An assortment of rulers, representatives, and other leaders from around the world.
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Abu Bakr (born 573, died 634)
Muhammad's father-in-law and chosen successor.
- The first caliph, 632-634
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Adolf Hitler (born 1889, died 1945)
Leader of Germany in World War II. Ordered the extermination of Jews and other ''undesirables'' in concentration camps.
- German dictator and founder of Naziism
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Akbar (born 1542, died 1605)
Hereditary emperor of Hindustan who conquered and annexed other kingdoms, eventually ruling all of northern India.
- Mogul emperor of India, 1556-1605
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Albert Gallatin (born 1761, died 1849)
American financier and political leader.
- U.S. Representative, 1795-1801; secretary of the treasury, 1801-1814; minister to France and Great Britain
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Alcide De Gasperi
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Aleksandr Kerenski (born 1881, died 1970)
Russian revolutionary leader.
- Served Russia''s first revolutionary government as minister of justice, minister of war, and prime minister (all in 1917); overthrown by the Bolsheviks
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Alexander Hamilton (born 1757, died 1804)
American lawyer and statesman. Mortally wounded in a duel with political opponent Aaron Burr.
- First U.S. treasury secretary, 1789-95
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Anastas Mikoyan
Soviet leader.
- President of the U.S.S.R., 1964-65
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Andrea Doria (born 1468, died 1560)
Genoese naval leader and statesman.
- Called ''''the Father of Peace'''' in Italy; defeated the Turks and conquered Tunis
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Aneurin Bevan (born 1897, died 1960)
British statesman.
- As minister of health (1945-51), established the National Health System
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Anwar el-Sadat (born 1918, died 1981)
Egyptian statesman. Signed the Camp David Accords with Menachem Begin of Israel.
- President of Egypt, 1970-81; assassinated
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Arthur J. Balfour (born 1848, died 1930)
British philosopher and statesman. In 1917, while serving as foreign minister, issued the Balfour Declaration, stating British support for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine.
- British prime minister, 1902-05
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Atahualpa (died 1533)
Last Incan ruler. Pizarro condemned him to death for refusing to become a Christian.
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Benito Mussolini (born 1883, died 1945)
Italian fascist dictator who joined with Hitler's Germany against the Allies in World War II.
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Benito Juarez (born 1806, died 1872)
Mexican statesman and military leader. Led the revolution against Santa Anna, Maximilian, and the French.
- President of Mexico, 1857-72
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Benjamin Franklin (born 1706, died 1790)
American statesman, scientist, publisher, and philosopher.
- Member of the Constitutional Convention; U.S. representative in negotiations with the British and French
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Benjamin Disraeli (born 1804, died 1881)
British statesman and novelist of Jewish descent.
- British prime minister, 1868, 1874-80
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Camillo Benso di Cavour (born 1810, died 1861)
Italian statesman.
- Premier of Piedmont, 1852-59, 1860-61; unified Italy
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Armand Jean du Plessis Cardinal de Richelieu (born 1585, died 1642)
French cleric and political figure.
- Chief minister to King Louis XIII of France
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Carlo Sforza (born 1873, died 1952)
Italian statesman.
- Leader of the anti-fascist opposition in Italy
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Cecil Rhodes (born 1853, died 1902)
British financier and statesman. Rhodesia and the Rhodes scholarships (which he endowed) are named for him.
- Represented British imperial interests in South Africa
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Cesare Borgia (died 1507)
Son of Pope Alexander IV; brother of Lucretia Borgia.
- Ruthless general and ruler of various territories given to him by his father
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Chaim Weizmann (born 1874, died 1952)
Russian-born scientist, scholar, and Zionist leader.
- First president of Israel, 1949-51
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Charles DeGaulle (born 1890, died 1970)
French military leader and statesman.
- Head of the Free French during World War II; president of the Fifth Republic, 1959-69
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Charles Pinckney (born 1757, died 1824)
American legislator and diplomat.
- Wrote an early draft of the U.S. Constitution
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Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (born 1754, died 1838)
French statesman and excommunicated bishop.
