Rows of Dictator Figures That Have Ever Existed in the World
List of Dictator Figures Who Have Ever Existed in the World. A dictator is a state leader who rules in an authoritarian/tyrannical manner and oppresses his people. Usually a dictator comes to power using force, often a coup. But there are also dictators who ascend to the throne democratically. The most famous example is Adolf Hitler.
Often dictators are distinguished from despots. A despot rules arbitrarily, but sometimes there are also 'good' despots.
Dictatorism is an ideology whose meaning is taken from the word "dictator" which means a person who rules a country/government with absolute rights and power and -ism which means an understanding, so it can be concluded that dictatorism is an ideology adopted by a country toled by an authoritarian leader who has absolute rights and obligations. Dictatorship tends to be more widely practiced in European countries such as Germany, Poland, France and Italy.
The following is a list of dictators who have existed in the world:
- Adolf Hitler
- Alberto Fujimori
- Ayatollah Khomeini
- Bashar al-Assad
- Benito Mussolini
- Ferdinand Marcos
- Fidel Castro
- Ho Chi Minh
- Hosni Mubarak
- Idi Amin
- Islam Karimov
- Joseph Stalin
- Kim Jong-un
- Mahathir Mohamad
- Mao Zedong
- Muammar Gaddafi
- Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
- Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
- Pol Pot
- Robert Mugabe
- Saddam Hussein
- Soeharto
Profile
1. Adolf Hitler, Country of origin: Germany, year in power: 1933, end of power: 1945, ideology: Nazism
Adolf Hitler (born in Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungary, 20 April 1889 – died in Berlin, Germany, 30 April 1945 at the age of 56 years) was a German politician and chairman of the Nazi Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) ; Socialist German Workers' PartyNational) born in Austria. He served as Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945 and dictator of Nazi Germany (titled Führer und Reichskanzler) from 1934 to 1945. Hitler became a major figure in Nazi Germany, World War II in Europe, and the Holocaust.
There are countless crimes committed by Adolf Hitler. This German Nazi ruler ordered the massacre of 11 million people, of which six million were Jews. He also dragged the world into a war that claimed up to 70 million lives. Ironically, after defeat, Hitler committed suicide because he was afraid of being captured by Soviet troops.
2. Alberto Fujimori, Country of origin: Peru, year in power: 1990, end of power: 2000, ideology: Anti-communist Constitutional dictatorship (Fujimorism)
Alberto Ken'ya Fujimori (born in Lima, Peru, 28 July 1938) was the President of Peru who served from 28 July 1990 to 17 November 2000. He was the third person of East Asian descent to become head of state of a South American country.
During his tenure, Fujimori also succeeded in restoring macroeconomic stability after Alan García's presidency and bringing peace to a country in chaos. Fujimori also succeeded in freeing dozens of people taken hostage by Tupac Amaru rebels in an attack on the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima.
However, he was also criticized as an authoritarian leader. On 7 November 2005 he was arrested by Chilean authorities. Fujimori was extradited to Peru to face criminal charges in September 2007.
On April 7 2009, Fujimori was declared convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of human rights violations for his involvement in murders and kidnappings carried out by the paramilitary group Grupo Colina when his government was facing left-wing guerrillas in the 1990s.
3. Ayatollah Khomeini, Country of origin: Iran, year in power: 1979, end of power: 1989, ideology: Shia Islam theocracy
Sayyid Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (born in Khomein, Markazi Province, 24 September 1902 - died in Tehran, Iran, 3 June 1989 at the age of 86 years) was a figure in the Iranian Revolution and was the first Supreme Leader of Iran.
Ruhollah Khomeini was a Shia politician and cleric who became the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He led the Iranian Revolution in 1979 that overthrew Iran's last Shah (King), Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and ended the 2,500-year-old Persian Empire.
Khomeini used his powerful position to deliver a sermon from the Faiziyah School accusing the state of colluding with Israel.
He was once arrested by Iran's secret police, SAVAK, almost provoking massive riots and causing a violent reaction by security forces that resulted in the deaths of thousands of people.
On the first anniversary after the riots in 1962, Khomeini was exiled to Turkey in 1964. After 15 years, Khomeini returned from exile.
