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Dictator

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Benito Mussolini (on the left) and Adolf Hitler (on the right) were two dictators that used fear and propaganda to consolidate power.

The word dictator or despot in modern times is used to describe an absolute ruler of a country (other than a king). A dictator uses force and fear to keep themself, their friends, and their allies in authority.

They can effectively make laws all by himself. A country that is ruled by a dictator is called a dictatorship.

History

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The word "dictator" comes from the Roman Republic, where a man would be given absolute power for six to twelve months to handle an emergency. Julius Caesar was the last Roman Dictator.

Some dictators in history have gained political power through by violently taking over the existing government (for example, in a military coup, civil war or revolution). Others won an election, but once in power, they cancelled new elections or changed how they were run to make them unfair for opponents.

Differences: Kings and emperors

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[[Pol Pot]] served as the [[totalitarian]] leader of [[Democratic Kampuchea]] between 1976 and 1979, during which his [[communist]] regime killed an estimated 1.5 to 2 million Cambodians.
Pol Pot led the Khmer Rouge and ruled over the Cambodian genocide

Kings and emperors often use force and fear too, but usually they are not called dictators. This is because those monarchs have some reason for being in power (usually their father was king or emperor), but a dictator gained power himself. Also, when someone is king or emperor of a country, usually there were several kings or emperors before them. A dictator often creates the job of dictator by gaining power.

Some dictators start wars and/or kill millions. Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler are three of the deadliest dictators in history. Pol Pot was perhaps the deadliest: his Cambodian genocide killed nearly a quarter of the people under his rule.

List of dictators

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The most famous dictators in history include:

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