- Served under both Napoleon and Louis XVIII; involved in Revolution of 1830
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Charles Stewart Parnell (born 1846, died 1891)
Irish nationalist leader.
- Had significant success in obstructing British policies, until a revelation of adultery cost him popular and parliamentary support
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Che (Ernesto) Guevara (born 1928, died 1967)
Argentine physician and revolutionary.
- Played a prominent role in the Cuban revolution
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Chiang Kai-shek (born 1887, died 1975)
Chinese Nationalist leader who set up an independent government in Taiwan after the communists took control of mainland China.
- President of China, 1928-31 and 1943-49; president of Taiwan, 1950-75
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Cosimo de' Medici (born 1389, died 1464)
Florentine banker, statesman, and patron of the arts.
- Ruler of the Florentine Republic
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Dag Hammarskjöld (born 1905, died 1961)
Swedish economist and diplomat.
- U.N. secretary general, 1953-61
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Daniel O'Connell
Irish nationalist leader known as ''the Liberator.''
- Founded the Catholic Association; member of parliament, 1828; Lord Mayor of Dublin, 1841
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Daniel Webster (born 1782, died 1852)
American lawyer, statesman, and orator.
- Whig candidate for president in 1852
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David Lloyd George (born 1863, died 1945)
British statesman of Welsh descent.
- British prime minister, 1916-22
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David Ben-Gurion (born 1886, died 1973)
Poland-born Israeli statesman.
- First prime minister of Israel, serving 1949-53 and 1955-63
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DeWitt Clinton
American lawyer and statesman.
- Peace party candidate for President in 1812
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Eamon de Valera
Irish nationalist leader. American-born child of an Irish mother and a Spanish father.
- President of Sinn Fein, 1917-26; prime minister of Ireland through much of the 1940s and 1950s; became President in 1959
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Edmund Jennings Randolph (born 1753, died 1813)
American statesman. Refused to sign the Constitution because he did not think it was adequately republican.
- Governor of Virginia, 1786-88; U.S. attorney general, 1789-94; secretary of state, 1794-95
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Edmund Burke (born 1729, died 1797)
British statesman, orator and writer.
- championed free trade with Ireland and Catholic emancipation; denounced the use of Indians in the American war
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Boris Yeltsin (born 1931)
Russian statesman who continued the democratic reform of the Soviet system begun by Mikhail Gorbachev.
- President of Russia, 1991-1991
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Saddam Hussein (born 1937)
Iraqi leader. His invasion of Kuwait in 1990 led to the Persian Gulf War.
- President of Iraq since 1979
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Jomo Kenyatta (born 1891, died 1978)
Kenyan revolutionary leader and statesman. Original name: Kamau Ngengi.
- First president of Kenya, 1964
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Moammar Khadafy (born 1942)
Libyan who led an anti-monarchist coup in 1969. As ruler of Libya, accused of supporting terrorism.
- President of Libya since 1977
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Eisaku Sato (born 1901, died 1975)
Japanese statesman and proponent of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
- Prime minister of Japan, 1964-72
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Emiliano Zapata (died 1919)
Mexican revolutionary.
- Led his own revolutionary movement independent of other movements of the time, 1911-16
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Emilio Aguinaldo (born 1869, died 1964)
Filipino revolutionary.
- Led insurrections against the Spanish and the Americans
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Engelbert Dollfuss (born 1892, died 1934)
Austrian statesman.
- Proclaimed himself dictator of Austria in an attempt to put down Naziism and preserve Austrian independence, but was assassinated by Austrian Nazis
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Mohammed Riza Pahlevi (born 1919, died 1980)
The last shah of Iran. Overthrown by the Ayatollah Khomeni.
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Riza Pahlevi (born 1877, died 1944)
The founder of modern Iran.
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Francisco Franco (born 1892, died 1975)
Spanish military leader and dictator.
- Assumed supreme power in Spain at the end of the Spanish Civil War, 1939
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Frederick North (born 1732, died 1792)
English statesman.
- British prime minister whose policies helped bring on the American Revolution
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Frederick the Great (born 1712, died 1786)
King of Prussia, 1740-86. Highly skilled as an administrator and writer, as well as a military leader.
