Afghanistan
Mullah Mohammad Omar 1996-2001; leader of the Taliban; gave refuge to
bin Laden's Al
Qaeda terrorist group
Hamid Karzai 2001-present
Akkadian
Empire
Sargon I 2335-2279 BC; united Akkad and Sumer;
conquered most of Mesopotamia
Algeria
Ahmed Ben Bella 1962-1965; won independence from France
Abdelaziz Bouteflika 1999-present; made peace with rebels in civil war
Angola
Agostinho Antonio Neto 1975-1979; won independence from Portugal;
established Popular
Movement for the Liberation of Angola Party (MPLA)
Jose Eduardo dos Santos 1979-present; leader of MPLA; signed peace with
UNITA leader
Savimbi in 1991; agreed to share power with Savimbi in Lusaka Protocol
Argentina
Juan Peron 1946-1955, 1974-1976; married popular Eva (Evita); Peronista
party formed to
support him; later married Isabel
Isabel Peron 1974-1976; third wife of Juan Peron; first woman president
in Western
Hemisphere
Jorge Rafael Videla 1976-1981; led military junta; guerilla warfare
"dirty war" throughout
country for years
Leopoldo Galtieri 1981-1982; resigned after losing Falklands War
Raul Alfonsin 1983-1989
Carlos Menem 1989-1999
Fernando de la Rua 1999-2001; resigned amid economic crisis, led to 5
presidents in 2 weeks
Ramon Puerta 2001
Adolfo Rodriguez Saa 2001
Eduardo Camano 2001-2002
Eduardo Duhalde 2002- ; Peronist candidate who had lost in 1999 to de
la Rua
Armenia
Robert Kocharian 1998-present; Prime Minister Sarkissian was killed in
Parliament in 1999
Assyria
Shalmaneser III 859-824 BC; failed to conquer Aram; monuments include
the Black
Obelisk and the Gates of Balawat
Tiglath-pileser III 745-727 BC; took over Babylonia
Shalmaneser V 727-722 BC; conquered Israel
Sargon II 722-705 BC; deported Israelites; expanded empire; made
capital at Calah and built
new city Dar Sharrukin
Sennacherib 705-681 BC; moved capital to Nineveh; razed Babylonia;
commemorated in poem
by Byron
Ashurbanipal 669-627 BC; collected large library in Nineveh; attacked
Memphis and Susa
Ashur-uballit II 612-609 BC; last Assyrian king
Australia
John Adrian Louis Hope 1901-1903; first governor-general
Edmund Barton 1901-1903; first prime minister
John Curtin 1941-1945; allied with US in WWII; member of Labor party
Robert Gordon Menzies 1949-1966; founded Liberal Party; longest term as
prime minister
Gough Whitlan 1972-1975; leader of Labor Party; dismissed by
governor-general
Malcolm Fraser 1975-1983; led Liberal Party
Robert Hawke 1983-1991; brought Labor Party to power
Paul Keating 1991-1996; led Labor Party
John Howard 1996- ;
restored Liberal Party to power
Azerbaijan
Haydar Aliyev 1993-present
Aztec
Empire
Montezuma II 1502-1520; killed by his own people when Cortes made him
appeal for an end to
the revolt against the Spaniards
Cuauhtemoc 1520; last emperor
Babylonia
First Babylonian Empire
Hammurabi 1792-1750 BC; defeated King Rim-Sin of Larsa; established
code of
laws (Code of Hammurabi)
Samsu-iluna 1750-1712 BC; son of Hammurabi
Chaldean Period
Nebuchadnezzar II 605-562 BC; defeated Egyptians at Carchemish;
captured
Jerusalem and Judah; restored Babylonian empire
Nabonidus 546-539 BC; son Belshazzar given most power; defeated by
Persian
Cyrus the Great
Bangladesh
Mujibur Rahman 1971-1975; killed in coup
Ziaur Rahman 1977-1981; killed in coup
Hossain Mohammad Ershad 1983-1990; leader of Jatiya party; jailed for
corruption
Begum Khaleda Zia 1991-1996; widow of Ziaur Rahman; led Bangladesh
Nationalist Party
Belarus
Aleksandr Lukashenko 1994-present
Bolivia
Antonio Jose de Sucre 1826-1828; helped win independence for South
America from Spain;
fought with Bolivar at Ayacucho
