- Pol Pot
Saloth Sar, was the leader of the Khmer Rouge and the Prime Minister of Cambodia (officially renamed the Democratic Kampuchea during his rule) from 1976 to 1979, having been "de facto" leader since mid-1975. Having been directly and indirectly responsible for the physical elimination of about one-third of the Cambodian population during his stay in power, Pol Pot is today regarded as one of the five worst mass-murderers of modern history. - Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (August 22, 1904 - February 19, 1997) was a prominent Chinese politician and reformist, and the late leader of the Communist Party of China (CCP). Deng never held office as the head of state or the head of government, but served as the "de facto" leader of the People's Republic of China from the 1978 to the early 1990s. He pioneered "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" and Chinese economic reform, also known as the "socialist market economy", … - Muqtada Al-Sadr
Muqtada al-Sadr is the fourth son of a famous Iraqi Shi‘a cleric, the late Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr. He is also the son-in-law of Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir As-Sadr. While he does not hold any official title in the Iraqi government, he is one of the most influential religious and political figures in the country. - Joseph Stalin
Josef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili ("Ioseb Besarionis Dze Jughashvili";, "Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili") (March 5 1953), better known by his adopted name, Joseph Stalin (alternatively transliterated Josef Stalin), was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee from 1922 until his death in 1953. Despite his formal position being originally without significant influence, … - Ismail Haniyeh
Ismail Haniyeh ; born January 1963) is a senior political leader of Hamas and former Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority. In the wake of Hamas' military seizure of control of the Gaza Strip, he was dismissed from office on June 14, 2007 by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas; however, … - François Bayrou
François Bayrou is a French politician, president of Union for French Democracy since 1998, and a candidate in the 2007 French presidential election. In the first round, he received 18.5% of votes, finishing in 3rd place and therefore was eliminated from the race. (Only the top two candidates participated in the runoff election, which was held on May 6). A former Member of the European Parliament, … - Raúl Castro
Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz is the Acting President of Cuba and Acting President/First Vice President of the Cuban Council of State. The younger brother of Cuban President Fidel Castro also occupies the positions of First Vice President/Acting President of the Council of Ministers, Acting First Secretary/Second Secretary of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), and Acting Commander in Chief Maximum General of the Armed Forces (Army, Navy, … - Eduard Kokoity
Eduard Dzhabeyevich Kokoity (Ossetian "Кокойты Джабейы фырт Эдуард", Russian "Эдуа́рд Джабе́евич Коко́йты", surname also rendered as "Kokoyty" or "Kokoiti" or in a Russified version as "Kokoyev") is the current President of South Ossetia, a "de facto" (though internationally unrecognized) independent republic within Georgia. Born in 1964, Kokoity is a former member, and champion, … - Jorge Rafael Videla
Jorge Rafael Videla Redondo was the "de facto" President of Argentina from 1976 to 1981. He came to power in a coup d'état that deposed Isabel Martínez de Perón. After the return to democracy, he was prosecuted for large-scale human rights abuses, including widespread torture and extrajudicial murder of suspected and actual leftists under his rule. He is now under house arrest. - Fulgencio Batista
General Ruben Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was the "de facto" military leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1940, and thus the eminence grise of Cuban politics for that period of time, and the "de jure" President of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 after having won election. He then became the country's leader after staging a coup, from 1952 to 1959. - Sergei Bagapsh
Sergei Vasilyevich Bagapsh (Abkhaz:) (born March 4, 1949, Sukhumi) is the president of the unrecognized de facto independent Republic of Abkhazia, which is recognized internationally as de jure part of Georgia. A former Prime Minister from 1997 to 1999, he was elected president in 2005. Before being appointed as Prime Minister, Bagapsh had been a businessman, a former first secretary of the Abkhaz Komsomol and a permanent representative of the Abkhaz leadership in Moscow, … - Manuel Noriega
Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno (born February 11, 1938) was a Panamanian general and the de facto military dictator of Panama from 1983 to 1989, despite never being the official President of Panama. He was initially a strong ally of the United States and worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from the late 1950s to 1986. By the late 1980s, relations had turned extremely tense between Noriega and the United States government, … - Tariq Aziz
Mikhail Yuhanna, later and more popularly known as Tariq Aziz or Tareq Aziz was the Foreign Minister (1983 – 1991) and Deputy Prime Minister (1979 – 2003) of Iraq, and a close advisor of former President Saddam Hussein for decades. Their association began in the 1950s, when both were Ba'ath party activists, while the party was still officially banned. Since Saddam Hussein was both Prime Minister and President of Iraq, … - Charles Martel