- Provoked both the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years'' War
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Friedrich Ebert (born 1871, died 1925)
German social-democratic leader.
- First president of the German Reich, 1919-25
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Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (born 1901, died 1973)
Cuban military and political leader.
- Cuban dictator overthrown by Castro in 1958
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Jean-Claude ''Baby Doc'' Duvalier (born 1951)
Made ''president for life'' by his father, Papa Doc; overthrown by a coup and exiled.
- President of Haiti, 1970-86
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Gamal Abdel Nasser (born 1918, died 1970)
Egyptian statesman and military leader. A key proponent of Arab unification.
- President of Egypt, 1956-58
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Genghis Khan (born 1162, died 1227)
Mongol conqueror.
- Legendary general who invaded and subdued northern China, Korea, northern India, Iran, and Iraq
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Georges Clemenceau (born 1841, died 1929)
French statesman.
- Premier of France, 1906-09, 1917
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Manuel Noriega (born 1934)
Panamanian leader. Overthrown by a U.S. invasion in 1989.
- Leader of the Panamanian army, and virtual dictator, 1983-89
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Georges Danton (born 1759, died 1794)
French revolutionary.
- Leader of the Jacobins; like many early leaders of the Revolution, he was guillotined during the Reign of Terror
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Idi Amin (born 1925)
Ugandan political leader known for his ruthlessness and cruelty.
- President of Uganda, 1971-80
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Georgios Papandreou (born 1888, died 1968)
Greek statesman.
- Organized the Greek Democratic Socialist Party; prime minister, 1944-45
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Giuseppe Garibaldi (born 1807, died 1882)
Italian patriot.
- Involved in numerous attempted revolutions in the mid-19th century
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Giuseppe Mazzini (born 1805, died 1872)
Italian patriot.
- Organized Young Italy, a secret society dedicated to republican principles and the unification of Italy
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Boutros Boutros-Ghali
Egyptian diplomat.
- U.N. secretary-general, 1992-96
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Gouverneur Morris (born 1752, died 1816)
American statesman and diplomat.
- Member of the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention; minister to France during the French Revolution
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Mao Zedong (or Tse-Tung) (born 1893, died 1976)
Peasant-born communist leader who founded the People's Republic of China.
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Haile Selassie (Ras Tafari) (born 1891, died 1975)
Emperor of Ethiopia.
- Ruled Ethiopia 1930-36; driven out by an Italian invasion; restored to throne in 1941; deposed in 1974
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Rajiv Gandhi (born 1944, died 1991)
Indian statesman. Became prime minister after the assassination of his mother, Indira Gandhi; was himself assassinated in 1991.
- Prime minister of India, 1984-89
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Fidel Castro (born 1926)
Cuban who led the communist coup that overthrew the Batista regime.
- Premier of Cuba since 1959
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Charles the Great (born 742, died 814)
King of the Franks who conquered much of western Europe. Also known as Charlemagne or Carolus Magnus.
- King of the Franks, 768-814; crowned emperor by the pope in 800
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Heinrich Himmler (born 1900, died 1945)
German Nazi official. Committed suicide to escape prosecution for war crimes.
- Leader of the SS and the Gestapo
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Suleiman the Magnificent (died 1566)
Turkish leader who organized and reformed the government, expanded his territory, and supported the arts and sciences.
- Sultan of Turkey, 1520-66
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Henri Philippe Pétain (born 1856, died 1951)
French general and politician.
- Headed the Vichy government in WWII; sentenced to life imprisonment for collaboration with the Nazis
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Henry Clay (born 1777, died 1852)
American statesman. Served as a U.S. senator and representative from Kentucky; ran for President in 1932 and 1944.
- Fought hard to keep America from civil war
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Henry Cabot Lodge (born 1850, died 1924)
American legislator and historian.
- As a senator, vigorously opposed U.S. involvement in the League of Nations
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Hideki Tojo (born 1885, died 1948)
Japanese military leader and statesman. Hanged as a war criminal after World War II.
