Dictators That Caused Wars

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin: Soviet Union

Jan 15, 1920

<Joseph Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953.As the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, he was effectively the dictator of the state. Stalin led the Soviet Union through its post-war reconstruction phase, which saw a significant rise in tension with the Western world that would later be known as the Cold War.

Emperor Hirohito: Emperor of Japan

Dec 25, 1926

http://www.britannica.com/biography/Hirohito/images-videos/Hirohito-1982/75696
The Emperor of Japan during 1926 to 1989 was Emperor Hirohito. He was said to be a nice and calm man, but he was very influential over Japan and there was a lot of problems and political unrest. This led to the Japan military forces to revolt and many important figures in Japan were killed. He supported events that took place in Japan the led to their involvement in WWII, and also in the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Adolf Hitler: Dictator of Germany

Jan 30, 1933

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=adolf+hitler&&view=detail&mid=D7745BAB107196131217D7745BAB107196131217&FORM=VRDGAR

After WWI, he took control of Germany and decided to try to rid the world of Jews and others that didn’t fit in with what he thought the perfect race would be. Hitler killed more than 6 million people in the Holocaust. In 1939, he launched an attack on Poland which was the beginning of WWII.

Mao Zedong: Leader of the Communist Party of China

Oct 1, 1949

He worked his way up to be a political leader for Communist China. He led a fight in the Japanese-Chinese Conflict, and decided he wanted to control all of China. Because of this, many lives were lost due to his leadership, as China experienced a very bloody civil war.

Fidel Castro: Prime Minister and President of Cuba

Feb 16, 1959

http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/fidel-castro/videos/castro-urges-nuclear-attack-on-america?m=528e394da93ae&s=undefined&f=1&free=false

Fidel Castro took over leadership of Cuba in 1959 and ruled for over fifty years. His problems with the U.S. resulted in the Bay of Pigs Invasion, as well as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Things could have even gotten worse as nuclear missiles were found in Cuba by the United States in 1962, which almost brought on a WWIII.

Nicolae Ceausescu: General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party

Mar 22, 1967

He joined the Communist movement in Romania as a youth and moved up to have an important position of power. He became Head of State and began to make many changes, including bulldozing over people’s homes and entire villages and forcing people to live in apartment buildings. He eventually ordered his secret police and military to declare war on his own people who were holding demonstrations to protest his rule.

Muammar Gaddafi: Dictator of Libya

Sep 1, 1969

Muammar Gaddafi joined a military group and took control of Libya in and became Dictator for over 40 years. Under his leadership, he got rid of all those in the country who were not Libyans. He also got the Libyan military involved in fighting wars in Sudan, Egypt, and Chad. From this, many instances of terrorism started.

Idi Amin Dada: President of Uganda

Jan 25, 1971

Idi Amin Dada was a President of Uganda and in power 1971 to 1979. He was known as the “Butcher of Uganda” as his crimes against people were brutal and very violent. In 1971, he overthrew the current leader of the time, and made himself president of Uganda. According to Biography.com, Idi Amin Dada had killed nearly 300,000 people brutally while he was president.

Juvenal Habyarimana:President of the Republic of Rwanda

Jul 5, 1973

Juvenal Habyarimana was the President of Rwanda from 1973 until his death in 1994. He was very loyal to that group and used his power and authority to begin a genocide to eliminate the other ethnic groups such as the Tutsis. He killed more than 800,000 Rwandans during his time in power.

Pol Pot: Communist Leader of Cambodia

Apr 17, 1975

Pol Pot was a Communist Leader of Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. He became Prime Minister in his group called Khmer Rouge which was a very powerful and unfair group that controlled everything about people’s lives in Cambodia. Under Pol Pot, The Khmer Rouge communist group tried to expand beyond their borders and frequently had fighting and skirmishes with Vietnamese forces.

Saddam Hussein: President of Iraq

Jul 16, 1979

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Saddam+Hussein&&view=detail&mid4A4F52&FORM=VRDGAR

Saddam Hussein was a dictator of Iraq from 1979 to 2003. He was ruthless and violent, and gained power as he worked his way up in the Baath Party that overthrew the Iraqi government. He eventually became President and led Iraq into a war with Iran from 1980 to 1988. After that ended in a tie, he set his sights on Kuwait which brought the United States in to assist Kuwait in The Persian Gulf War in 1990.

Kim Jong-Un: North Korea's Supreme Leader

Oct 10, 2010

Kim Jong-Un became North Korea’s Supreme Leader in 2011 from inheriting the position from his father, Kim Jong-il, and is currently still in this position of leadership. Trained to take over for his father one day, he grew into the position of dictator. The country of North Korea has suffered poverty, education issues, and food shortages under his rule.