He served as Supreme Leader of Iran until his death in 1989, and he was succeeded as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
4. Bashar al-Assad, Country of origin: Syria, year in power: 2000, end of power: incumbent, ideology: Ba'athism
Dr. Basyar Hafizh al-Assad (born in Damascus, Syria, 11 September 1965 years) is the current President of Syria, holding power since 17 July 2000. He is also Supreme Commander of the Syrian Armed Forces, General Secretary of the ruling Arab Socialist Ba'athist Party and Regional Secretary of the party's Syrian branch. He is the son of Hafizh al-Assad, who was President of Syria 1971–2000.
Basyar al-Assad is said to be a dictator and the person most responsible for the civil war that has raged in his country since March 2011. Assad insists on maintaining his position despite constant attacks from rebel groups.
Currently, Assad is known as a dictator because he does not hesitate to massacre the opposition, which is his own people. To stifle the movement of opposition activists, the Assad government froze the use of Facebook and Twitter.
5. Benito Mussolini, Country of origin: Kingdom of Italy, year in power: 1922, end of power: 1943, ideology: Fascism Military dictatorship
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 1883 – 28 April 1945) was an Italian politician and leader of the National Fascist Party. He was dictator of Italy in the period 1922-1943. He was forced to resign as Prime Minister of Italy on 28 July 1943 after a series of Italian defeats in Africa. After being arrested, he was isolated. Two years later, he was executed in Como, northern Italy. Mussolini ended a decade much like Germany's dictator Adolf Hitler did with his Nazis.
He was known as Il Duce and was the initiator of fascism. In October 1922, he became the 27th Prime Minister of Italy and began using the title Duce Il from 1925, by which time he had legally established dictatorial authority, aspiring to create a totalitarian state.
Mussolini was one of the founders of Italian Fascism, which included elements of nationalism, corporatism, national syndicalism, expansionism, social progress and anti-communism with a combination of subversive censorship and state propaganda.
On 24 July 1943, soon after the start of the Allied invasion of Italy, through the Ordine del giorno Grandi, Mussolini was defeated in elections to the Grand Council of Fascism and the day after, the King arrested Mussolini. On September 12, 1943, Mussolini was rescued from the Gran Sasso online prison by German special forces. In late April 1945, Mussolini attempted to flee north, but there he was quickly captured and executed near Lake Como by Italian partisans. His body was then taken to Milan where it was hung upside down at a gas station for public viewing and as proof of his death.
6. Ferdinand Marcos, Country of origin: Philippines, year in power: 1972, end of power: 1986, ideology: Constitutional dictatorship

Ferdinand Edralín Marcos (born in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, 11 September 1917 – died in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, 28 September 1989 at the age of 72 years) was the tenth President of the Philippines. He served from 30 December 1965 to 25 February 1986.
In 1972, he established an authoritarian regime that allowed him to remain in power until it was abolished in 1981, using martial law as a tool to suppress opposition. He was then reappointed in the same year to serve a six-year term marked by poor political management, health problems, as well as human rights violations by the military and rampant corruption in the government. During this time, the murder of opposition leader Benigno Aquino, Jr., occurred in 1983.
In 1986, he was removed from his position as president in the EDSA Revolution, a peaceful revolution led by Corazon Aquino (Benigno Aquino's widow).
Together with his wife, Imelda, Marcos fled to Hawaii. There he was accused of embezzling state funds and loans from abroad and was found guilty. Marcos died in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1989 due to kidney, heart and lung disease. Marcos was first interred in Hawaii, and has since been buried in a large, beautiful cemetery in Batac City, Northern Ilocos province.
7. Fidel Castro, Country of origin: Cuba, year in power: 1959, end of power: 2008, ideology: Marxist-Leninist Communism

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a communist Cuban revolutionary and politician. Castro served as Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and as President of Cuba from 1976 to 2008. Apart from that, he also served as First Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party from 1965 to 2011.
Based on the Marxist-Leninist model of development, Castro transformed Cuba into a one-party socialist state led by the Communist Party. His policies included centralized economic planning and extensive funding for education and health. These policies were also accompanied by government control of the press and the silencing of criticism. Abroad, Castro supported Marxist-leaning governments, such as Salvador Allende's government in Chile, the National Reconstruction Junta in Nicaragua, and the People's Revolutionary Government in Grenada.
