The World’s Worst Dictators for 2007: Africa Dominates the List

Parade Magazine, which is distributed with the Saturday editions of major daily newspapers in the United States, has published its list of the world’s 20 worst dictators for 2007.

(c) Parade Magazine

The magazine defines a dictator as “a head of state who exercises arbitrary authority over the lives of his citizens and who cannot be removed from power through legal means. The worst commit terrible human-rights abuses.”

The list is based on reports from international human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Freedom House, Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International, and the US State Department.

Topping the list for the third year running is Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, who according to Parade Magazine “retains his position as the worst dictator because of his ongoing deadly human-rights abuses in the Darfur region of Sudan.” Eight other African Presidents are in al-Bashir’s unwelcome company; Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe (7), Muammar al-Qaddafi of Libya (9), Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea (11), King Mswati III of Swaziland (12), Isayas of Afewerki of Eritrea (13), Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia (17), Hosni Mubarak of Egypt (18), and Paul Biya of Cameroon (19).

Regarding Paul Biya of Cameroon who makes the list for the first time, the report states the following:

Independent Cameroon’s first dictator, Ahmadou Ahidjo, resigned after 22 years in power when his French doctors convinced him that he had a terminal illness.  He didn’t, but by the time he realized this, his replacement, Paul Biya, was safely in place, and Ahidjo had to flee the country.  Cameroon has the reputation of being one of the world’s most corrupt countries.  Biya is credited with instituting one of the more creative tactics in the history of rigged elections.  After international election-monitoring groups denounced his elections as “designed to fail,” Biya hired his own group of international monitors.  Made up of ex-U.S. congressmen of both parties, the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress declared Cameroon’s 2004 election as free and fair.  Another observer group, led by former Canadian prime minister Joe Clark, arrived earlier and denounced as rigged the registration process, which the U.S. group had missed.

So do you think this is an accurate list? Is anyone missing from it, or is there someone on this year's list who doesn’t deserve his place on Parade’s Hall of Shame? Click here to go to the comments section of the Parade Magazine website and join the raging debate.

Comments

[Mr Getachew Bekuretsion]

Dear Moderators!
I found your list of so called Dictators interesting.
However, I am disgusted of such unfairness in omitting President Bush of US. In fact , has caused murder, rape, disposition and Global corruption because of his traumatized personality as a result of that september 9/11. Those in US are fortunate because of their firm democratic system,established by their forefathers century ago . Otherwise, Bush would have caused them murder, killings, rape and persecution in thier respective States and County in the manner he is dictating in Iraq, Afganistan, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, and etc.It is a pity that Land of Abreham Lincon and Kennedy could let loose the Bush entourage.
My second point is on your lining up of President Isaias Afeworki of Eritrea! It showed how your listing is disinforming, narrow and shallow!
First of all,Eritrea is only less than 15 years old as a Sovereign State. Secondly, He is the first President without any legible National infrastracture, as a result of more than 35 years of war of distraction and looting.. Thirdly, Eritrea is having almost 4 million population with 95% illitrates and semi-illitrates. Fourthly, President Isaias Afeworki has earlier volunteered to retire immediately if the Ethiopia/Eritrea boarder could be demarcated. But, President Bush did not like the institution of Peace and Stability in the Horn of Africa!!
Please do not list your dreams! for 2015

[Ambe Johnson]

In as much as I enjoy it each time that Paul Biya is in hot water of any kind, I think this is a very American / Eurocentric list based on Western criteria.

I bet there is also a set of objective criteria that would make Bush, Blair and co. look like monsters. Why not define a dictator as one who promotes warmongering in the name of "pre-emptive self defence"; who has an imperialist and bellicose foreign policy; who creates an environment where hundreds of thousands of nationals of an invaded country are massacred; or who illegally occupies the territory of another country and unleashes all types of human rights abuses on the people of that territory?

Without question, George Bush of the USA, Tony Blair of Britain, and Ehud Olmert of Israel will top that list of Shame - and this list will be based on credible reports from the same reports from Human rights organizations and the US State Department...

Change the criteria and put in all the war criminals from the West on the list.