Charles Martel (or, in modern English, Charles "the Hammer") (23 August 686 - 22 October 741) was proclaimed Mayor of the Palace, ruling the Franks in the name of a titular King, and proclaimed himself Duke of the Franks (the last four years of his reign he did not even bother with the facade of a King) and by any name was "de facto" ruler of the Frankish Realms. He expanded his rule over all three of the Frankish kingdoms: Austrasia, Neustria and Burgundy. - Mehmet Ali Talat
Mehmet Ali Talat is the current President of the "de facto" Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which controls the northern third of the island of Cyprus, but is unrecognized by any nation except Turkey. Because the UN does not recognize the TRNC it treats Mehmet Ali Talat as bona fide negotiator for the Turkish Cypriot community of the Republic of Cyprus. He was the leader of the left wing Republican Turkish Party (Cumhuriyetçi Türk Partisi). - Abdullah Of Saudi Arabia
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud (born 1924) is the King of Saudi Arabia. He succeeded the throne on August 1 2005, following the death of his half-brother, King Fahd. As crown prince, he had previously acted as "de facto" regent and thus ruler of Saudi Arabia since 1995 when King Fahd was incapacitated by a major stroke. He was formally enthroned on August 3 2005, … - António de Oliveira Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar, pron., (April 28, 1889 - July 27, 1970) was the President of the Council of Ministers of Portugal (Prime Minister) and the "de facto" dictator of the Portuguese Republic from 1932 to 1968. He was the founder and leader of the Estado Novo (New State), the authoritarian right-wing regime that presided over and controlled Portugal's social, economic, cultural and political life from 1933 to 1974. - Efraín Ríos Montt
José Efraín Ríos Montt is a former "de facto" President of Guatemala, army general, and former president of Congress. In the 2003 presidential elections, he unsuccessfully ran as the candidate of the ruling Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG). Huehuetenango-born Ríos Montt remains one of the most controversial figures in Guatemala. - Józef Piłsudski
Józef Klemens Piłsudski, was a Polish revolutionary and statesman, Field Marshal, first Chief of State (1918-1922) and dictator (1926-1935) of the Second Polish Republic, as well as head of its armed forces. From the middle of World War I until his death, Piłsudski was the major influence on Poland's government and foreign policy, and an important figure in European politics. He is considered largely responsible for Poland having regained her independence in 1918, … - Reynaldo Bignone
Reynaldo Benito Antonio Bignone Ramayón is a former Argentine general who served as the "de facto" president of the country from July 1, 1982 to December 10, 1983. He became leader of the country after former President Leopoldo Galtieri stepped down after Argentina's defeat by the United Kingdom in the Falklands War. His power did not last long; without the Falkland Islands as an issue and newly allowed to express certain degrees of dissent under Galtieri, … - Sani Abacha
General Sani Abacha (Kano, 20 September 1943 - Abuja, 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military leader and politician. He was the "de facto" President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998. - Leopoldo Galtieri
Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri Castelli (July 15, 1926 - January 12, 2003) was an Argentinian general and the "de facto" President of Argentina from 22 December 1981 to 18 June 1982, during the last military dictatorship. The death squad Intelligence Battalion 601 directly reported to him - Kim Yong-Nam
Kim Yongnam (born February 4, 1928) is a top North Korean official. Although he is not "de jure" head of state of North Korea (as no such office exists), in his capacity as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, he has the role of accepting the credentials of ambassadors, conducting foreign relations and signing treaties, making him the "de facto" head of state. He has held this office since September 5, 1998. - Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, KG, KB, PC (26 August 1676 - 18 March 1745) was a British statesman who is generally regarded as having been the first Prime Minister of Great Britain. This position had no official recognition in law, but Walpole is nevertheless acknowledged as having held the "de facto" office due to the extent of his influence in the Cabinet. However, the term "Prime Minister" was never used officially at this time. - Fahd Of Saudi Arabia
Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia (1921 - August 1, 2005) was the king and prime minister of Saudi Arabia and leader of the House of Saud. One of thirty-seven sons of Saudi founder Ibn Saud, and the fourth of his five sons who have ruled the Kingdom (Saud, Faisal, Khalid, Fahd, and Abdullah), Fahd ascended to the throne on the death of his half-brother, King Khalid, on June 13, 1982. - Pedro Eugenio Aramburu
Pedro Eugenio Aramburu Cilveti was a de facto president of Argentina from November 13, 1955 to May 1, 1958. He was kidnapped, "judged" and executed by the Montoneros guerrilla organization in retaliation against the June 1956 Leon Suarez massacre and the execution of Juan José Valle. Born in Río Cuarto, Córdoba, he was one of the biggest exponents of the military sectors of 20th century Argentine society. - Moshe Feinstein