Hilarion Daza c. 1880; fought with Peru against Chile in War of the
Pacific; ceded Atacama
Province to Chile
Victor Paz Estenssoro 1952-1956, 1960-1964, 1985-1989; founded
Nationalist Revolutionary
Movement; nationalized tin industry
Jorge Quiroga Ramirez 2001-present
Brazil
Pedro I 1822-31; son of Portuguese John VI, who had fled to Brazil as
Napoleon invaded
Portugal
Getulio Vargas 1930-1945; dictator took control in junta
Fernando Cardoso 1995-
Caliphate
Early Period
Muhammad 619-632; raised by Abu Talib; married Khadija; made Hegira
from
Mecca to Medina; became ruler of Medina and defeated Mecca; wrote
Koran; founded Islam
Abu Bakr 632-634; Muhammad's father-in-law
Umar I 634-644; defeated Persia; conquered Egypt, Syria, and Iraq
Uthman ibn Affan 644-656; assassinated by rebel troops
Ali 656-661; fought Muawiyah at Siffin; assassinated by the Kharijites;
his
followers were the Shiites
Umayyad Dynasty
Muawiyah 661-680; revolted against Caliph Ali; moved capital from Mecca
to
Damascus; successors conquered North Africa and Spain until stopped
by Martel at Poitiers
Yazid I 680-683; slaughtered Husayn and the Kufan Shiites at Karbala
Muwan II ?-750; overthrown by Abbasids
Abbasid Dynasty
Abu al-Abbas 750-754; overthrew Umayyads
al-Mansur 754-775; built capital at Baghdad
Harun al-Rashid 786-809; court described in Arabian Nights;
member of
Barmecides family was grand vizier; exchanged gifts with Charlemagne;
vizier Jaffar and chief executioner Mesrour
al-Mustasim ?-1258; killed by Mongol Hulagu, ending dynasty
Fatimid Dynasty
Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi 909-?; established dynasty in Tunisia; he was a
Shiite
claiming descent from Mohammad's daughter Fatima and Caliph Ali;
proclaimed Moslem messiah (Mahdi)
Spanish Umayyads
Abd-ar-Rahman 929-?; descendants ruled from Cordoba until 1031
Cambodia
Norodom Sihanouk 1941-1955; king; still head of state
Pol Pot 1975-1985; leader of Khmer Rouge; arrested 1997
Hun Sen 1998-present
Canada
John MacDonald 1867-1873, 1878-1891; Conservative; first prime minister
Alexander Mackenzie 1873-1878; Liberal
Wilfrid Laurier 1896-1911; Liberal
Robert Laird Borden 1911-1920; switched from Conservative to Union
party
W.L. Mackenzie King 1921-1926, 1926-1930, 1935-1948; Liberal
Richard Bennett 1930-1935; Conservative; proposed the Bennett New Deal
during Depression
Louis St. Laurent 1948-1957; Liberal
John Diefenbaker 1957-1963; Progressive Conservative
Lester Pearson 1963-1968; Liberal; won 1957 Nobel Peace Prize for
diplomatic work in
Korea and the Suez
Pierre Trudeau 1968-1979; Liberal
Brian Mulroney 1984-1993; Progressive Conservative; negotiated Meech
Lake Accord with
Quebec Premier Bourassa in 1987 included Native Americans
Kim Campbell 1993; Progressive Conservative; first female prime
minister
Jean Chretien 1993-present; Liberal
Chile
Bernardo O'Higgins 1817-1823; leader in South American independence
from Spain
Salvador Allende Gossens 1970-1973; niece is author Isabel Allende
Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, 1974-1990; led anti-Marxist coup; committed
human rights abuses
Patricio Aylwin Azocar 1990-1994
Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle 1994-2000
Ricardo Lagos Escobar 2000-present; first socialist president since
Pinochet's coup
China
Xia Dynasty 2205-1766 BC
Shang Dynasty
1500-1027 BC
Western Chou
Dynasty 1027-770 BC
Eastern Chou 770-256 BC
Spring and Autumn Period 722-481 BC
Warring States 403-221 BC
Ch'in (Qin) Dynasty 221-206 BC
Shih Huang-Ti 221-210 BC; originally Cheng; advised by Li Ssu; built
Grand Canal
Western Han
Dynasty 202 BC - 9 AD