[QueenBee]

This is a good time. Those who hitherto had no voice can now be heard. Surely, the light of this blog would have been silent.

[JOHN ENOW]

where is geoge bush, tony blair and Ehud olmert.How good it is to be a leader in western hemisphere and kill million of people.

[Ambe Niba Nchotu]

Your list simply defines and exposes those that are opposed to the new face of colonialism and self interest masked under the so called exported democracy.There is significant demarcation between regional stability that promotes and reassures western interest and the lexikon defination of democracy ,thus your list simply informs the world on those that threaten the daily luxuries of western citizen reasured through the foreign policies of the likes of blair and bush at the unimaginable expense of poor nations.
Not withstanding there are a couple of leaders like Paul biya of Cameroon who should take the place of sudan at the list summit because pain and destruction is worst when you totally sell the future of a nation i.e slavery, as compared to physical trauma.It is better to be dead than live without a future.
God Bless us all.

[samo]

Biya was to top the list!.Someone like Chirac is a dictator in Africa not in France, working hand in hand with African dictators(Biya, mbongo etc..) to exploit the natural and human resources of Africa to enrich and develope France, while the African dictators swell their bank accounts.We all know the outcome!!the population bound to live in severe poverty and misery!!

[Agendia Aloysius]

U see anybody can make his own list of world dictators just like the American Magazine.Where have they kept their president George Bush.He is the number one dictator.He dictates in America and to the interntaional cmmunity.But i fear the americans are organising a time bomb which may one day explode.
They should make a distinction between African nationalist president like Mugabe and Ghadhafi whom they wil want to call dictators and their neocolonialist presidents like Biya though he is on the list too.

[Nlovo Masike]

please don't mention Mugabe and Ghadaffi in the same breathe. Mugabe is a senile thug who has plunged his country into the socio-economic abyss while Ghadaffi, has lifted the Libyan people to heights that Zimbabweans can only dream of for decades to come. Just because someone stands up - right or wrongly - to the West does not make him a "nationalist". Mugabe in any language is a bloody dictator who makes the likes of Biya look like choir boys and sunday school teachers.

[My name is nobody (meu nome é ninguém)]

I think the President of Angola, José Eduardo dos Santos, should be in this top list, due the wrong appointment of ministries, thievery of all the richness of the country to the private bank accounts of theirs, their wives, sons, daughters, lovers; there are people living with less than 1 usd, there is an education systems which is actually non-productive in terms of building up good academic background...

[Bob Tod]

You got it right. What amazes me is the people who try to defend those ruthless and worthless tyrants while the defenders are themselves enjoying the fuits of liberty, and full respect for humanity in the capitals of the west where elected leaders, like George Bush, govern their people with the mandate provided by the people. The people with absolute power to remove the leaders when they find it necessary. Some of those defenders of the tyrants live in the capitals of the West including the U.S. And yet the have the freedom to criticize elected leaders like George Bush in their defense of the tyrants.However, we all know that this same freedom of expression is totally forbidden to the people those ruthless tyrants rule. The play by the rule of the jungle not by the rules of democracy. I wish the major crimes and attrocities committed by those worst dictators on their people, as wittnessed and documented by human rights watch groups, would have been included so that the readers would understand what the dictators represnt for.

[Lee Van Horse]

I think it is better to include zambia's president among the dictators of this world. First time his predecessor rigged the elections for him and this time he rigged the elections by changing figures on the faxes which were transmitting the elections results. The man has gone out nepotizing most of the portiflios in the government. There has never been any relative who has had no job and has outrightly appointed his uncles, nephews and the likes. Levy Mwanawasa has appointed fellow lawyers and has boasted that the lawyers are the most educated in this country. He has awarded himself salary increment moe than three times and yet presidents in Zambia are pensionable till life. No opposition has had a voice over the government activities and all those who advocate for the constitution review are being silenced. There is no difference between Mwanawasa and the two murderous Bs (Blair and Bush).

[alone]

am not even Ethiopian but how could meles zenawi can be included in this category were he is way far from being called dictator?

[123]

as an Iranean I say Iran's leader should be placed #1 or 2
we hope he dies