Napoleon Bonaparte
Adolf Hitler
Before the rule of Nazi Germany, Hitler was just one among his six siblings who was terrorized by his father. After being rejected by the Academy of Fine Arts twice, Hitler moved into a homeless shelter. A few years later, in the time of WW I, Hitler was admitted into the German army, even though he was Austrian. Moving up the ranks, Adolf Hitler gave several notorious speeches which gained him fame in Germany. Through the immense power Hitler had gained, he believed he could take over the world. The power he possessed led him to cause major warfare as well as perform mass executions.
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Idi Amin
Idi Amin was raised by his mother on her own after his father deserted the family. He joined the King's African Rifles of the British colonial army in 1946 as an assistant cook. Amin rose in ranking, being very strong in character and skilled, soon reaching the highest rank possible for a black African serving in the British army. In close association with the president, the two men worked to smuggle gold, coffee and ivory out of Congo. Once Idi Amin became president his style of ruling was brutal. The economy was run poorly, he ignored human rights, repressed the Ugandan people, racially persecuted the people and executed the people without hesitation. He abused his power as president by appointing him Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Army Chief of Staff, and Chief of Air Staff. During his ruling he pushed most of the money towards military based things, like improving weaponry and gaining a bigger army.
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Pol Pot
Pol Pot started his life off in the small village of Prek Sbauv, where his family was doing very well in rice paddy agriculture. He lost his scholarship in radio technologies after neglecting his studies when he became interested in Marxism. He became leader of the Cambodian Communist Party, which helped him to wage war against Sihanouk's government. Pol Pot began a experiment to create an agrarian utopia once he came to power. Combodia was sealed off from the outside world, making foreigners expelled, foreign language was banned, social media was shut down, bicycles were confiscated, and telephone usage and mail was curtailed. Pol Pots fierce reign killed around 200,000 people.
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Ivan IV
The son of a King of Russia, Ivan IV was born into his position. He took the crown at only 16 after the death of both his parents. When he was crowned, he was the first crowned as " The Tsar of All the Russias", which secured his own family line. By crowning himself with this title, Ivan was proclaiming to all other monarchs that he was the one supreme leader of his country. By doing so, he also took over a right that others had believed was only given to those chosen by divine intervention. Ivan not only ensured that his bloodline would rule Russia, but elevated such rulers to a new level of dominance. During his reign, he reformed Russian laws and created his own domestic policy and also began the process of modernizing Russia. However, his reign was not all good. He was also guilty of exiling and executing many citizens based on shady accusations of conspiracy. He also persecuted many clans in Russia whom he believed could challenge his bloodline for the crown. All these along with the fear he instilled on the people are what gave him the nickname " Ivan the Terrible".
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Mohamed Suharto
As the son of a minor official and trader in Yogyakarta, Mohamed Suharto aspired from his youth to a career in the military. Over many years, he rose steadily through the ranks of the Indonesian army, becoming a colonel in 1957, a brigadier general in 1960, and a major general in 1962. Soon, he became chief of the army, and Suharto seized control of the government, becoming president of Indonesia from 1967 to 1998. Mohamed led a grand massacre directed towards leftists in society, leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths. Furthermore, Suharto used his immense power to enrich himself and his family, all at the expense of millions of citizens. For three decades, his authoritarian regime, full of internal corruption, caused a terrible recession, skyrocketing inflammation, and collapsed living standards for the poor.
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Ferdinand Marcos
Though Ferdinand Marcos came from humble beginnings, his political career was filled with questions from the beginning. After failing to procure a seat on the Philippine National Assembly for the second time, Marcos was accused of sending his family off to kill the man who had beat him out both time. Though prosecuted for the murder, Marcos was never convicted. He was able to become a leader of a Philippine militia during WWII, get a law degree, and even graduate cum laude from college (had he not been in jail during the bar exam, he would have graduated magna cum laude). Marcos eventually found his place in politics after gaining a place in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Afterwards, Marcos served two terms as President of the Philippines. During his second term, Marcos declared Martial Law over the Philippines. He also stretched his presidency well over the allotted two terms and used Muslim conspiracy theories to justify his actions. During this time, Marcos rewrote the country's constitution, most of which was later nullified by his successor. Not long after he gave up his presidency, Marcos returned as the Prime Minister of The Philippines. After a two term stint as Prime Minister, Marcos was elected for the third time as President. It was during this term that he was again accused of assassinating another political rival. Congress attempted to impeach Marcos. but the attempt failed. After Marcos stepped down from all political work, it was revealed he had stolen the equivalent of $10 million dollars from the Philippine government.
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