- Japanese prime minister, 1941-44
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Hirohito (born 1901, died 1989)
Japan's longest-reigning emperor.
- Emperor of Japan, 1926-89
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Ho Chi Minh (born 1890, died 1969)
Vietnamese communist leader.
- President of North Vietnam, 1954-69
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Huey Pierce Long (born 1893, died 1935)
American politician whose career was cut short by assassination.
- Governor of Louisiana, 1928-31; U.S. senator, 1931-35
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Abdul-Aziz ibn-Saud (born 1880, died 1953)
Founder of Saudi Arabia.
- King of Saudi Arabia, 1932-53
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Jawaharlal Nehru (born 1889, died 1964)
Indian nationalist leader. Father of Indira Gandhi.
- First prime minister of India, serving 1950-66
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Jean Paul Marat (born 1743, died 1793)
French revolutionary who escaped the guillotine only to be assassinated in his bathtub.
- A leader of the Jacobins in their overthrow of the Girondists
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Jefferson Davis (born 1808, died 1889)
American statesman.
- President of the Confederate States of America, 1861-65
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John C. Calhoun (born 1782, died 1850)
American statesman.
- Champion of states'' rights, slavery, and the southern cause
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Josef Stalin (born 1879, died 1953)
Soviet dictator who built the U.S.S.R. into a major power. Original name: Iosef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili.
- Ruler of the Soviet Union, 1927-53
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Joseph R. McCarthy (born 1908, died 1957)
American legislator who led congressional investigations into alleged communist conspiracies.
- U.S. senator from Wisconsin, 1947-57
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Josip Broz (Tito) (born 1892, died 1980)
Yugoslavian communist leader.
- President of Yugoslavia, 1953-80
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Juan Perón (born 1895, died 1974)
Argentine military and political leader.
- President of Argentina, 1946-55 and 1973-74
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Jules Cardinal Mazarin
French statesman and church official.
- Prime minister of France under Louis XIII and during the early years of Louis XIV''s reign.
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Kamehameha I (died 1819)
First ruler of all the Hawaiian islands.
- King of Hawaii, 1795-1819
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Kemal Atatürk (born 1923, died 1938)
Turkish military leader and statesman. Original name: Mustafa Kemal.
- First president of the Turkish Republic, 1923-38
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Kim Il Sung
Founder of North Korea.
- Head of state from North Korea''s establishment in 1948; named president in 1972
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Klemens W.N.L. Metternich (born 1773, died 1859)
Austrian statesman and diplomat, largely responsible for political stability in Europe between 1815 and 1830.
- Prince of the Austrian Empire, 1813-48
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Konrad Adenauer (born 1876, died 1967)
German lawyer and statesman. First chancellor of West Germany.
- Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1949-63
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Kublai Khan (born 1216, died 1294)
Founder of the Mongol dynasty in China. Grandson of Genghis Khan. Visited by Marco Polo.
- Emperor of China, 1280-1294
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Kwame Nkrumah (born 1909, died 1972)
Ghanaian statesman and proponent of African cooperation.
- Prime minister of Ghana, 1957-60; president, 1960-66
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Lavrenti Beria (born 1899, died 1953)
Soviet official under Stalin; notoriously ruthless.
- Soviet commissar for internal affairs
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Leon Trotsky (born 1879, died 1940)
Russian communist leader who spent much of his life in exile and was finally murdered in Mexico.
- Though a close associate of Lenin, he was defeated by Stalin in the power struggle that followed Lenin''s death
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Leonid Brezhnev (born 1906, died 1982)
Russian communist leader.
- Leader of the Soviet Union, 1966-82
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Lester B. Pearson (born 1897, died 1972)
Canadian statesman and diplomat who mediated the 1956 Suez crisis.
- Prime minister of Canada, 1963-68
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Liu Shaoqi (born 1898, died 1974)
Chinese statesman.
- Secretary-general of the communist party, 1943-54; chairman of the People''s Republic of China, 1959-69
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William Maxwell Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook (born 1879, died 1964)
Canadian-born British newspaper publisher, statesman, and political writer.
