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See Again
© Getty Images
0 / 31 Fotos
Saddam Hussein - The late Iraqi dictator believed he was destined by God to rule Iraq forever.
© Getty Images
1 / 31 Fotos
Whitney Houston
- Saddam Hussein used an Arabic version of the popular Whitney Houston song 'I Will Always Love You' during his presidential campaign.
© Getty Images
2 / 31 Fotos
Kim Jong-il - Although his son now gets all the credit for the insane things that happen in North Korea, Kim Jong-il was also responsible for a quite a few.
© Getty Images
3 / 31 Fotos
Hamburger? - Kim Jong-il claimed to have invented the Gogigyeopbbang, which translates to "double bread with meat." Yes, it's essentially a hamburger.
© Shutterstock
4 / 31 Fotos
Muammar Gaddafi - The late Libyan leader, Colonel Gaddafi, had a group of female bodyguards protecting him. But there's a twist—they were all virgins.
© Getty Images
5 / 31 Fotos
Juventus - He did make a good investment at the time and bought shares of the Italian soccer club, Juventus.
© Shutterstock
6 / 31 Fotos
Idi Amin
- Idi Amin wasn't happy with the title "President of Uganda," so he changed it to: "His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin Dada, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Seas and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular"
© Wikimedia / Creative Commons
7 / 31 Fotos
Idi Amin - Idi Amin was obsessed with Scotland. He wore a kilt, claimed the Scottish throne, and offered to marry Queen Elizabeth. The movie 'The Last King of Scotland,' starring Forest Whitaker (pictured), tells his story.
© BrunoPress
8 / 31 Fotos
Hugo Chavez - The late Venezuelan president invested funds in the most bizarre programs while his country ran out of basic goods such as toilet paper.
© Getty Images
9 / 31 Fotos
Hugo Chavez - One of these projects was Venezuela's own cell phone, the "Vergatario." The word "verga" in Spanish is slang for penis, which caused a lot of controversy.
© Getty Images
10 / 31 Fotos
Abdalá Bucaram - Some presidents settle for an acceptance speech when they're elected, but Ecuador's former president celebrated his victory onstage by doing an Elvis impersonation!
© Reuters
11 / 31 Fotos
Abdalá Bucaram - Abdalá Bucaram was nicknamed "El Loco" ("The Madman") for many reasons, including paying soccer legend Diego Maradona US$1 million to play a game with him.
© Reuters
12 / 31 Fotos
Jean-Bédel Bokassa
- On 1966 Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa overthrew the president of Central Africa, David Dacko (who was his cousin) and became a ruler. (Photo: Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 3.0)
© Wikimedia / Creative Commons
13 / 31 Fotos
Jean-Bédel Bokassa - The self-proclaimed "Emperor Bokassa I of Central Africa" was tried for numerous crimes and sentenced to death, but in the end he was eventually released. Bokassa then started calling himself the 13th Apostle of Christ.
© Reuters
14 / 31 Fotos
Joseph Stalin - No one was authorized to enter the former leader of the Soviet Union's bedroom under any circumstances.
© Shutterstock
15 / 31 Fotos
Joseph Stalin - This measure proved to be fatal, as Stalin died of a stroke in his room alone, without anyone daring to enter his private chambers to check on him.
© Shutterstock
16 / 31 Fotos
Mariano Melgarejo - General Mariano Melgarejo ruled Bolivia in the late 19th century. He's known to have forced the British ambassador to drink a bowl of cocoa until he vomited, and then he tied him up on a donkey.
© Public Domain
17 / 31 Fotos
Mariano Melgarejo - He also taught his horse, named Holofernes, to drink beer and urinate on people.
© Shutterstock
18 / 31 Fotos
António de Oliveira Salazar - Under the rule of 'Estado Novo' (Portuguese dictatorship) it was illegal to use a lighter without a license. This was supposedly done to protect the Portuguese match industry.
© Public Domain
19 / 31 Fotos
Coke prohibition - The then Prime Minister, Salazar, was also responsible for banning Coca-Cola from Portugal in the 1950s.
