Top 10 Dictators in History
Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 - April 30, 1945) was a German politician of Austrian descent who served as the leader of the Nazi Party since 1921, Chancellor of Germany since 1933, and Führer of Nazi Germany since 1934. As dictator of Nazi Germany, he reversed the Treaty of Versailles, initiated World... read more If Adolf Hitler had died in 1938, he would have gone down in history as one of the greatest leaders ever. He turned the ruin that was Germany after the Treaty of Versailles into the greatest country on earth. He was adored by the German people. The poor loved him, the common people loved him, and the rich loved him. Everyone had jobs, everyone was happy, and he did more to protect animals and the environment than almost any other world leader in history. Hitler started out leading a country with no military, and in 5 years, he had a military strong enough to conquer the world. If it hadn't been for the war, and especially the Holocaust...
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was a Georgian dictator, and was the leader of the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953. Holding the post of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, he was effectively the dictator of the state. Joseph Stalin is easily worse than Hitler. Stalin is responsible for some 60 million deaths, while Hitler is responsible for 30 million. Although both numbers are bad, you cannot deny that the bigger the number, the worse the dictator.
Because he built the glorious USSR and prevailed against all odds against the Axis aggressors. He never gave up, even in the worst situations, and brought communism to Eastern Europe.
This man killed almost a quarter of his people. I would execute him at first sight. He never cared for the USSR. He cared for himself and power. If I were his father, I would be so disappointed in this terrible man.
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary and founding father of the People's Republic of China, which he governed as Chairman of the Communist Party of China from its establishment in 1949, until his death in 1976... read more He's the one who started communism in China.
Not only starvation, this man also tried to erase the history of one of the oldest civilizations on Earth.
Pol Pot, born Saloth Sar, was a Cambodian revolutionary who led the Khmer Rouge from 1963 until 1997. From 1963 to 1981, he served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Kampuchea. Responsible for direct genocide, this man was a psychopath with power.
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, known as Fidel Castro (August 13, 1926 – November 25, 2016), was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who governed the Republic of Cuba as Prime Minister from 1959 to 1976 and then as President from 1976 to 2008. Politically a Marxist–Leninist and Cuban nationalist, he... read more One of the most iconic leaders who inspired countless revolutions throughout Africa and Latin America.
This small island nation threatened the greatest nation at the time, the USA.
Kim Jong-il (born Yuri Irsenovich Kim; 16 February 1941 - 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly referred to as North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim Il-sung,... read more I'm a South Korean person, and I remember Kim Jong-il on the news 24/7 for what he did!
Kim Il-sung was the supreme leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly referred to as North Korea, for 46 years, from its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to 1994. He was also the leader of... read more
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (22 April 1870–21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1924 and of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1924. Under his administration,... read more He revolutionized and made great improvements to Russia and changed the way political scientists think. Unfortunately, a lot of his work was undone by Stalin, who I cannot understand why is at the top, as well as any of the other top picks. I believe this is about the greatest dictators, not the worst.
A huge part of the Russian Revolution. He really spread the ideas of communism and made the world more aware of the ideology.
Lenin was one of the only good leaders in history. Not only did he turn Russia into one of the greatest countries of all time during his reign as dictator, but he also united the people of Russia and looked out for the little guy.
He was truly the best leader the world had ever seen.
It's easy to judge him, but in 1923, Turkey was like Saudi Arabia. It was very difficult to change the country into a secular one. Just read all his reforms and decide if he was a bad person.
He is the best dictator who ever existed. He even tried to form two other parties, but they led to huge revolutions that sought to bring back the caliphate.
Atatürk is the greatest, most benevolent, and most intelligent dictator that has ever lived on this planet.
Kim Jong-un (born 8 January 1983) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's second supreme leader from 1994 to 2011, and Ko Yong-hui. He is a grandson... read more Trying to develop and open up the country. No one knows much about him apart from some bad things.
The most totalitarian and closest thing to a Big Brother regime today.
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician, journalist, and leader of the National Fascist Party, ruling the country as Prime Minister from 1922 until he was ousted in 1943. He ruled constitutionally until 1925, when he dropped all pretense of democracy and set up a legal dictatorship... read more I'm Italian, and I think that Mussolini tried to expand Italy, but he failed so badly. He is now very embarrassing.
Pretty awesome dictator whose Roman salute was stolen by Hitler.
First fascist dictator. Hitler took inspiration from him despite Mussolini's failures in World War II.
Idi Amin Dada was a Ugandan politician and military officer. He was the President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin was born either in Koboko or Kampala to a Kakwa father and Lugbara mother. In 1946 he joined the King's African Rifles of the British Colonial Army.
Julius Caesar was technically a dictator, but he truly was not the evil bastard the title suggests. He was quite sensible to all people and was a badass who had a relationship with Cleopatra. The only people who didn't like him were the Senators who worried about having their jobs done for them.
He was an imperialist and just wanted to advance into the future.
He's the worst. He caused the destruction of Libyan culture and killed many people by starving them or massacring them.
An Orthodox hero to his people and a cruel, sadistic tyrant to criminals and Turks - not to mention the bloody inspiration for Dracula. Need I say more? Oh, and he also made Ivan the Terrible look like a lamb. Impaling can be so cruel.
Check out more articles regarding him. A lot of facts regarding Vlad make him the best dictator of them all.
A personality with two sides: the side of a hero and the side of a tyrant.
He did everything for justice and for his people.
I'd say he was a well-intended extremist.
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutionary Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, and later, the Baghdad-based Ba'ath Party and its regional organization Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region—which... read more
Hideki Tōjō was a general of the Imperial Japanese Army, the leader of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, and the 27th Prime Minister of Japan during much of World War II, from October 17, 1941, to July 22, 1944. As Prime Minister, he was responsible for ordering the attack on Pearl Harbor,... read more
He saved his country from communists.
Robert Gabriel Mugabe (21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) from 1975 to 1980 and led... read more
Enver Halil Hoxha was an Albanian communist politician who served as the head of state of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania. He was a great man, but he was very evil. The party was on top of the rest.
This man ruled the Philippines for 21 years under a dictatorship.
Nicolae Ceaușescu (5 February 1918–25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He was also the country's head of state from 1967, serving as... read more A paranoid tyrant who lived in an ivory tower. While I do respect his stance against Russia and his early liberal views and patriotic ideals, the moment he set foot in China and North Korea, he became a megalomaniac tyrant who ruined Romania. He destroyed national monuments, starved people to death, overworked them to death, used the cult of personality to inflate his already giant ego, tortured political opponents (despite freeing them during his early rule), and considered them mentally mad for opposing him. The mistrust in Romania nowadays (and other flaws) is all thanks to his evil methods.
His wife Elena was even worse than him - an even more idiotic and cruel ruler. I'm glad those two were executed by firing squad. Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
I am Romanian, so I know.
He is probably the only dictator in history to have met many famous people in person, like Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Queen Elizabeth, Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong Il, Mao Zedong, the Shah of Iran (before being dethroned), and many, many more.
Francisco Franco Bahamonde was a Spanish general who ruled over Spain as a military dictator from 1939, after the Nationalist victory in the Spanish Civil War, until his death in 1975. This period in Spanish history is commonly known as Francoist Spain.
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who is the president of Russia, a position he has filled since 2012, and previously from 2000 until 2008. He was also the prime minister from 1999 to 2000, and again from 2008 to 2012.Putin worked as a KGB foreign intelligence officer for 16 years, rising to the rank of lieutenant... read more
Very famous at the moment. Not actually a dictator but all the same, biggest invasion in europe since ww2.