's resignation and stood in a referendum in 2002. Opposition parties state that the rule of law in his custody has deteriorated further.

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After a savage battle against occupying [[Chinese republic]]an forces, on March 13, 1921, [[Mongolia]] was proclaimed an independent [[monarchy]], and Ungern von Sternberg became Mongolian [[dictator]]. His brief rule of Mongolia was characterised by looting, raping and a reign of terror by his army. Eventually, the [[Bolsheviks]] invaded Mongolia and after a series of battles, von Ungern-Sternberg was defeated in a August 1921, captured by his own soldiers, and handed over to the [[Red Army]] on August 21, 1921.

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|align=center|[[Chiang Kai-Shek]] ||align=center| [[Republic of China]] ||align=center| 1927-1975 || Known as the "Generalissimo". Gained power by military force. Leader of anti-communist one-party state under the Kuomintang. Rule on mainland China repeatedly undermined by powerful regional factions, civil wars, and the war against Japan. Ruled with an iron-fist following his retreat to Taiwan in 1949.

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| align=center|[[Horloogiyn Choybalsan]] || align=center|[[Mongolia]] || align=center|1936–1952 || Unelected; opponents purged; cult of personality.

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| align=center|[[Kim Il-sung]] || align=center|[[North Korea]] || align=center|1948–1994 || Appointed prime minister in 1948; purged rivals in the [[Workers' Party of Korea]] to consolidate power in 1956 (see [http://muse.jhu.edu/cgi-bin/access.cgi?uri=/journals/korean_studies/v026/26.1lankov.pdf]); introduced "[[Juche]]" ideology demanding absolute loyalty to him and the party; created most pervavise cult of personality in recent history. Declared "Eternal President" on his death.

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|align=center|[[Ho Chi Minh]] ||align=center| [[North Vietnam]] ||align=center| 1945-1969 || Unelected; killed thousands of political rivals in the 1940s; killed tens of thousands more during the land reforms of the 1950s; presided over a one-party state.

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|align=center|[[Mao Zedong]] || align=center|[[People's Republic of China]] || align=center|1949–1976 || Chairman of the PRC (1949 – 1959), Chairman of the [[Communist Party of China]] (1945 – 1976), Chairman of the [[Central Military Commission]] (1936 – 1976). Immense cult of personality; purged members of government; silenced opposition. Circumvented Communist Party hierarchy after the 1966 [[Cultural Revolution]]; imprisoned head of state [[Liu Shaoqi]]. Millions of Chinese citizens killed or murdered as a result of his policies and repression.

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| align=center|[[Lon Nol]] || align=center|[[Cambodia]] || align=center|1972–1975 || Gained power by coup; not elected.

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| align=center|[[Pol Pot]] || align=center|[[Democratic Kampuchea]] ~~(Cambodia)~~|| align=center|1975–1979 || Unelected; led a [[Khmer Rouge]] dictatorship; responsible for deaths of at least 1 million Cambodian citizens during his rule.

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| align=center|[[Pol Pot]] || align=center|[[Democratic Kampuchea]] || align=center|1975–1979 || Unelected; led a [[Khmer Rouge]] dictatorship; responsible for deaths of at least 1 million Cambodian citizens during his rule.

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| align=center|[[Chun Doo Hwan]] || align=center|[[South Korea]] || align=center|1980–1988 || Gained power in a coup; declared martial law; oversaw [[Gwangju Massacre]].

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|align=center|[[Mahathir bin Mohamad]] ||align=center| [[Malaysia]] ||align=center| 1981-2003 || Authoritarian; suppresed opposition, media.

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| align=center|[[Khamtai Siphandon]] || align=center|[[Laos]] || align=center|1992–2006 || Unelected; one-party state (see[http://www.arthuredelstein.org/worlddictators]).

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| align=center|[[Than Shwe]] || align=center|[[Myanmar]] ~~(Burma)~~|| align=center|'''1992–present''' || Unelected; persecution of minorities (especially [[Karenni]] and [[Rohingya]] groups [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51506.htm]) leading 250,000 to flee, either becoming [[IDP]]s or moving across the border to Thailand; consolidated power into himself from the [[SPDC]] - he moved to a new capital in Kyat Pyay in 2006 , &renamed it as Nay Pyi Daw ,i.e the Royal Palace City"; gained power via a military [[coup]] and announced that he would not hand over the power to [[Aung San Suu Kyi]]'s Elected Party (the [[NLD]]); no free press (see [http://www.bbc.co.uk/burmese/forum/story/2004/10/041020_khin_nyunt_ousted.shtml]).

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| align=center|[[Than Shwe]] || align=center|[[Myanmar]] || align=center|'''1992–present''' || Unelected; persecution of minorities (especially [[Karenni]] and [[Rohingya]] groups [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51506.htm]) leading 250,000 to flee, either becoming [[IDP]]s or moving across the border to Thailand; consolidated power into himself from the [[SPDC]] - he moved to a new capital in Kyat Pyay in 2006 , &renamed it as Nay Pyi Daw ,i.e the Royal Palace City"; gained power via a military [[coup]] and announced that he would not hand over the power to [[Aung San Suu Kyi]]'s Elected Party (the [[NLD]]); no free press (see [http://www.bbc.co.uk/burmese/forum/story/2004/10/041020_khin_nyunt_ousted.shtml]).

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| align=center|[[Kim Jong-il]] || align=center|[[North Korea]] || align=center|'''1994–present''' || Became General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and Chairman of the National Defense Commission (the highest state offices) on his father's death. Continues his father's "[[Juche]]" ideology.