© Shutterstock
20 / 31 Fotos
Francois Duvalier - The former President of Haiti, also known as "Papa Doc," claimed to be the Voodoo spirit of death, Baron Samedi.
© Public Domain
21 / 31 Fotos
JFK - He claimed to have caused President John F. Kennedy's death in 1963 through the use of a Voodoo doll.
© Reuters
22 / 31 Fotos
Saparmurat Niyazov - The former President of Turkmenistan thought highly of himself. He wrote a book and made it a compulsory read in mosques and schools.
© Reuters
23 / 31 Fotos
Calendar - And if that wasn't enough, he actually renamed the months of the year! Niyazov named January "Turkmenbashi," which means "Head of all the Turkmen," a name he liked to call himself.
© Shutterstock
24 / 31 Fotos
Rafael Trujillo - The former President of the Dominican Republic, also known as "El Jefe" ("The Boss"), renamed the capital, roads, bridges, and even mountains after him.
© Public Domain
25 / 31 Fotos
Trujillo's military strategy - As crazy as it might sound, Trujillo appointed his 3-year-old son Ramfis as a colonel in the Dominican Army.
© Shutterstock
26 / 31 Fotos
Mobutu Sese Seko - The former President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo prohibited anyone else to wear leopard-print hats.
© Reuters
27 / 31 Fotos
The Rumble in the Jungle - Mobutu organized a boxing event called The Rumble in the Jungle, and paid Muhammad Ali and George Foreman US$5 million each to fight.
© Reuters
28 / 31 Fotos
Francisco Macias Nguema
- The first President of Equatorial Guinea also decided to change his title. He thought that "Grand Master of Education, Science, and Culture" would be more appropriate. (Photo: Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 4.0)
© Wikimedia / Creative Commons
29 / 31 Fotos
Banned word
- Nguema is known to have banned the word "intellectual." See also: American celebs you won't believe cozied up to dictators
© Shutterstock
30 / 31 Fotos
© Getty Images
0 / 31 Fotos
Saddam Hussein - The late Iraqi dictator believed he was destined by God to rule Iraq forever.
© Getty Images
1 / 31 Fotos
Whitney Houston
- Saddam Hussein used an Arabic version of the popular Whitney Houston song 'I Will Always Love You' during his presidential campaign.
© Getty Images
2 / 31 Fotos
Kim Jong-il - Although his son now gets all the credit for the insane things that happen in North Korea, Kim Jong-il was also responsible for a quite a few.
© Getty Images
3 / 31 Fotos
Hamburger? - Kim Jong-il claimed to have invented the Gogigyeopbbang, which translates to "double bread with meat." Yes, it's essentially a hamburger.
© Shutterstock
4 / 31 Fotos
Muammar Gaddafi - The late Libyan leader, Colonel Gaddafi, had a group of female bodyguards protecting him. But there's a twist—they were all virgins.
© Getty Images
5 / 31 Fotos
Juventus - He did make a good investment at the time and bought shares of the Italian soccer club, Juventus.
© Shutterstock
6 / 31 Fotos
Idi Amin
- Idi Amin wasn't happy with the title "President of Uganda," so he changed it to: "His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin Dada, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Seas and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular"
© Wikimedia / Creative Commons
7 / 31 Fotos
Idi Amin - Idi Amin was obsessed with Scotland. He wore a kilt, claimed the Scottish throne, and offered to marry Queen Elizabeth. The movie 'The Last King of Scotland,' starring Forest Whitaker (pictured), tells his story.
© BrunoPress
8 / 31 Fotos
Hugo Chavez - The late Venezuelan president invested funds in the most bizarre programs while his country ran out of basic goods such as toilet paper.
© Getty Images
9 / 31 Fotos
Hugo Chavez - One of these projects was Venezuela's own cell phone, the "Vergatario." The word "verga" in Spanish is slang for penis, which caused a lot of controversy.
© Getty Images
10 / 31 Fotos
Abdalá Bucaram - Some presidents settle for an acceptance speech when they're elected, but Ecuador's former president celebrated his victory onstage by doing an Elvis impersonation!