Hsin Dynasty 9 - 23, interrupting Han
Wang Mang - usurper; reformer; murdered by Liu clan
Eastern Han Dynasty 25-220
Three Kingdoms (Wei, Shu, Wu) 220-265
T'ang Dynasty
618-906
Sung Dynasty
960-1279
Yuan (Mongol)
Dynasty 1279-1368
Kublai Khan 1279-1294; grandson of Ghengis; built court at Cambaluc
(Beijing);
visited by Marco Polo (Venice); Buddhist
Ming Dynasty
1368-1644
Ch'ing (Manchu)
Dynasty 1644-1912
Pu Yi 1908-1912; last emperor; appointed head of Manchukuo by Japan in
1932
Republic
1911-1937
Yuan Shikai 1912-1916; former Manchu general
Chiang Kai-shek 1927-1937; led Kuomintang (Nationalist) Party founded
by Sun
Yat-sen; purged communists
Occupied by Japan 1937-1945
Communist 1949-
Chairman Mao Tse-Tung 1949-1976; led Long March; established Communist
government in China; policies included Hundred Flowers, Great Leap
Forward, and Cultural Revolution
Premier Zhao Enlai 1949-1976
De Facto Leader Deng Xiaoping 1976-1997; encouraged "Four
Modernizations" and
instituted reforms leading to more market-style economy
General Secretary Hu Yaobang 1981-1987; reformer supported by Tiananmen
Square protestors
General Secretary Zhao Ziyang 1987-1989; was removed for being
sympathetic to
Tiananmen Square protestors
Premier Li Peng 1987-1998
General Secretary Jiang Zemin 1989- ; former Shangai mayor; continued
Deng's
reforms
Premier Zhu Rongji 1998 -
Colombia
Simon Bolivar 1821-1830; won independence from Spain, freeing Colombia
at Boyaca;
continued to liberate Ecuador and Peru while Santander ran government
of Gran
Colombia, including Venezuela and Panama
Francisco de Paula Santander 1832-1837; Colombia and Panama became New
Granada
Ernest Samper 1994-1998; Liberal Party; accused of accepting bribes
from drug cartels
Andres Pastrana 1998-present; Conservative Party
Congo
(former Zaire)
Patrice Lumumba 1960; first premier; removed by President Kasavubu and
murdered by
Tshombe's Katangan rebels
Mobutu Sese Seko 1965-1997; renamed nation Zaire
Laurent Kabila 1999-2001; leader of rebels who ousted Mobutu;
assassinated by bodyguard;
renamed nation Democratic Republic of the Congo
Joseph Kabila 2001-present
Costa
Rica
Miguel Angel Rodriguez Echeverria 1998-present
Cuba
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar 1952-1959
Fidel Castro Ruz 1959-present; ousted dictator Batista and established
Communist government
Dominican
Republic
Rafael Trujillo 1930-1961; dictator; assassinated
Joaquin Balaguer 1961-1962, 1966-1996; defeated Bosch in 1966 election
after US intervention
Hipolito Mejia 2000-present
Ecuador
Abdala Bucaram 1996-1997; known as "El Loco" (The Crazy One)
Gustavo Noboa Bejarano 2000-present
Egypt
Predynastic Period c.3500-c.3100 BC
Early Dynastic Period c.3100-2686 BC, 1-2 dynasties
Menes c. 3100 BC; also Narmer; united Upper and Lower Egypt; killed by
hippopotamus
Old Kingdom c.2686-2181 BC, 3-6 dynasties, capital at Memphis
Djoser c. 2600 BC; his architect Imhotep build Step Pyramid
Khufu 2551-2528 BC; also Cheops; built Great Pyramid at Giza
First Intermediate Period c.2181-2040 BC, 7-10 dynasties, capital at
Thebes and Herakleopolis
Middle Kingdom c.2040-1786 BC, 11-12 dynasties
Amenemhet I c. 1991 BC; controlled Nubia; capital at Itjtawy; began
Dynasty 12
Second Intermediate Period 1786-1567 BC, 13-17 dynasties (Hyksos ruled
during 15)
New Kingdom 1570-1085 BC, 18-20 dynasties
Ahmose I 1550-1525 BC; established New Kingdom; drove out Hyksos
Thutmose I 1504-1492 BC; defeated Nubians
Thutmose II 1492-1479 BC; husband of Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut 1473-1458 BC; daughter of Thutmose I;
