3 weeks ago
13
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A dictator, in the modern political system, is an individual who wields absolute political power within a country or region. The term originates from a Latin title in the Roman Republic, referring to a temporary judge granted extraordinary authority to address a state crisis.
However, as noted by Britannica, modern dictators more closely resemble ancient tyrants than their Roman counterparts. These individuals typically employ violence to seize and maintain political power, relying on intimidation, terror, and the suppression of civil liberties to perpetuate their rule.
Dictators may also utilize propaganda techniques to manipulate public opinion and maintain support. With such a dark history of oppression, the question arises: who are the world's cruelest dictator leaders?
Here is the list of cruelest dictators in the world as reported by Business Insider:
1. Francisco Solano Lopez
Francisco Solano Lopez, President and military leader of Paraguay, gained posthumous respect for his leadership. However, his legacy is marred by his imprudent actions in provoking neighboring countries, Brazil and Argentina, to intervene in the Uruguayan Civil War of the 1860s.
Despite the war's conclusion, Lopez rejected the offered peace terms, leading to a devastating conflict that had far-reaching consequences. Children were forcibly recruited as soldiers, hundreds of his deputies were executed (including his own), and Paraguay suffered significant territorial losses.
By the time of Lopez's death in battle in 1870, Paraguay's population had plummeted from 525,000 to a mere 221,000 souls. Moreover, the country was left with only 29,000 male residents over the age of 15.
2. Josef Tiso
Josef Tiso, a Catholic priest who led the fascist regime in Slovakia, is remembered for his brutal actions following the anti-fascist rebellion of 1944. He facilitated the deportation of the majority of Slovakia's Jewish population to Nazi concentration camps.
Prior to the deportations, Slovakia's Jewish population exceeded 88,000. Tragically, by the end of the conflict, only an estimated 5,000 Jews remained in the country.
3. Dome Sztojay
Miklos Horthy, Hungary's leader, initially allied with the Nazis and collaborated with Adolf Hitler's regime to regain control over his country following World War I. However, Horthy began to distance himself from the Nazis in 1944, largely refusing to deport Jews. This defiance prompted the appointment of Dome Sztojay as a puppet leader.
During his brief six-month tenure as prime minister, Sztojay oversaw the deportation of over 440,000 Hungarian Jews to concentration camps. His actions directly contributed to the tragic loss of countless lives. After the war, Sztojay was captured by United States forces and executed in 1946.
4. Ante Pavelic
Ante Paveli, a Croatian politician, began his career in opposition to the centralization of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Following the king's declaration of absolute power, Paveli left his country in 1929 and organized an ultra-nationalist movement known as the Ustaše.
The Ustaše aimed to establish an independent Croatia and, in 1934, successfully assassinated King Alexander. After his forces seized control of Yugoslavia in 1941, Paveli assumed leadership of the independent state of Croatia, a puppet state under the control of Italy and Nazi Germany. Under his regime, Serbian Orthodox, Jews, and Roma people were subjected to persecution.
5. Khorloogiin Choibalsan
Following his meeting with Joseph Stalin, Khorloogiin Choibalsan became notorious for implementing the Soviet leader's policies and methods in Mongolia. Beginning in the 1930s, he established a dictatorial regime, characterized by the arrest and execution of party members, government officials, individuals from various social organizations, and educated citizens.
6. Le Duan
While Le Duan never officially held the title of head of state in Vietnam, his influence within the country's communist regime was undeniable. For over two decades, he was a dominant force in shaping the nation's policies.
Following the Vietnam War and North Korea's invasion of South Vietnam, Duan oversaw a series of mass anti-communist purges. These resulted in the imprisonment of two million people and the forced displacement of over 800,000 individuals.
7. Michel Micombero
At just 26 years old, Michel Micombero, then the Minister of Defense of Burundi, orchestrated a retaliatory coup in 1966 that propelled him to the position of prime minister. Having seized power, he abolished the monarchy system in his country, exiling the newly crowned 19-year-old king.
Micombero fostered the rise of the Tutsi elite within the military and government, fueling tensions with the Hutu ethnic group. In 1972, Micombero brutally suppressed a Hutu uprising, resulting in the mass slaughter of an estimated 150,000 to 300,000 people.
8. Yahya Khan
General Yahya Khan, a Pakistani military leader and British Army veteran of World War II, ordered his troops to suppress the growing separatist movement in East Pakistan in 1971. Through Operation Searchlight, he targeted nationalist and intellectual Bengalis, triggering a wave of 10 million refugees.
During a high-level meeting in February 1971, Khan was recorded saying, "Kill three million of them," referring to the separatists. By the end of the year, hundreds of thousands had perished, and he was ultimately ousted from power.
9. Radovan Karadzic
Radovan Karadzic, the former President of the Republika Srpska, an ethnic Serb republic within Bosnia and Herzegovina, is infamous for his role in the Bosnian War. As president, he oversaw a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Bosnian Muslims that resulted in some of the worst human rights abuses in Europe since World War II.
Karadzic is believed to be responsible for the deaths of over 8,000 Bosnian Muslims in just three days in July 1995. He was eventually arrested in Serbia in 2008 and sent to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands, to face charges for his crimes.
10. Than Shwe
The leader of the Myanmar military junta, Than Shwe has faced widespread condemnation from Western nations due to his alleged human rights violations. Reports indicate that he sent up to a million people to forced labor camps during his time in power.
Although he resigned in 2011, Shwe is believed to maintain considerable influence "behind the scenes". Recently, he publicly supported his former adversary, Aung San Suu Kyi, as a potential future leader of Myanmar.
BRITANNICA | BUSINESS INSIDER
Editor’s Choice: Turkish President Erdogan Likens Netanyahu to Hitler for Denying Attack on Rafah
Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