© Reuters
11 / 31 Fotos
Abdalá Bucaram - Abdalá Bucaram was nicknamed "El Loco" ("The Madman") for many reasons, including paying soccer legend Diego Maradona US$1 million to play a game with him.
© Reuters
12 / 31 Fotos
Jean-Bédel Bokassa
- On 1966 Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa overthrew the president of Central Africa, David Dacko (who was his cousin) and became a ruler. (Photo: Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 3.0)
© Wikimedia / Creative Commons
13 / 31 Fotos
Jean-Bédel Bokassa - The self-proclaimed "Emperor Bokassa I of Central Africa" was tried for numerous crimes and sentenced to death, but in the end he was eventually released. Bokassa then started calling himself the 13th Apostle of Christ.
© Reuters
14 / 31 Fotos
Joseph Stalin - No one was authorized to enter the former leader of the Soviet Union's bedroom under any circumstances.
© Shutterstock
15 / 31 Fotos
Joseph Stalin - This measure proved to be fatal, as Stalin died of a stroke in his room alone, without anyone daring to enter his private chambers to check on him.
© Shutterstock
16 / 31 Fotos
Mariano Melgarejo - General Mariano Melgarejo ruled Bolivia in the late 19th century. He's known to have forced the British ambassador to drink a bowl of cocoa until he vomited, and then he tied him up on a donkey.
© Public Domain
17 / 31 Fotos
Mariano Melgarejo - He also taught his horse, named Holofernes, to drink beer and urinate on people.
© Shutterstock
18 / 31 Fotos
António de Oliveira Salazar - Under the rule of 'Estado Novo' (Portuguese dictatorship) it was illegal to use a lighter without a license. This was supposedly done to protect the Portuguese match industry.
© Public Domain
19 / 31 Fotos
Coke prohibition - The then Prime Minister, Salazar, was also responsible for banning Coca-Cola from Portugal in the 1950s.
© Shutterstock
20 / 31 Fotos
Francois Duvalier - The former President of Haiti, also known as "Papa Doc," claimed to be the Voodoo spirit of death, Baron Samedi.
© Public Domain
21 / 31 Fotos
JFK - He claimed to have caused President John F. Kennedy's death in 1963 through the use of a Voodoo doll.
© Reuters
22 / 31 Fotos
Saparmurat Niyazov - The former President of Turkmenistan thought highly of himself. He wrote a book and made it a compulsory read in mosques and schools.
© Reuters
23 / 31 Fotos
Calendar - And if that wasn't enough, he actually renamed the months of the year! Niyazov named January "Turkmenbashi," which means "Head of all the Turkmen," a name he liked to call himself.
© Shutterstock
24 / 31 Fotos
Rafael Trujillo - The former President of the Dominican Republic, also known as "El Jefe" ("The Boss"), renamed the capital, roads, bridges, and even mountains after him.
© Public Domain
25 / 31 Fotos
Trujillo's military strategy - As crazy as it might sound, Trujillo appointed his 3-year-old son Ramfis as a colonel in the Dominican Army.
© Shutterstock
26 / 31 Fotos
Mobutu Sese Seko - The former President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo prohibited anyone else to wear leopard-print hats.
© Reuters
27 / 31 Fotos
The Rumble in the Jungle - Mobutu organized a boxing event called The Rumble in the Jungle, and paid Muhammad Ali and George Foreman US$5 million each to fight.
© Reuters
28 / 31 Fotos
Francisco Macias Nguema
- The first President of Equatorial Guinea also decided to change his title. He thought that "Grand Master of Education, Science, and Culture" would be more appropriate. (Photo: Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 4.0)
© Wikimedia / Creative Commons
29 / 31 Fotos
Banned word
- Nguema is known to have banned the word "intellectual." See also: American celebs you won't believe cozied up to dictators
© Shutterstock
30 / 31 Fotos
Bizarre things dictators did that you won't believe are real
You won't believe the crazy things these dictators did
© Getty Images
Dictators are known for oppressing entire nations with their ruthless regimes. In this gallery you'll find some of the weirdest things these dictators did. You will seriously question where these ideas came from after looking through this gallery. Check it out.
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