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| align=center|[[Sonthi Boonyaratglin]] || align=center|[[Thailand]] || align=center|'''2006–present''' || Army chief seized power while Prime Minister [[Thaksin Shinawatra]] was out of the country. A state of martial law was declared, parliament was dissolved and the constitution abrogated. Instituted press censorship and restrictions on protests. The first Muslim in charge of the mostly Buddhist army.

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~~===Western Asia ("Middle East")===~~

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| align=center|[[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]] || align=center|[[Iran]] || align=center|1941/1953–1979 || Installed over his father [[Reza Shah|Rezah Shah Pahlavi]] by [[Allies (World War II)|Allied]] occupation forces. Fled Iran in 1953 amid a power struggle with Prime Minister [[Mohammad Mossadegh]] and was restored with help from the United States and Great Britain. Abolished all rival political parties and used a secret police, [[Savak]], to torture and imprison thousands of political dissidents; yet, modernized Iran.

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| align=center|[[Abdul Karim Qassem]] || align=center|[[Iraq]] || align=center|1958–1963 || Gained power by coup; viewed by some as benevolent (see [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/03/18/wisad18.xml]).

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~~| align=center|[[Abdul Salam Arif]] || align=center|[[Iraq]] || align=center|1963–1966 || Gained power in a coup; military ruler.~~

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~~| align=center|[[Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr]] || align=center|[[Iraq]] || align=center|1968–1979 || Gained power in a coup; never elected.~~

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| align=center|[[Hafez al-Assad]] || align=center|[[Syria]] || align=center|1970–2000 ||Gained power in a coup; totalitarian;{{fact}} cult of personality; oversaw [[Hama massacre]] yielding twenty to forty thousand dead (see [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0012197]).

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| align=center|[[Ruhollah Khomeini]] || align=center|[[Iran]] || align=center|1979–1989 || As [[Supreme Leader of Iran|Supreme Leader]], held ultimate and uncontested authority over all government matters under the principle of [[Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists|Guardianship]]. Created the extra-constitutional [[Special Clerical Court]] system in 1987, accountable only to the Supreme Leader and used principally for suppression of political dissent. Instituted routine torture, beheadings for children.

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| align=center|[[Saddam Hussein]] || align=center|[[Iraq]] || align=center|1979–2003 || Pressured Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr to resign in 1979 and formally became president. Repressive; developed extensive personality cult; deposed by [[United States]] and coalition forces in an invasion.

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| align=center|[[Ali Khamenei|Ayatollah Ali Khamenei]]||align=center| [[Iran]] ||align=center| '''1989-present''' || Continues Khomeini's [[Islamist]] path & uses religion as a tool, cracks down on all authentic dissent, tortures, and has given orders that permit killings like that of [[Akbar Mohammadi]] and [[Zahra Kazemi]]. Only permitts [[government-organized demonstrations]]. Allows a multi-party government but disallows the candidacy of true moderates.[http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=9940][http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1527919/][http://www.nationalreview.com/ledeen/ledeen200505310823.asp][http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1154652871.shtml][http://isd.georgetown.edu/demo_0102.pdf][http://www.boycottliberalism.com/liberalcelebrity.htm]ISBN 0-16-074590-X

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| align=center|[[Bashar al-Assad]] || align=center|[[Syria]] || align=center|'''2000–present''' || No opposition permitted in election following death of his father; widely described as a dictator (see[http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/?id=110007449], [http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP92405], [http://www.freeman.org/m_online/feb04/pasko.htm]).

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| align=center| [[Romuald Traugutt]] || align=center| [[Poland]] || align=center| 1863–1864 || Held official title of dictator for one year. Succeeded [[Marian Langiewicz]] who had declared himself dictator previously, but only lasted less than a year in 1863.

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|align=center|[[Nicholas II]] ||align=center| [[Russia]] ||align=center| 1894-1917 || Ruthless, overthrown by the "October Revolution" and the newly established communist government. The last Tsar of Russia.

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| align=center| [[Vladimir Lenin]] || align=center| [[Soviet Union]] || align=center| 1917-1924 || Head of Bolshevik Revolution took power in 1917. Secured victory in the Russian civil war. Headed effort to transform the Russian economy to a socialist model.[http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/lenin_vladimir.shtml]

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| align=center| [[Slobodan Milošević]] || align=center| [[Serbia]] [[Yugoslavia]] || align=center| 1989-1997 1997-2000 || In 1984 he became the head of the local Communist party in Belgrade and adopted a populist style, the party's leader. He successfully took over as head of the Serbian Communist party in 1987. He challenged the federal government, championed Serbian control of the autonomous provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina, and advocated stridently socialist economic policy. By 1988, he had replaced party leaders in Kosovo and Vojvodina, and in 1989 he became president of Serbia. However, in September 1990, a new democratic constitution was passed allowing direct, multi-party presidential and parliamentary elections. Milosevic was elected president of Serbia for the first time in December 1990, although allegations persist of electoral fraud during the Milosevic years.

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| align=center| [[Igor Smirnov]] || align=center| [[Transnistria]] || align=center| '''1991-present''' || President of the unrecognized country of Transnistria. Religion and free speech not fully allowed. Arbitrary arrests and torture used to silence opposition and political activists. Romanian speakers discriminated.

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| align=center| [[Alexander Lukashenko]] || align=center| [[Belarus]] || align=center| '''1994-present''' || President of Belarus. Said to have an "authoritarian ruling style". Lack of democratic standards. Human rights violations. Referred to as "Europe's last dictatorship."

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| align=center| [[Sitiveni Rabuka]] || align=center|[[Fiji]] || align=center|1987–1992 || Twice gained power through coup, allowed elections in 1992, which he won.

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| align=center| [[Frank Bainimarama]] || align=center|[[Fiji]] || align=center|'''2006-present''' ||Launched a coup d'etat in December 2006 after weeks of threats against the elected government.

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