Moshe Feinstein (1895 - 1986) was a Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi and scholar, who was world renowned for his expertise in halakha and was the "de facto" supreme rabbinic authority for Orthodox Jewry of North America. In the Orthodox world, it is universal to refer to him simply as "Reb Moshe." - Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed (b. December 15 1934) is a veteran Somali politician, and the current transitional President of Somalia. Ahmed was born in the town of Galkacyo, in the Mudug Region, and is a member of the Darod, one of Somalia's largest clans. He was elected as President of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), by a session of the Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP) held in neighbouring Kenya's capital, Nairobi, on October 10 2004, … - Charles Ii Of England
Charles II (29 May 1630 - 6 February 1685) was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. According to royalists, Charles II became king when his father Charles I was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, the climax of the Second English Civil War. The English Parliament did not proclaim Charles II king at this time, however, and England entered the period known to history as the English Interregnum. The Parliament of Scotland, on the other hand, … - Vladislav Ardzinba
Vladislav Ardzinba (born on May 14, 1945) is an Abkhaz politician who was the first president of the unrecognized, but de facto independent Republic of Abkhazia, a breakaway autonomous republic of Georgia, from 1994 to 2004. - Jeremy Michael Ward
Jeremy Michael Ward was the sound technician and vocal operator for The Mars Volta and for the dub outfit De Facto. He created many of the soundscapes heard on The Mars Volta's album "De-Loused in the Comatorium". Jeremy, aside from his role in The Mars Volta and Defacto, was also a talented guitar player and artist, working mostly in pen and ink. His right arm was tattooed by Tucson, AZ artist Mike "Inkman" McDowell. - Mary Tudor
Mary I (18 February, 1516 - 17 November, 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 6 July1553 (de facto) or 19 July 1553 (de jure) until her death on 17 November, 1558. Mary, the fourth crowned monarch of the Tudor dynasty, after the uncrowned Jane Grey and before Elizabeth I, is remembered for briefly returning England to Roman Catholicism. - Empress Dowager Cixi
Empress Dowager Cixi, was from the Manchu Yehe Nara Clan. She was a powerful and charismatic figure who became the "de facto" ruler of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, ruling over China for 47 years from 1861 to her death in 1908. Coming from an ordinary Manchu family and having been selected by the Xianfeng Emperor as a concubine, she exercised almost total control over the court under the nominal rule of her son the Tongzhi Emperor and her nephew the Guangxu Emperor, … - Tipu Sultan
Tippu Sultan, also known as the Tiger of Mysore (November 20, 1750, Devanahalli – May 4, 1799, Srirangapattana), was the first son of Haidar Ali by his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-nissa. He was the "de facto" ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore from the time of his father's death in 1782 until his own demise in 1799. Tippu Sultan was a learned man and an able soldier. He was reputed to be a good poet. - Rza
RZA (born Robert Diggs, July 5, 1969 in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York, USA) is an American hip hop producer, rapper and actor. He is the "de facto" leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, and was also a member of Gravediggaz. He has produced almost all of Wu-Tang Clan's albums as well many Wu-Tang solo and affiliate projects. Lately he has gained more attention for his work in films, … - Jan Smuts
Field Marshal Jan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, PC, ED, KC, FRS (May 24, 1870 - September 11, 1950) was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader, and philosopher. In addition to various cabinet appointments, he served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and from 1939 until 1948. He served as a British Field Marshal in both the First World War and the Second World War. - Ferdi Sabit Soyer
Ferdi Sabit Soyer (born 1951) is the de facto TRNC Prime Minister, and Deputy Leader of TRNC President Mehmet Ali Talat's Republican Turkish Party (CTP). Soyer, a former union leader, has been a member of the TRNC parliament since 1985 (except for a three-year absence between 1990 and 1993). He was named successor to Talat's former post of TRNC Prime Minister on April 25, 2005. Soyer was born in Nicosia in 1952, attending secondary school in Cyprus, … - Ramón Grau
Dr. Ramón Grau San Martin was a Cuban physician and president of Cuba (1933-34, 1944-48). His father, a rich tobacco grower, wanted him to continue in his footsteps, but he wanted to be a doctor. He studied at the University of Havana and graduated in 1908 with a degree of Doctor of Medicine. He then lived in Europe to expand his medical knowledge and returned to Cuba in 1921 and became a professor of physiology at the University of Havana. - Emilio Eduardo Massera
Emilio Eduardo Massera is a former Argentine military officer, and part of the 1976 coup d'état. In 1981, he was found to be a member of P2 (also known as "Propaganda Due", a freemasonry lodge involved in Italy's strategy of tension). Massera entered Argentina's Naval Military School in 1942, obtaining his commission as a midshipman in 1946. During his career he occupied different positions within the Navy, … - Claire Wolfe
Claire Wolfe is a survivalist-libertarian author and columnist. Some of her favored topics are gulching or homesteading, firearms, open source technology, and homeschooling. Her books include such titles as "179 Things to Do 'Til the Revolution" and "I Am Not a Number!". She also writes for a number of magazines, notably Backwoods Home Magazine and SWAT. A common subject in these articles is the fictional town of Hardyville, …
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