Castro declared himself "a socialist, a Marxist, and a Leninist", and he began to openly profess a Marxist–Leninist identity in early December 1961. As a Marxist, Castro sought to transform Cuba from a capitalist country dominated by foreign imperialism into a socialist and ultimately communist society.
8. Ho Chi Minh, Country of origin: North Vietnam, year in power: 1954, end of power: 1969, ideology: Communism

Hồ Chí Minh (19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969) was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman, who later became Prime Minister (1954) and President of North Vietnam (1954–1969). Apart from that, Ho Chi Minh was one of the most influential politicians of the 20th century.
His real name is Nguyễn Sinh Cung, and is also known as Nguyễn Tất Thành, Nguyễn Ái Quốc (a name often used by others as well), Lý Thụy, Hồ Quang and fondly called Bác Hồ (uncle Hồ) in Vietnam. Saigon City, which was once the capital of South Vietnam, was changed to Ho Chi Minh City to commemorate his service.
9. Hosni Mubarak, Country of origin: Egypt, year in power: 1981, end of power: 2011, ideology: Constitutional dictatorship

Muhammad Hosni Said Mubarak, Muḥammad Ḥusnī Mubārak, also known as Hosni Mubarak, Ḥusnī Mubārak (born in Kafr-El Meselha, Al Monufiyah, 4 May 1928) is a former President of Egypt. He served for the period 14 October 1981-11 February 2011.
Mubarak was appointed vice president in 1975 after rising through the ranks of the Egyptian Air Force. Then, he became president to replace President Anwar Sadat who was killed on October 6 1981 by a radical group. He is the fourth President of Egypt to serve a term of more than 15 years since taking office in 1981. As President of Egypt, he is considered the most powerful leader in his region. He resigned on February 11, 2011 following massive demonstrations for 18 days in 2011. On June 2, 2012, he was sentenced by court to life imprisonment.
Hosni Mubarak was accused of being involved in the deaths of hundreds of Egyptians protesting against his dictatorial regime in January 2011. Thousands of Egyptians gathered in Tahrir Square for weeks calling for his resignation.
During his three decades ruling Egypt, Mubarak made the police the spearhead of repression against society. Thousands of Egyptians were arrested, beaten, detained without charge by the police in trumped-up cases.
Idi Amin, Country of origin: Uganda, year in power: 1971, end of power: 1979, ideology: Military dictatorship
Mahathir Mohamad, Country of origin: Malaysia, year in power: 1981, end of power: 2003, ideology: Constitutional dictatorship
Muammar Gaddafi, Country of origin: Libya, year in power: 1969, end of power: 2011, ideology: Arab Socialist/Pan-Africanism (Gaddafism)
Saddam Hussein, Country of origin: Iraq, year in power: 1979, end of power: 2003, ideology: Ba'athism
Islam Karimov, Country of origin: Uzbekistan, year in power: 1990, end of power: 2016, ideology: Nationalist Constitutional dictator
Kim Jong-un, Country of origin: North Korea, year in power: 2011, end of power: incumbent, ideology: Juche
Mao Zedong, Country of origin: China, year in power: 1949, end of power: 1976, ideology: Maoism
Robert Mugabe, Country of origin: Zimbabwe, years in power: 1980, end of power: 2017, ideology: Constitutional dictatorship, Black nationalism
Joseph Stalin, Country of origin: Soviet Union, year in power: 1922, end of power: 1953, ideology: Communist (Stalinism)
Suharto, Country of origin: Indonesia, year in power: 1966, end of power: 1998, ideology: Nationalism Anti-communism Military dictatorship
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Country of origin: Pakistan, year in power: 1978, end of power: 1988, ideology: Military dictatorship/Constitutional dictatorship
Pol Pot, Country of origin: Cambodia, year in power: 1975, end of power: 1979, ideology: Maoism/Communism Military dictatorship
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Country of origin: Turkey, year in power: 1923, end of power: 1938, ideology: Constitutional dictatorship