As the successor to his father, Hafez, Bashar al-Assad has continued with his father's brutal rule of Syria.
1965-
Muammar al-Qaddafi seized control of the Libyan government in 1969, and ruled as an authoritarian dictator for more than 40 years before he was overthrown in 2011.
1942-2011
Jean-Bedel Bokassa was the president of the Central African Republic (1966-1976) and a self-proclaimed emperor of the Central African Empire (1976-1979).
1921-1996
12-41
Nicolae Ceausescu was the leader of Communist Romania for more than two decades until his execution in 1989.
1918-1989
Idi Amin was a Ugandan president best known for his brutal regime and crimes against humanity while in power from 1971-1979.
1925-2003
1907-1971
Ivan the Terrible, or Ivan IV, was the first tsar of all Russia. During his reign (1533-1584), Ivan acquired vast amounts of land through ruthless means, creating a centrally controlled government.
1530-1584
Kim Jong Il's dominating personality and complete concentration of power has come to define the country North Korea.
1941-2011
As Roman emperor, Nero’s reign was lavish and tyrannical. He killed his mother, persecuted Christians and is said to have "fiddled while Rome burned."
37-68
Pol Pot was the political leader of Cambodia who was responsible for the deaths of thousands of people under his reign.
1925-1998
Mobutu Sésé Seko was president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which was also known as Zaire for much of his reign, from 1965 to 1997.
1930-1997
Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union for more than two decades, instituting a reign of terror while modernizing Russia and helping to defeat Nazism.
1878-1953
Mao Tse-tung was the principal Chinese Marxist theorist, soldier and statesman who led his nation's Cultural Revolution.
1893-1976