Years in Power: 1948 – 1994
Installed by Soviet Union post-WWII.
46 years.
Led Korean War in 1950.
Command economy; later stagnation.
Severe repression, gulags.
Absolute power, purges.
Allied with USSR, China.
Worshipped as a god.
Passed power to son Kim Jong-il.
Died 1994; mourned by law.
Years in Power: 1973 – 1990
Coup against Salvador Allende.
17 years.
Army general and junta leader.
Neoliberal reforms; inequality rose.
3,000+ killed or disappeared.
Suppressed opposition.
Mixed ties; US support.
Limited, pragmatic image.
Democracy restored in 1990.
Died 2006; legacy divided.
Years in Power: 1933 – 1945
Appointed Chancellor, seized full control.
12 years.
Led WWII invasions.
Reduced unemployment, military spending.
Holocaust: 6 million Jews killed.
Eliminated opposition, Gestapo terror.
Axis powers; war with Allies.
Intense Nazi propaganda.
Germany devastated post-war.
Suicide in 1945; global infamy.
Years in Power: 1979 – 2003
Took over after al-Bakr's resignation.
24 years.
Iran-Iraq War, Gulf War.
Oil revenues; sanctions hit economy.
Mass killings, torture, repression.
Ba'athist regime control.
Isolated after Kuwait invasion.
Omnipresent image.
Toppled by US in 2003.
Executed in 2006; controversial.
Years in Power: 1922 – 1943
March on Rome; appointed by king.
21 years.
Colonial wars, WWII alliance with Hitler.
Fascist corporatism; mixed results.
Political assassinations, censorship.
Blackshirts enforced rule.
Axis member; invaded Ethiopia.
“Il Duce” symbolized power.
Overthrown and executed in 1945.
Hung publicly; legacy mixed.
Years in Power: 1924 – 1953
Took control after Lenin's death.
Nearly 30 years.
Led USSR in WWII.
Industrialized USSR; famines.
Millions died in purges and camps.
Secret police, gulags.
Cold War roots; expanded influence.
Glorified as father of USSR.
Feared but respected; Khrushchev denounced him.
Died in 1953; divisive legacy.
Years in Power: 1969 – 2011
Coup over King Idris.
42 years.
Paramilitary forces, civil war.
Oil wealth; state socialism.
Torture, disappearances, mass killings.
No political parties allowed.
Sponsored terrorism; later reconciled.
Green Book ideology, image-building.
No clear succession; civil war post-2011.
Killed during revolution; viewed as tyrant.
Years in Power: 1971 – 1979
Military coup while Obote was away.
8 years.
Military dictator; terror rule.
Expelled Asians, collapsed economy.
300,000+ killed.
Widespread purges.
Allied with Libya, isolationist.
Self-given titles and medals.
Fled to exile; regime collapsed.
Died in exile; reviled figure.
Years in Power: 1939 – 1975
Won Spanish Civil War with fascist forces.
36 years.
Led Nationalist army in civil war.
Autarky initially, later opened economy.
Tens of thousands executed post-war.
Banned opposition and regional languages.
Neutral in WWII; aligned with West in Cold War.
Portrayed as savior of Spain.
Monarchy restored; democratic transition.
Died in 1975; still controversial.
Years in Power: 1980 – 2017
Leader of anti-colonial war; elected in 1980.
37 years.
Led guerrilla movement in liberation war.
Land reforms destroyed agriculture; hyperinflation.
Massacres in Matabeleland; election violence.
Opposition silenced via force and fraud.
Isolated by the West; allied with China.
Presented as father of nation.
Removed via military coup in 2017.
Died in 2019; viewed as liberator-turned-dictator.
Years in Power: 1949 – 1976
Led Communist revolution, founded PRC.
27 years.
Led civil war and Korean War support.
Great Leap Forward caused famine; failed.
Millions died in famine and purges.
Cultural Revolution terrorized citizens.
Sino-Soviet split; opened ties with US.
Little Red Book worship.
Mixed legacy; Deng reformed after.
Still respected in China; criticized globally.
Years in Power: 1957 – 1971
Elected, then declared President for Life.
14 years.
Used militia Tonton Macoute to terrorize.
Economic stagnation; corrupt regime.
Brutal murders, thousands dead.
Eliminated opposition ruthlessly.
Used Cold War to gain US aid.
Claimed mystical powers.
Succeeded by son Jean-Claude Duvalier.
Left impoverished, terrorized nation.
Years in Power: 1979 – 1989
Led Islamic Revolution against the Shah.
10 years.
Iran-Iraq War leadership.
War economy; Islamic nationalization.
Executions, repression of dissent.
Theocratic control, no opposition.
US embassy crisis; anti-West stance.
Seen as divine leader.
Succeeded by Ali Khamenei.
Mass funeral; polarizing figure.
Years in Power: 1991 – 2006
Took over post-Soviet independence.
15 years.
Paramilitary control of country.
Gas-rich; poorly managed wealth.
Media suppression, no elections.
Single-party, cult control.
Isolated but neutral foreign policy.
Renamed months after himself.
Left absurd dictatorship legacy.
Mocked internationally.
Years in Power: 1965 – 1997
Seized power in military coup.
32 years.
Used army to stay in power.
Extreme corruption; kleptocracy.
Repression, executions.
Banned opposition parties.
Supported by West in Cold War.
Wore leopard hat, had TV propaganda.
Collapsed in 1997 civil war.
Died in exile; loathed.
Years in Power: 1971 – 2000
Military coup within Ba'ath Party.
29 years.
Crushed uprisings, Hama massacre.
State socialism; stagnation.
Widespread torture and arrests.
One-party rule.
Anti-Israel; allied with USSR.
Father of Syria image.
Power passed to son Bashar.
Feared, respected.
Years in Power: 1965 – 1989
Took over Romanian Communist Party.
24 years.
Secret police control.
Massive debt and rationing.
Surveillance, starvation.
Total control, personality cult.
Independent from USSR; nationalist.
Statues, poems, glorification.
Overthrown and executed in 1989.
Executed on live TV; reviled.
Years in Power: 1989 – 2000
Rose through Communist Party.
11 years.
Led wars in Bosnia, Kosovo.
Sanctions devastated economy.
Ethnic cleansing, war crimes.
Media and courts controlled.
Isolated; NATO bombing.
Nationalist rhetoric.
Ousted in 2000 revolution.
Died during war crimes trial.
Years in Power: 1975 – 1979
Led Khmer Rouge communist insurgency.
4 years.
Extreme rural militarism.
Abolished currency, private property.
2 million deaths, genocide.
Mass executions, torture.
Ally of China; isolated.
Secretive leadership.
Fled after Vietnamese invasion.
Died untried; infamy.
Years in Power: 1992 – 2011
Rose through military ranks.
19 years.
Absolute control via junta.
Opaque; elite enrichment.
Ethnic cleansing, imprisonment.
Crushed 2007 protests.
Isolated; aligned with China.
Secretive, feared figure.
Handed over to civilian gov, still influential.
Alive; widely disliked.