Top 10 Tyrannical Dictators in Power Today

Top 10 Tyrannical Dictators in Power Today

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These world leaders hold onto power with iron fists. Welcome to Watchmojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 worst dictators that are still in power. For this list, we’re looking at tyrants, despots, and strongmen – basically leaders who manipulate elections, silence the press, and stamp on civil liberties – that are considered by many to be dictators and that are still in these positions of power as of mid-2017.

Duterte isn’t a dictator as such (at least not yet, according to some sources), but he does describe himself as a “dictator against evil.” Before being elected in 2016, the President of the Philippines promised that his presidency would be a “bloody one” and compared his war against drug users and dealers to the Holocaust. As mayor of Davao City, he would reputedly drive around on his motorbike looking for criminals to kill - a real life Punisher. As President, he’s urged police and vigilantes to emulate him, resulting in the deaths of over 7,000 alleged criminals and street children. He says he’s willing to declare martial law nationwide to combat Islamist militants in the southern islands.

#9: Alexander Lukashenko Belarus

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Nicknamed “Europe’s last dictator,” Lukashenko has ruled Belarus since 1994, having amended the constitution to remove limits on presidential terms. In a changing world, Lukashenko clings to Soviet social and economic policies, describing his leadership style as “authoritarian.” Early 21st century elections have been suspect; in 2010, police beat up and arrested several of the other candidates. Lukashenko has praised Hitler’s “firm authority” and once remarked that it’s “better to be a dictator than gay.” But he’s perhaps most notorious for his “social parasite tax,” which forced the unemployed to pay the government for not working – however, it was suspended in March 2017.

The Aliyevs have ruled oil-rich Azerbaijan for decades. President Ilham Aliyev took over the reins from his father in 2003, and has continued a tradition of what’s considered a corrupt and authoritarian rule. While in power, the family has amassed a massive fortune through backroom business deals. In 2009, Aliyev abolished presidential term limits and in 2017 made his own wife Vice President. Elections so far have been questionable; in 2013, a smartphone app released results a day before polls opened. Political dissidents face systematic police abuse that includes the detention and torture of activists and journalists.

Obiang has been President of Equatorial Guinea since 1979, when he ousted his uncle and had him executed following a military coup. His regime is ruthless, and has been accused of torturing and killing political dissidents and fostering a cult of personality around the president. Opponents claim that he skins his enemies alive and eats their testicles, brains and livers. State-operated radio, meanwhile, has declared him a god in constant contact with the Almighty. His bank account has certainly been blessed - Obiang has accrued a fortune of US$600 million.

#6: Robert Mugabe Zimbabwe

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Once an anticolonial revolutionary, Mugabe is now a controversial leader who has governed Zimbabwe since 1980, first as Prime Minister and later as President. During a crackdown against dissidents in the 1980s, his notorious Fifth Brigade, an elite armed force trained by North Korea, murdered over 10,000 people. Mugabe has received international criticism for land seizures from white farmers, and observers claim that early 21st century elections involved intimidation, violence, and fraud. Not that it matters much, as he rewrote the constitution to give himself almost unassailable power. And he’s not afraid to use it.

Another freedom fighter who became a dictator, Isaias Afwerki has been President of Eritrea since 1993. A one-party state with no free press, Eritrea has been called “Africa’s North Korea” for its self-imposed political isolation and totalitarian leadership. The U.N. accuses Afwerki’s government of widespread human rights abuses, including forced labor, torture, rape by state officials, and extrajudicial executions. In order to escape persecution and mandatory military service, thousands of Eritreans attempt to flee the country every year . . . but soldiers patrolling the borders have orders to shoot to kill.

After a failed coup in 2016, Erdogan declared a state of emergency and arrested thousands of military personnel, public servants, and journalists in massive purges. He then used the momentum to grant himself sweeping new executive powers. Erdogan has been steering Turkey away from modern, democratic, and secular ideals since being elected Prime Minister in 2003, and President in 2014. In 2013, he was implicated in a corruption scandal involving billions, and sought to block access to social media to limit the damage. Is he a dictator? So far, a thin veneer of democratic process prevails, but Erdogan’s leadership is increasingly authoritarian and repressive.

It was once hoped that this former eye doctor would initiate democratic reforms, unlike his father, Syria’s president before him. But when the Arab Spring sparked mass protests around the country, Assad’s alleged brutal crackdown on protesters propelled the country into a devastating civil war that’s seen over 400,000 casualties as for 2017. Assad has had thousands of suspected dissidents imprisoned, tortured, and executed. Survivors report being electrocuted, raped, and having their nails torn out with pliers. Some are children. Assad has also been accused of using chemical weapons in the conflict, including chlorine bombs and sarin gas.

#2: Kim Jong-un Democratic People’s Republic of Korea [aka North Korea]

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Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un inherited the title from his father Kim Jong-il, after his older half-brother, who had advocated reform, was passed over. What’s more, he is widely suspected to be behind his half-brother’s 2017 assassination. Kim Jong-un presides over what’s deemed a totalitarian police state that exerts complete control over the media. Defectors carry stories of public executions, massive prison camps, and forced abortions. His government is developing nuclear weapons, and its threats against South Korea and the US are increasingly aggressive.

The first sitting president to be indicted by the International Criminal Court, Omar al-Bashir took power in a military coup and has allegedly directed a campaign of ethnic cleansing and rape that has included children in Darfur. The conflict began when rebels attacked the government, whom it faulted for oppressing non-Arabs. In response, al-Bashir began arming the Janjaweed, a militia of nomadic Sudanese Arabs. The U.N. estimates the resulting death toll at some 300,000. While breezing through controversial elections, and expelling human rights organizations, al-Bashir is alleged by ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo to have pilfered a fortune of up to $9 billion U.S.