- Served the Canadian government in World War I, and the British government in World War II
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Lorenzo de' Medici (born 1449, died 1492)
Florentine statesman known as ''Lorenzo the Magnificent.'' An important patron of the arts during the Italian Renaissance.
- Ruled the city-state of Florence from 1478 to 1492
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Makarios III (born 1913, died 1977)
Cypriot archbishop and statesman.
- First president of the Republic of Cyprus, 1959-77
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Maximilien Robespierre (born 1758, died 1794)
A leading figure of the French Revolution.
- Responsible for the Reign of Terror, the bloodiest phase of the Revolution; was himself overthrown and guillotined
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Menachem Begin (born 1913, died 1992)
Israeli statesman. Signed the Camp David Accords with Anwar Sadat of Egypt in 1978.
- Israeli prime minister, 1977-83
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Mikhail S. Gorbachev (born 1931)
Last leader of the U.S.S.R., who began democratic reforms and ended the Cold War with the NATO powers.
- General secretary of the Communist Party, 1985-91
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Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (born 1918)
South African political leader. Head of the African National Congress; imprisoned 1964-90 for his anti-apartheid activities. Became the first black president of South Africa 1994-99.
- President of South Africa, 1994-1999
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Neville Chamberlain (born 1869, died 1949)
British statesman notorious for claiming to have secured peace by his pre-war concessions to Hitler.
- British prime minister, 1937-40
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Nicolae Ceausescu (born 1918, died 1989)
Rumanian hard-line communist leader. Overthrown at the end of the Cold War, he was executed by a firing squad.
- Leader of Rumania, 1974-89
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Nikita Khrushchev (born 1894, died 1971)
Soviet leader who presided over the post-Stalin ''thaw.''
- Premier of the U.S.S.R., 1958-64
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Otto von Bismarck (died 1898)
German statesman. Known as ''the Iron Chancellor.''
- First chancellor of the German Empire, 1871-90
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Palmiro Togliatti (born 1893, died 1964)
Italian communist leader.
- Founder of the Italian Communist Party
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Patrick Henry (born 1736, died 1799)
American patriot who spoke the famous line ''Give me liberty or give me death.''
- Played a central role in the American Revolution, but never served in the U.S. government, refusing several political appointments
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Paul-Henri Spaak
Belgian statesman and diplomat.
- First president of the UN general assembly, 1946; secretary general of NATO, 1957-61
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Paul von Hindenburg (born 1847, died 1934)
German field marshal and political leader.
- Defeated Adolph Hitler in the 1932 presidential election, but was forced to appoint him chancellor in 1933
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Pierre Joseph Proudhon (born 1809, died 1865)
French journalist and politician.
- Regarded as the father of anarchism
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Rafael L. Trujillo Molina (born 1891, died 1961)
Dominican dictator.
- President of the Dominican Republic, 1930-38, 1942-52
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(James) Ramsay MacDonald (born 1866, died 1937)
British statesman and author of Scottish descent. Wrote several books on socialism.
- First Labour Party prime minister of Great Britain, 1924, 1929-35
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Raymond Poincaré (born 1860, died 1934)
French statesman.
- President of the French Republic, 1913-20; prime minister 1912-13, 1922-24 and 1926-29
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Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh (born 1769, died 1822)
British statesman. The stress of his active political life eventually led him to commit suicide.
- British foreign secretary, 1812-22; played an important role in the Napoleonic Wars and the ensuing settlements
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Robert Peel (born 1788, died 1850)
British statesman who spearheaded monetary and social reforms in the first half of the 19th century.
- British prime minister, 1834-35, 1841
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Robert Walpole (born 1676, died 1745)
English statesman.
- Britain''s first prime minister, serving 1715-17, 1721
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Robert Clive (born 1725, died 1774)
British military leader and statesman.
- A key figure in founding the empire of British India
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Robert Francis Kennedy (born 1925, died 1968)
American lawyer, legislator, and government official. Assassinated while campaigning for the Presidency.
- U.S. attorney general under his brother, John F. Kennedy, 1961-64; U.S. senator, 1965-68
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Salvador Allende (born 1908, died 1973)
Chilean socialist leader.
