Dictator
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The word dictator or despot in modern times is used to describe the absolute ruler (other than a king) of a country, who uses force and fear to keep himself and his friends in authority, and can effectively make laws all by himself. A country that is ruled by a dictator has never been a democracy. A country that is ruled by a dictator is called a dictatorship.
Some dictators gained political power by winning an election and cancelling new elections once they took power.
It is not always clear whether a leader is a dictator or not. Some leaders got into power by elections, but sometimes they gave false election results.
Kings and emperors often use force and fear too, but usually they aren't called dictators. This is because kings and emperors have some reason from being in power (usually their father was king or emperor), but a dictator gained power himself. Also, when someone is king or emperor of a country, usually there were several kings or emperors before them. A dictator often creates the job of dictator by gaining power.
Some people call leaders dictators because they simply do not like them and they seem powerful.
[edit] Some historic dictators
- Adolf Hitler, Germany
- Augusto Pinochet, Chile
- Benito Mussolini, Italy
- Chiang Kai-shek, China, later Taiwan
- Francisco Franco, Spain
- Idi Amin, Uganda
- Josef Stalin, Soviet Union
- Juvénal Habyarimana, Rwanda
- Mao Zedong, China
- Mobutu Sese Seko, Congo-Kinshasa
- Ngô Ðình Diệm, South Vietnam
- Pol Pot, Cambodia
- Saddam Hussein, Iraq
[edit] Some people who are dictators now
- Kim Jŏng-Il, North Korea
- Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan
- Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe
- Alexandre Lukashenko, Belarus
- Teodoro Obiang Nguema, Equatorial Guinea
- Saparmurat Niyazov (he calls himself Turkmenbashi), Turkmenistan
- Fidel Castro, Cuba
- Paul Kagame, Rwanda
