Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
Unfortunately, there’s plenty to choose from.
Unfortunately, there’s plenty to choose from.
When one man rules
Throughout history, mankind has strived for power, many failing, but some succeding – with horror and suppression as a result.
But who were the worst?
It’s difficult to quantify the ruthlessness of a dictator. Do you count the numbers of lives lost? The suppressing laws implementet? Or maybe the time ruling?
We don’t have the answer, but nevertheless, we’ve found 10 of historys worst dictators.
An important note
There are plenty of dictators in the world of 2025 to choose from, but we have decided to only include dictators that have passed away.
The sequence of the entries is random.
Pol Pot, Cambodia
He led the Khmer Rouge and orchestrated one of the most brutal genocides in history from 1975 to 1979 in Cambodia.
Around 2 million people are believed to have died under his rule, which included widespread torture, starvation and forced labour.
Kim Il-Sung, North Korea
As the first supreme leader of North Korea held the country in an iron grip from 1948 until his death in 1994.
Millions are believed to have perished due to his policies, which triggered mass starvation in the 1990’s as well as the creation of the police state in the country
Idi Amin, Uganda
He ruled the African nation from 1971 to 1979 and committed ethnic cleansing as well as brutal repression to keep his power.
He is believed to be responsible for the deaths of between 100,000 and 500,000 people.
Saddam Hussein, Iraq
Ruling Iraq from 1979 until 2003, Husseins regime used brutel repression, especially aimed at ethnic minorities.
His use of chemical weapons against the Kurds in the 1980’s as well as the following suppression of uprisings is believed to have caused the death of hundreds of thousands.
Joseph Stalin, Soviet Union
Mass purges, forced labour camps (the dreaded Gulags) and brutal repression was trademarks of the Soviet Union under Stalins rule from 1924 until his death in 1953.
The Great Famine in the early 1930’s was caused by Stalins policies, and he is believed to be responsible for the deaths of between 20 and 30 million people.
Mao Zedong, China
Ruling from 1943 until his death in 1976, Mao founded the People’s Republic of China.
His Great Leap Forward as well as the Cultural Revolution is believed to have cost approx. 45 million lives due to famine, persecution and executions.
Benito Mussolini, Italy
He took power in Italy in 1922 and established a fascist rule until his death in 1945.
He is most notably remembered for siding with Nazi-Germany in WW2 as well as massacring ethnic minorities in Africa.
Augusto Pinochet, Chile
Taking power through a military coup in 1973, he established a dictatorship an ruled Chile until 1990.
His rule was responsible for the deaths of thousands due to executions, disappearances and torture.
Fransisco Franco, Spain
Thousands of political opponents were executed both during and after the Spanish Civil War, that ended with Franco overthrowing the Spanish government to claim power.
He ruled Spain as a dictator from 1939 until his death in 1975.
Adolf Hitler, Germany
Hitler took power in 1933 and was resposinble for the outbreak of WW2 with his invasion of Poland in 1939.
His regime led to at least 17 million deaths, including six million Jews in the Holocaust, not including all the lives claimed by the six years of World War, he started.