- President of Chile, 1970-73; overthrown by a coup
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Samuel Adams (born 1722, died 1803)
American patriot and statesman.
- One of the instigators of the Boston Tea Party
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Samuel Houston (born 1793, died 1863)
American military and political leader. Defeated Santa Anna at the battle of San Jacinto. First president of the Republic of Texas, and later governor of the state of Texas; removed from office for refusing to swear allegiance to the Confederacy.
- President of the Republic of Texas, 1836-38; governor of Texas, 1859-61
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Stephen F. Austin (born 1793, died 1836)
Texas colonizer and patriot for whom the city of Austin is named.
- Head of government in the Texas colony, 1822-32; secretary of state for the Republic of Texas, 1836
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Stephen A. Douglas (born 1813, died 1861)
American politician.
- Best known for a series of debates on slavery with Abraham Lincoln
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Achmed Sukarno (born 1901, died 1970)
Indonesian leader.
- Dictatorial first president of Indonesia, 1945-67
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Sun Yat-sen (born 1866, died 1925)
Chinese revolutionary and statesman.
- Regarded as the father of modern China
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Syngman Rhee (born 1875, died 1965)
Korean leader.
- First president of South Korea, 1948-60
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Theodor Herzl (born 1860, died 1904)
Austrian journalist and Jewish activist.
- Founder of modern Zionism
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Thomas E. Dewey (born 1902, died 1971)
American lawyer and politician. As a prosecutor and district attorney, fought organized crime. Narrowly defeated by Truman in the 1948 presidential election.
- Governor of New York, 1942-54
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Thomas Joseph Mboya (born 1930, died 1969)
Kenyan patriot.
- Leader of the Kenya Independence Movement; assassinated
-
U Thant (born 1909, died 1974)
Burmese statesman and diplomat.
- UN secretary general, 1961-71
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Nikolai Ilyich Lenin (born 1870, died 1924)
Russian communist leader. Original name: Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov.
- Led the Bolshevik Revolution; first premier of the Soviet Union, 1918-24
-
William Pitt, Jr. (born 1759, died 1806)
Perhaps England's greatest prime minister.
- British prime minister, 1783-1801, 1804-05
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William Ewart Gladstone (born 1809, died 1898)
British legislator and statesman. An influential member of parliament throught much of queen Victoria's reign.
- British prime minister, 1868-74, 1880-85, 1886, 1892-94
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William Pitt (born 1708, died 1778)
English statesman called ''the Great Commoner.''
- One of the most influential legislators of his day, though he was never officially prime minister
-
William Jennings Bryan (born 1860, died 1925)
American lawyer, statesman, and orator. Three-time candidate for President.
- A prosecuting attorney in the 1925 trial of John T. Scopes for teaching evolution
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William H. Seward (born 1801, died 1872)
American statesman. A strong opponent of slavery.
- Best remembered for advocating purchase of ''''Seward''s Folly'''' (Alaska) while serving as secretary of state to Abraham Lincoln
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William M. ''Boss'' Tweed (born 1823, died 1878)
Ran the Tweed Ring, a powerful New York political machine. Died while serving a jail sentence for corruption.
- New York state senator, 1867-71
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Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (born 1874, died 1965)
British statesman, author and historian. Led the United Kingdom through much of World War II.
- British prime minister, 1940-45, 1951-55
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Yasser Arafat (born 1929)
Palestinian patriot and politician who negotiated a peace agreement with Israel in 1993.
- Head of the Palestine Liberation Organization since 1969; president of the Palestinian Authority since 1996
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Yitzhak Rabin (born 1922, died 1995)
Israeli statesman. Assassinated by a Jewish extremist because of his policy of negotiating with the Palestinians.
- Prime minister of Israel, 1992-95
-
Zhou Enlai (born 1898, died 1976)
Chinese communist leader.
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Adlai E. Stevenson (born 1900, died 1965)
American lawyer and politician.
- Governor of Illinois, 1949-1953 who ran for President in 1952 and 1956
-
Salvatore Phillip ''Sonny'' Bono (born 1934, died 1998)
American singer, actor and politician. Former husband of singer and actress Cher.
