Dictator

[2][3] A wide variety of leaders coming to power in different kinds of regimes, such as one-party or dominant-party states and civilian governments under a personal rule, have been described as dictators.

For example, during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the national leader Lajos Kossuth was often referred to as dictator, without any negative connotations, by his supporters and detractors alike, although his official title was that of regent-president.

For instance, Idi Amin Dada, who had been a British army lieutenant prior to Uganda's independence from Britain in October 1962, subsequently styled himself "His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor[A] Idi Amin Dada, VC,[B] DSO, MC, Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular".

A benevolent dictatorship refers to a government in which an authoritarian leader exercises absolute political power over the state but is perceived to do so with regard for the benefit of the population as a whole, standing in contrast to the decidedly malevolent stereotype of a dictator.

A benevolent dictator may allow for some civil liberties or democratic decision-making to exist, such as through public referendums or elected representatives with limited power, and often makes preparations for a transition to genuine democracy during or after their term.

The label has been applied to leaders such as Mustafa Kemal Atatürk of Turkey (1923–38),[13] Josip Broz Tito of SFR Yugoslavia (1953–80),[14] and Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore (1959–90).

In some cases, this is perfectly legitimate; for instance, Francisco Franco was a general in the Spanish Army before he became Chief of State of Spain,[16] and Manuel Noriega was officially commander of the Panamanian Defense Forces.

Typically, the dictator's people seize control of all media, censor or destroy the opposition, and give strong doses of propaganda daily, often built around a cult of personality.

Franco used a similar title, "El Caudillo" ("the Head", 'the chieftain')[18] and for Stalin his adopted name, meaning "Man of Steel", became synonymous with his role as the absolute leader.

For example, under the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, government policy was enforced by secret police and the Gulag system of prison labour camps.

[22] The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudan's military dictator Omar al-Bashir over alleged war crimes in Darfur.

20th-century leaders typically described as dictators, from left to right and top to bottom, include Joseph Stalin , General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union ; Adolf Hitler , Führer of Nazi Germany ; Augusto Pinochet , President of Chile ; Mao Zedong , Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party ; Benito Mussolini , Duce and Prime Minister of Italy ; and Kim Il Sung , Supreme Leader of North Korea .
Julius Caesar outmaneuvered his opponents in Ancient Rome to install himself as dictator for life.
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea is Africa's longest serving dictator. [ 10 ] [ 11 ]
Paraguayan dictator Francisco Solano López is one of the most controversial figures in South American history, particularly because of the War of the Triple Alliance
Under Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad , Syrian military inflicted industrial-scale atrocities on civilian population during the Syrian civil war . These include hundreds of chemical attacks, such as the Ghouta chemical attack , the largest chemical attack in the 21st century. [ 19 ] [ 20 ] [ 21 ]
Giuseppe Garibaldi , celebrated as one of the greatest generals of modern times [ 28 ] and as the "Hero of the Two Worlds" because of his military enterprises in South America and Europe, [ 29 ] who fought in many military campaigns that led to Italian unification . He proclaimed himself dictator of Sicily in 1860 during the Expedition of the Thousand