20th Century Leaders Set B

Emperor Hirohito

emperor of Japan from 1926-1989, including during WWII; his people viewed him as a god

Hideki Tojo

general and premier of Japan during World War II, basically dictator of the country

Nelson Mandela

South African leader of the African National Congress; in prison from 1962 to 1989; served as the first black president of South Africa (1991-1997)

Jomo Kenyatta

A nationalist leader who fought to end oppressive laws against Africans; later became the first Prime Minister of Kenya; served from 1964 to 1978

Gamel Nasser

president of Egypt from 1956-1970; during the Suez Crisis, he nationalized the canal, causing a dispute between him and Israel, France and Britain.

Anwar Sadat

replaced Nasser as the president of Egypt; signed peace treaties with Israel in 1978 and 1980; was assassinated in 1981 by opponents of his Israeli policy

Muammar Qaddafi

Libyan dictator from 1969 to 2011; made multiple terrorist acts on the US; was eventually overthrown in the 2011 Arab Spring.

Saddam Hussein

A member of the Baath Party and leader of Iraq from 1979n to 2003; led during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) and the first Persian Gulf War (1991); deposed by the U.S. and its allies during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Ayatollah Khomeini

Shiite religious leader of Iran from 1979-1989 ; led the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran and ordered the invasion of the US Embassy

Menachem Begin

Israeli Prime minister from 1977 to 1983; signed a peace deal with Egypt (Camp David Accords); won the Nobel Peace Prize with Anwar Sadat (leader of Egypt) in 1978

Golda Meir

prime minister of Israel from 1969 to 1974. 1st woman in that role; led during the Yom- Kippur War

Francisco Madero

1910 political opponent to Porforio Diaz; started the Mexican Revolution; bought in democratic modern reforms to Mexico; led from 1910 until his assassination in 1913

Fulgencio Batista

Cuban dictator from 1952 to 1959; supported by the US; overthrown in the Cuban Revolution

Fidel Castro

Cuban revolutionary leader; overthrew Batista in 1959; established communism in Cuba; ruled until 2008

Che Guevara

Argentine revolutionary and guerilla leader; prominent communist figure in the Cuban Revolution 1956-59; was captured and executed in Bolivia

Salvador Allende

Chilean socialist leader from 1970 to 1973; nationalized industry and banks, brought land reforms; removed by military coup in 1973

Augusto Pinochet

Chilean dictator from 1973-1990; led a coup to depose Salvador Allende; many human rights abuses; supported by the US because he was anti-communist

Pol Pot

Leader of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia; killed nearly 2 million Cambodians in the 1970s

Idi Amin

Ugandan military leader/president in the 1970s- responsible for hundreds of thousands of Christian/tribal deaths

Ho Chi Minh

Communist leader of North Vietnam from the 1940s through the 1960s

Porfirio Diaz

Dictator in Mexico from 1876 to 1911. Overthrown by the Mexican Revolution of 1910.