- Elected mayor of Palm Springs, California, in 1988
-
Aristide Briand (born 1862, died 1932)
French journalist and statesman who worked for international cooperation and world peace.
- Prime minister of France, 1909-11, 1913, 1921-22, 1925-26, 1929; also played an important role as foreign minister
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Oliver Cromwell (born 1599, died 1658)
British military, religious and political leader. Led the puritan forces to victory in the English Civil War, 1642-51. Executed King Charles I, but refused the crown, instead taking the title of Lord Protector.
- Ruler of England, 1653-58
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Imre Nagy (born 1896, died 1958)
Hungarian communist leader.
- Premier of Hungary, 1953-55, 1956
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Eleutherios Venizelos (born 1864, died 1936)
Greek statesman.
- Favored taking Greece into World War II on the side of the Allies, and did so after the pro-German king of Greece was forced out
-
Lajos Kossuth (born 1802, died 1894)
Hungarian patriot.
- Leader of the 1848 Hungarian rebellion against Soviet rule
-
Lech Walesa (born 1943)
Polish union organizer and statesman.
- Organized the Solidarity labor union in 1980; president of Poland, 1990-95
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Ferdinand V (born 1452, died 1516)
Hereditary ruler of Aragon, who married Isabella of Castile to unite Spain.
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Alexander the Great
Macedonian ruler who conquered much of the known world of his day.
- Ruled the largest western empire of the ancient world
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Edward M. Kennedy (born 1932)
American legislator. Brother of Robert Kennedy and President John F. Kennedy.
- U.S. senator from Massachusetts, 1962-
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Eden Pastora (born 1937)
Nicaraguan political leader.
- A hero of the 1979 revolution in Nicaragua
-
Maximilian (born 1832, died 1867)
Austrian archduke; brother of Austrian emperor Francis Joseph. Full name: Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph.
- Named emperor of Mexico in 1864 by French-backed Mexican exiles; forced to surrender to Mexican nationalists in 1867
-
Ivan III (born 1440, died 1505)
Russian ruler known as ''Ivan the Great.''
- Grand duke of Russia, 1462-1505; developed the first Russian code of law
-
Ivan IV (born 1530, died 1584)
First Russian ruler to formally use the title of Tsar. Known as ''Ivan the Terrible'' for his ruthlessness and temper.
- Leader of Russia, 1533-84
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Chaka (born 1773, died 1828)
Zulu chieftain.
- Founder of the Zulu empire; became chief in 1816
-
Louis XIV (born 1638, died 1715)
France's most powerful and longest-ruling monarch. Known as ''the Sun King.''
- King of France, 1643-1715
-
Darius the Great
King of Persia, 522-486 B.C. Known for his grand construction projects.
- His invading army was soundly defeated by the Greeks at the battle of Marathon in 490 B.C.
-
Pericles
Athenian general and statesman.
- Made Athens the preeminent political and cultural center of ancient Greece
-
Mohammed Ali Jinnah (born 1876, died 1948)
Pakistani statesman.
-
Juscelino Kubitschek (born 1902, died 1976)
President of Brazil, 1956-61.
- Built Brazil''s new capital, Brasilia
-
Kuan Yew Lee (born 1923)
Singaporean statesman.
- The world''s longest-serving prime minister, 1959-90
-
Hosni Mubarak (born 1928)
Egyptian statesman.
- President of Egypt, 1981-
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Gaafar Mohammed al Nimeiry (born 1930)
Sudanese statesman.
- President of Sudan, 1971-85; overthrown by a coup
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Umberto II (born 1904, died 1983)
King of Italy, 1946.
- Italy''s last king, he was deposed by Mussolini after ruling for less than a month
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Ali (died 661)
Arabic warrior and ruler. Son-in-law of the prophet Mohammed.
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Kofi Abrefa Busia (born 1914, died 1978)
Ghanaian politician.
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Kofi Annang (born 1938)
Ghanaian diplomat.
- Seventh secretary-general of the United Nations
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Leopold Sedar Senghor (born 1906)
Senegalese politician.
