10 Times World Leaders RUINED Their Entire Country

Top 10 Times World Leaders Ruined Their Entire Country

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down political leaders who, whether overall or during specific historical periods, were the prime movers behind terrible events in their nations.

#10: Kim Jong Il

North Korea

While not officially taking power until 1997, Kim took over responsibility for North Korea after the passing of his father, Kim Il Sung, in 1994. Soon, the country fell into extreme famine. While the exact figure is unknown, it’s speculated that over 2 million lost their lives to starvation by 1999. This was a far cry from the economic situation North Korea experienced in the 1960s and ‘70s when the country was doing better than South Korea. By 2006, reports of North Korea testing nuclear weaponry caused the world to be nervous as the secretive country escalated its arsenal, especially given Kim’s aggression towards South Korea, his luxurious lifestyle as his citizens struggled with poverty, and his authoritarianism

#9: Mir Jafar

Bengal

Great Britain’s colonial rule of India included various atrocities. It’s estimated that millions of people perished from famine over the years by the Raj diverting resources to Britain. Infamously, as Bengal lost millions to starvation in the 1940s, Winston Churchill responded with insults against Indians. There was also the 1919 Amritsar massacre, where British soldiers fired upon peaceful protestors, taking the lives of up to 1500 people. But none of this could have happened without Mir Jafar’s influence in creating the Empire centuries earlier. In 1757, he was a commander in the Bengal army, and during the Battle of Plassey, he defected to the British East India Company, allowing them to win and get a foothold in the region.

#8: Bashar al-Assad

Syria

According to the Corruption Perceptions Index, between 2020 and 2023, Syria shared the title of the second most corrupt country in the world. Shortly after Assad became the nation’s president in 2000, nepotism and corruption quickly began to run rampant as those with connections were given preference. He sent secret police agents to spy, abduct, and abuse his citizens as he cemented his dictatorship, causing enormous human rights violations. In 2011, the Syrian civil war erupted after citizens protested Assad’s murderous reign, and he used soldiers to violently shut down demonstrations. To date, around hundreds of thousands have lost their lives, and millions have been displaced as the country’s economy collapsed. Assad has even used chemical weapons during the war, violating international law.

#7: Hugo Chávez

Venezuela

After an unsuccessful attempt to take power with a coup in 1992, Chávez became president of Venezuela in 1999. He used the country’s vast oil resources to fund many social programs to eradicate inequality. For a time, Venezuela was doing well. But the wheels fell off soon after as the president began authoritarian methods as the country became over-reliant on oil. Chávez instigated propaganda, suppressed the press, and arrested critics as corruption infected the nation. Under his regime, in 2010, Venezuela’s murder rate quadrupled. Chávez’s policies and the fall of oil valuation led to a vast socio-economic crisis in the country as poverty, starvation, and disease began spiraling out of control, an effect that’s still being experienced today.

#6: Augusto Pinochet

Chile

In 1973, as Commander-in-Chief of the army, Pinochet led a coup against the democratically elected Salvador Allende, installing a military junta. The dictator immediately targeted political opponents. It’s believed upwards of 3000 people were executed by Pinochet’s regime, with tens of thousands persecuted and arrested. His tight hold on the country didn’t stop Chile from suffering a massive economic crisis in 1982, while his personal bank accounts grew. After stepping down as president in 1990 and enjoying his “Senator-for-life” role, Pinochet was arrested in 1998 for human rights violations, tax fraud, and many more charges. In 2020, Chile celebrated when its citizens overwhelmingly voted to rewrite the country’s constitution written by Pinochet decades before, and install reforms.

#5: Saddam Hussein

Iraq

In 1979, when Hussein took formal control of Iraq, he quickly got to work in violently purging his Ba'ath Party of opponents. Next, the country’s economy took off due to the abundance of oil. But it didn’t last, as international sanctions from controversial wars caused the price to drop significantly, and Hussein slashed public health funding massively. On top of the executions of citizens and innumerable human rights violations, Hussein persecuted the Kurdish community with the Anfal campaign. This led to the deployment of chemical weapons in Halabja in 1988, causing up to 5000 to perish and up to 10,000 to be injured. Hussein’s notorious reputation contributed to the US and its allies invading in 2003, removing him from power.

#4: Robert Mugabe

Zimbabwe

Coming into power as a revolutionary, freeing Zimbabwe from British colonialism in 1980 as prime minister and then president in 1987, Mugabe seemed like a leader of hope. After all, he promised to empower citizens as he grew the country’s education system. However, his regime soon began arresting, executing, and abusing opponents. Mugabe was also responsible for the “Gukurahundi,” a series of genocides that took the lives of over 20,000 Ndebele and Kalanga people. In 2000, people began occupying farms in Zimbabwe, which Mugabe encouraged. This, along with governmental overspending, caused hyperinflation in the country. In 2009, foreign currencies were used instead of Zimbabwe’s own. A coup in 2017 removed Mugabe from power.

#3: Benito Mussolini

Italy

After World War I, the Italian journalist-turned-soldier Mussolini developed and spread fascist views. After the March on Rome in 1922, Mussolini was installed as Prime Minister. Soon, he began his reign of terror, turning the country into a police state. Over his reign, Mussolini committed multiple war crimes. He used concentration camps and chemical weapons in Libya and Ethiopia. When World War Two got underway and Italy joined Germany, the atrocities increased as Italy invaded Yugoslavia, Albania, and Greece. After being removed from power and reinstated by Germany, Mussolini turned Italy into a puppet state. A civil war led to Mussolini’s removal from power in 1945, and his execution.

#2: Pol Pot

Cambodia

Ruling Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge were responsible for a shocking body count. In less than half a decade, millions of people were killed. Mass graves were dug all over the land, in what became known as the “killing fields.” Many others were sent to labor camps or prisons. Pol Pot wanted to change the class system of the country by emphasizing physical labor, while targeting intellectuals and city inhabitants. As a result, education in Cambodia was decimated, as around 90% of schools were destroyed. Even after Pol Pot lost power and fought the government from the jungles, many children missed out on education due to the lack of resources.

#1: Adolf Hitler

Germany

After being elected as Chancellor in 1933 in an election destabilized by violence and intimidation, Hitler soon ruled Germany as a dictator, installing himself as the nation’s Führer with a totalitarian ideology and a deranged fixation with ostensible racial purity. In 1939 he started World War II, which eventually cost tens of millions of lives, including the millions of Jews and other targeted groups deliberately murdered in the Holocaust. In 1945, before losing the war, Hitler issued the “Nero Decree,” where he demanded the destruction of Germany’s infrastructure to stop Allied Forces from using it. His name has become synonymous with hate, terror, and destruction.




What world leaders could also be listed here? King Leopold II? Mao Zedong? Nero? Let us know in the comments.