by Alfred E. Newman

Created on: July 13, 2009

Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Mao Tse Tung are all fine candidates for the worst dictator in history. However that is the problem, they are history and there are many present day dictators who have earned their way onto the top ten list. Presented here are the top five nominees for this year worst dictator award.

Robert Mugabe, leader of Zimbabwe, at 85 has been in power since 1980. With the help of rampant inflation and 85% unemployment Mugabe moved up from sixth place. Havin agreed to elections it soon became clear he would only ratify the elections if he won. Attacks launched by his supporters killed 163 and the beating and torture of 5000. He signed a power sharing agreement with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, but has since installed his people to head every ministry. Cholera has reached crisis proportions killing 3800 since August.

Omar al-Bashir, 65, of Sudan has led the country since 1989, remains in number 2 neither improving nor declining. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for this dictator on war crimes and crimes against humanity for his contributions to the catastrophe in Darfur. Al-Bashir has also been charged with 'murdering, exterminating, raping, torturing, and forcibly transferring large numbers of civilians, and pillaging their property.' The Sudenese military campaign have been credited with driving almost 3 million people from their homes since 2003.

Kim Jong-Il, 67, has recently stepped down handing the reins of power to his son. Jong-Il had led North Korea since 1994 and had recently slipped to third from first. The regime remains as repressive as ever with Jong-Il's son stepping in do his family name proud in not missing a beat and it looks as if Kim Il-sung is determined to regain the number one position.

Than Shwe, 76, ruler of Myanmar (Burma) since 1992, after Cyclone Nargis devastated Burma, with 140,000 dead or missing, Shwe delayed aid groups from entering the stricken area while he held a constitutional election. Even this could not stop his fall from third to fourth.

This year our friend in the middle east King Abdullah, 85, in power in Saudi Arabia since 1995, has slipped to number five. Some thought he might slip futher down because of his talks of reform, but saved it when he left laws which still require women to get permission from male guardians to work, study, travel, marry, or even obtain an ID card. Abdullah has managed to still have no penal code and defendants may not question a witness against them.

http://www.parade.com/dictators/2009/

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