Lifestyles of the Rich & Fascist

The decadent whims of the world's wackiest dictators
By Shana Ting Lipton

"They're quirky, vibrant, and they march to the beat of their own military drums, when they're not off committing crimes against humanity. Since time immemorial, autocrats, absolute monarchs, dictators, and less than savory heads of state have shown a penchant for the unconventional and over-the-top, in both their personal lives and political careers."

List of world's wackiest dictators

Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-Quaddafi
COUNTRY: Libya
REIGN OF TERROR: 1969–present
HOW HE BROKE INTO THE BUSINESS: Military coup

Senior General Than Shwe
COUNTRY: Myanmar (formerly Burma)
REIGN OF TERROR: 1992–present
HOW HE BROKE INTO THE BUSINESS: Right place, right time—was General Saw Maung's right-hand man when he resigned for health reasons

Kim Jong Il
COUNTRY: North Korea
REIGN OF TERROR: 1994–present
HOW HE BROKE INTO THE BUSINESS: Followed in his pappy's footsteps when he died in 1994, and in 2003 Supreme People's Assembly reelected him chairman of the National Defense Commission—the nation's highest administrative authority

President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
COUNTRY: Republic of Kalmykia
REIGN OF TERROR: 1993–present
HOW HE GOT INTO THE BUSINESS: Won Kalmykia's first elections

President Aleksandr Lukashenko
COUNTRY: Belarus
REIGN OF TERROR: 1994–present
HOW HE BROKE INTO THE BUSINESS: Elected by popular vote

Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'Izzaddin Waddaulah
COUNTRY: Brunei Darussalam
REIGN OF TERROR: 1967–present
HOW HE BROKE INTO THE BUSINESS: Filled his abdicated Daddy's royal shoes, as heir to the throne of a 600-year Muslim dynasty

Fidel Castro
COUNTRY: Cuba
REIGN OF TERROR: 1959–present
HOW HE BROKE INTO THE BUSINESS: Led a rebel army into a revolution against Fulgencio Batista

President Saparmurat Niyazov
COUNTRY: Turkmenistan
REIGN OF TERROR: 1990–present
HOW HE BROKE INTO THE BUSINESS: Elected president without opposition, 99.5 percent of vote; unanimously approved as president for life by the People's Council in 1999


King Mswati III
COUNTRY: Swaziland
REIGN OF TERROR: 1986–present
HOW HE BROKE INTO THE BUSINESS: As then-crown prince, succeeded where dad left off

President Saddam Hussein (deposed)
COUNTRY: Iraq
REIGN OF TERROR: 1979–2003
HOW HE BROKE INTO THE BUSINESS: As deputy, forced cousin and then-President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr to resign and took over

Read more and see pictures at :www.radaronline.com

tag: Aleksandr Lukashenko, Fidel Castro, Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'Izzaddin Waddaulah, Kim Jong Il, King Mswati III, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Muammar Abu Minyar, Muammar Quaddafi, Saddam Hussein, Saparmurat Niyazov, Than Shwe

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