- First president of Senegal
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Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe (born 1904, died 1996)
Nigerian statesman.
- First president of Nigeria
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Ali Gaji (died 1503)
Islamic ruler of Kanem-Bornu, in central Africa.
- The most notable ruler of the Sefawa dynasty that reigned for more than 1,000 years
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Sylvanus Epiphanio Olympio (born 1902, died 1963)
Statesman from Togo, West Africa.
- First president of the Republic of Togo
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Alafin Abiodun (died 1789)
Yoruba ruler.
- The last important ruler of the Yoruba state of Oyo of present day Nigeria
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Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola (born 1937, died 1998)
Nigerian multimillionaire businessman.
- Winner of the June 12 1993 presidential elections in Nigeria which the military government annulled
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Salim Ahmed Salim (born 1942)
Zanzibari diplomat.
- Former prime minister of Tanzania
- Secretary-general of the Organization of African Unity
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Sunni Ali (died 1492)
West African emperor.
- Founder of the Songhay Empire which at its height stretched from the Atlantic Ocean central Africa
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Guadalupe Victoria (born 1786, died 1843)
Mexican soldier and statesman. Original name: Manuel Félix Fernández
- First president of the Mexican Republic, 1824-29
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Ramiro de Maeztu (born 1875, died 1936)
Spanish journalist, political writer and statesman. Executed by the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War.
- Wrote La defensa de la hispanidad (''''In Defense of Spanishness'''')
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Roderick (died 711)
Last Visigothic king of Spain. Killed in battle with Muslim invaders.
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Rolando Bandinelli (died 1181)
Tuscan lawyer, diplomat and theologian who became Pope Alexander III in 1159.
- Led the Catholic church in its power struggles with Frederick Barbarossa
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Alejandro Lerroux (born 1864, died 1949)
Spanish statesman.
- Radical who served four short terms as prime minister of Spain, 1933-35
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Alton Brooks Parker (born 1852, died 1926)
American jurist and politician.
- Democratic nominee for President in 1904
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Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (born 1811, died 1888)
Argentine statesman and writer. Known for his promotion of education.
- President of Argentina, 1868-74
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Gerardo Machado y Morales
Cuban statesman.
- Popularly elected president in 1924, he became increasingly dictatorial and was forced into exile in 1933
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Simón Bolívar (born 1783, died 1830)
South American revolutionary and statesman.
- Wrested Venezuela, Colombia and Peru from Spainish control
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Toussaint L'Ouverture (died 1803)
Leader of a Haitian independence movement during the French Revolution.
- Freed the slaves and briefly ruled the country, but was later overthrown by the French and imprisoned
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François Maurice Marie Mitterand (born 1916, died 1996)
French statesman.
- President of France, 1981-95
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Hiawatha
Fifteenth-century Onodoga chief.
- Legendary founder of the Iroquois Confederacy
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Slobodan Milosevic (born 1941)
Serbian nationalist leader.
- President of Serbia in the early 1990s
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Ante Pavelic (born 1889, died 1959)
Croatian fascist leader.
- Installed by Germany as President of the Independent State of Croatia during WWII
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Pi'ilani the Great
Hawaiian monarch.
- Twentieth king of the island of Maui
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Radovan Karadzic
Serbian nationalist leader.
- President of the Bosnian Serb Republic during the civil war in the former Yugoslavia
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Rama
Legendary Hindu ruler and diety.
- His story is told in the Ramayana
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Kwassi Klutse (born 1945)
Togolese politician
- Prime Minister of the Republic of Togo 1998-
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Etienne Gnassingbe Eyadema (born 1937)
Togolese soldier and politician
- President of the Republic of Togo 1967-
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Julius ''Mwalimu'' Kambarage Nyerere (born 1922, died 1999)
Tanzanian nationalist and politician
- Prime Minister (1961-1962); President of Tanganyika (1962-1964); President of United Republic of Tanzania (1964-1985; Chairman, Organisation of African Unity (1984-1985)
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Vladimir Valdimirovich Putin (born 1952)
Russian KGB agent and politician
- Acting President of Russia, 2000-
