1 to 8 of about 8 blog posts
Dictator of the Month: Who Was Kim Jong-il of North Korea?
Friday, December 23, 2011 7:18 AM
The death of Kim Jong-il probably marks the end of an era, the end of one family controlling the fates of 24 million people. Despite the fact that I have written about living dictators for many years, I managed to visit North Korea in 2007. It w...
Dictator of the Month: Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan
Tuesday, October 25, 2011 9:24 PM
This month’s Dictator of the Month award to Islam Karimov is given in honor of Herman Cain’s complete lack of awareness of Uzbekistan and the important controversy regarding President Barack Obama’s decision to lift sanctions against Karimov despi...
Dictator of the Month: Paul Biya of Cameroon
Thursday, September 29, 2011 10:47 AM
On October 9, the nation of Cameroon in west-central Africa will hold a presidential election. There will be 23 candidates, but there isn’t much doubt which one will win…78-year-old Paul Biya, who has ruled Cameroon for 29 years. In fact, Biya i...
Dictator of the Month: Muammar al-Gaddafi of Libya
Friday, August 26, 2011 5:46 PM
“All of the great prophets of modern times have come from the desert: Mohammed, Jesus and myself.”
-Muammar al-Gaddafi, October 1988
Muammar al-Gaddafi seized control of the North African nation of Libya in 1969 when he was only 27 years o...
Dictator of the Month: Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea
Wednesday, July 27, 2011 6:03 AM
One of the most overlooked nations in the world, Equatorial Guinea popped onto the international scene after large reserves of oil were discovered there in 1995. Between 1968 and 1979, the nation was controlled by a dictator, Francisco Macías Ng...
Dictator of the Month: King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 4:13 AM
Barack Obama bowed down before him and George W. Bush made a point of being photographed in public holding his hand. But if King Abdullah didn’t control the world’s largest oil reserves, U.S. presidents and the vast majority of Americans would h...
Dictator of the Month: Fidel Castro
Thursday, May 19, 2011 6:19 AM
Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba in January 1959, at the age of 31 or 32, and held on until health problems forced him to begin giving up partial control in 2006. He finally retired officially as the leader of the Communist Party of Cuba on Apr...
Dictator of the Month: King Mswati III of Swaziland
Sunday, April 17, 2011 5:21 PM
“A king is a mouth that does not lie.”
-Swazi saying
The next pro-democracy uprising in Africa may take place in Swaziland, the small landlocked nation surrounded by South Africa. There, King Mswati III has ruled for decades, amassing wealt...
1 to 8 of about 8 blog posts