The 10 Most Brutal Dictators in Living Memory

The invasion of Ukraine by Putin's military has left me to reflect on what I would consider to be the ten most wicked, the most brutal, and the most beastly dictators of the last 150 years or so. Of course, this is my take on it but I think most people would agree that these ten rats pretty well sum up the title of this blog. So here I list them roughly from the earliest to the latest . . . let’s get started.

Adolf Hitler (B. April 1889 - D. April 1945) 

Well, what can one say about this evil piece of filth who, on invading Poland, started World War II. He was the leader of the Nazi Party who would go down in history as the man, although I’d call him an animal, who committed the attempted genocide of the Jews. However, Britain and America invaded Germany and liberated the country from this brutal dictator. It’s said that he shot himself (and his wife Eva Braun) on the 30th April, 1945.

Joseph Stalin (B. December 1879 - D. March 1953)

Joseph Stalin’s name meant 'man of steel' and by the start of the Second World War he certainly lived up to it. He was the man who oversaw the defeat of Nazism from the East and became the supreme ruler or dictator of the Soviet Union for 25 years. His regime of horrific terror caused the death and suffering of tens of millions of his own people. Stalin was an alcoholic like his father and died on the 5th March, 1953 after a massive stroke due to a heavy night's drinking session - vodka was the killer - surprise, surprise!

Benito Mussolini (B. July 1883 - D. April 1945)

Benito Mussolini's claim to fame, if one could call it that, was the founder of Fascism who became leader (dictator) of Italy from 1922 to 1943. He allied Italy with Nazi Germany and became the sole supporter of Adolf Hitler anywhere in the world. Mussolini might have remained a bent hero until his death had not his callous xenophobia and arrogance, together with his miscalculation of Italy’s fundamental necessities, and his dreams of empire. This 'empire' would be coupled with Nazi Germany. However, Italy's defeat in WWII led to the people rising up against him. He was shot, together with his mistress, Clara Petacci, who were hung upside down in Milan city centre. It was April 28th, 1945.

Mao Tse-tung (B. December 1893 - D. September 1976)

Mao Tse-tung served as chairman of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 1949 to 1959, and led the Chinese Communist Party from 1935 until his death. It was basically via his reign that China became a controlled state. My overarching observation of this evil tyrant was, as part of his so-called Cultural Revolution, he invaded Tibet where hundreds and thousands of Tibetans were captured, tortured and killed. He told his people that the Dalai Lama was a terrorist. Mao Tse-tung died from complications relating to Parkinson's disease on September 9, 1976 in Beijing, China. Basically, a genocidal monster!

Muammar Gaddafi (B. June 1942 - D. October 2011)

The man who called himself Colonel Muammar Gaddafi ruled Libya for 42 years, during which he and a selected bunch of rebels, stole Libyan oil money leaving the masses in poverty. He was the ultimate ruler and dictator who eventually ended up being a hated figure in his own country. He sought friendship especially with the USA and the UK but these regimes saw a different side to his heinous, autocratic crimes. Towards the end of his reign many Libyan rebels stood up to Gaddafi when he 'escaped' the town of Sirte looking to escape the country but his convoy was bombed and the rebels took hold of the evil dictator and shot him. Thus a bloody end ensued for the selfish, narcissist tyrant. Libya was free at last!

Idi Amin (B. July 1923 - D. August 2003)

Idi Amin Dada was born in July 1923 in Koboko, in north-western Uganda. In growing up he joined the King’s African Rifles (KAR), a regiment of the British colonial army, and quickly rose through the ranks. In 1966 he became commander of the armed forces and later seized control of the country from Milton Obote. This led to a devilish regime whereby he terrorised the public who opposed him, slaughtering thousands of rebels. However, as time went by, the rebels began to control vast swathes of land which led to Amin fleeing to Saudi Arabia. It was here that he died of multiple organ failure. It never failed to amaze me why Saudi Arabia took this thug into its country - well, that’s Saudi Arabia for you who, a few days ago, beheaded 81 nationals!

Saddam Hussein (B. April 1937 - D. December 2006)

Saddam Hussein, born in 1937, was what I would call the bulldozer of Iraq. He joined the Ba 'ath Party and eventually became its leader. In 1968 he led a coup that eventually saw him become the country's autocratic ruler. He used an extensive secret-police establishment to suppress any internal opposition to his rule where his ultimate goal was to supplant Egypt as leader of the Arab world and to achieve hegemony over the Persian Gulf. This led to the invasion of Kuwait that would eventually lead to his downfall. The Iraq War ensued when he later fled into hiding but was captured on the 13th December, 2003. He was pulled from an underground hiding place and surrendered. This resulted in nine months of a tribunal and where, at the end, was found guilty of wilful killing, terrorising, torture and crimes against humanity. He was sentenced to death by hanging which took place on the 30th December, 2006.

Hosni Mubarak (B. May 1928 - D. February 2020)

This other satanic ruler, Hosni Mubarak, governed Egypt between 1981 and 2011. He spent several years in the air force and rose up the ranks and became a commander. In 1975, President Anwar Sadat appointed Mubarak as Vice President of Egypt and it was then that the ex-air force pilot would seek to become the leader of the Arab world. I remember his presidency being born amid gunfire and bloodshed and ended in an equally dramatic fashion. Again, like other dictators, he was fundamental in destroying anyone who came up against him. In 2012, Mubarak was sentenced to life imprisonment over the deaths of some of the 900 protesters who were killed by security forces during the uprising a year earlier. He was convicted of corruption but the more serious charges against Mubarak were later overturned and he was released in 2017. He died in hospital on the 25th February, 2020 but no details were given of the causes.

Kim Jong-un (B. January 1984)

And so we come to the present time and this madman, Kim Jong-un. The idiotic headbanger, Kim Jong-un, is the son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's second supreme leader from 1994 to 2011. It would only be a matter of time before he would become the country's leader and this happened in December, 2011. This maniac rules North Korea with an iron fist and basically controls all aspects of the life of the poorest people on the planet. A report I saw from a United Nations enquiry into his reign said, 'Extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, rape, imprisonment, forced abortions, and other sexual violence, persecution on political, religious, racial, and gender grounds, the forcible transfer of populations, the enforced disappearance of persons, and the inhumane act of knowingly causing prolonged starvation.' I needn't go any further. We still don't know if he has nuclear weapons . . . hopefully his rule will end before this development.

Vladimir Putin (B. October 1952)

And lastly, we come to Vladimir Putin, or as many in the media call him, Vlad the Mad Putin. This thug, this evil dictator, will go down in history as possibly the most hellish despot since Adolf Hitler. This ex-KGB agent came to power in Russia back when Boris Yeltsin appointed him as Prime Minister in 1999, became the Russian leader, and battled to win the Chechnya war. In 2011 Putin's United Russia party won the general election and he has been Russia's leader ever since. So, over the years and behind the scenes, Putin was ransacking the state’s coffers with fellow kleptocrats, went back to his roots, and now has become an authoritarian leader. Political persecution and the crackdown on any Russian opposition have been ramped up to the extent Putin’s regime is prepared to assassinate opponents overseas with nerve poisons. Lastly, this authoritarianism can be summed up with the latest news from the dictator. Anyone calling the conflict in Ukraine a 'war' will be banged up in prison for 15 years - he describes it as a ‘military operation’ unbelievable but true. Yes, this is the modern-day Adolf Hitler. Hitler committed suicide - Putin I expect will be assassinated!