Thutmose III 1479-1425 BC; ruled as coregent with stepmother Hatshepsut;
expanded empire; defeated Syria at Plain of Jezreel
Ahmenhotep III 1391-1353 BC; built palace at Thebes; encouraged arts
Ahmenhotep IV 1353-1335 BC; introduced monotheistic Aton religion;
changed
name to Akhenaton and built capital at Akhenaton
Tutankhamun 1333-1323 BC; restored Thebes and Amon worship; tomb
discovered
by Carter and Carnarvon in 1922
Ramses II 1290-1224 BC; fought Hittites at Kadesh
Ramses III 1194-1163; fought Lydians and Sea People; defeated Harem
conspiracy
Late Dynastic Period 1085-332 BC, 21-31 dynasties
Ptolemaic Dynasty 323 BC - 30 AD
Ptolemy I 323-283 BC; general of Alexander the Great; built library at
Alexandria
Cleopatra VII; committed suicide with Marc Antony at Actium; Rome took
Egypt
Ayyubid Family
Saladin 1169-1193; vizier of Egypt nominally under the Fatimids;
captured
Damascus and the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem from Crusaders; signed
armistice with Richard I (England) in Third Crusade, keeping Jerusalem
in Muslim control
Mamluks (Bahri and Burji sultans) 1250-1517
Modern
Mohammed Ali 1805-1848; Ottoman viceroy of Egypt but operated
independently
of Ottomans
Ibrahim Pasha 1848; general and son of Mohammed Ali
Ismail Pasha 1863-1879; opened Suez canal; westernized Egypt
Fuad I 1922-1936; king
Faruk I 1936-1952; king
Gamal Nasser 1954-1970; led coup ousting Faruk in 1952, then ousted
Naguib; built
Aswan High Dam; ended British occupation; Suez Crisis; lost Six Day
War; formed United Arab Republic with Syria 1958-1961
Anwar al-Sadat 1970-1981; lost Arab-Israeli War; signed Camp David
Accords;
encouraged foreign investment (infitah); assassinated by Islamic
extremists
Hosni Mubarak 1981-present
El
Salvador
Jose Napoleon Duarte 1979-1989; leader of Christian Democratic Party;
military, out of his
control, killed many during civil war
Alfredo Cristiani 1989-1994; leader of Nationalist Republican Alliance
(ARENA); negotiated
end to civil war
Francisco Flores 1999-present
Estonia
Lennart Meri 1992-present
Ethiopia
Menelik II 1889-1909; united tribes; made capital at Addis Ababa;
defeated Italians at Adowa
Haile Selassie I 1930-1974; last emperor
Gambia
Dawda Jawara 1970-1994; formed Senegambia with Senegal 1981-1989;
deposed by Jammeh
Georgia
Eduard Shevardnadze 1992-present; survived coup and two assassination
attempts
Ghana
Kwame Nkrumah 1957-1966; won independence for British Gold Coast;
became first prime
minister then president; overthrown by military coup; advocated forming
United
States of Africa
Jerry Rawlings 1982-2001
Guatemala
Jose Rafael Carrera 1840-1865; ended United Provinces of Central
America, liberating
Guatemala, by defeated Morazan
Manuel Estrada Cabrera 1898-1920; US United Fruit company exported many
bananas
Jorge Ubico 1931-1944; liked Hitler but joined US in WWII
Juan Jose Arevalo 1944-1951; began "Ten Years of Spring"
reforms
Alfonso Portillo Cabrera 2000-present
Gupta
Chandragupta 320-353; founded dynasty; capital at Patna on the Ganges
Samudragupta 353-375; conquered much of India; pillar at Allahabad
describes his exploits
Haiti
Toussaint L'Ouverture 1801-1802; had led 1791 slave revolt; established
republic but was
defeated by Leclerc, sent by Napoleon, and jailed
Jean-Jacques Dessalines 1804-1806; won independence from France;
proclaimed himself
emperor; called the Tiger
Henri Chrisophe 1806-1820; plotted assassination of Dessalines; ruled
north as Henri I;
committed suicide with silver bullet
Francois Duvalier 1957-1971; "Papa Doc"; used Tontons
Macoutes forces to intimidate
opposition
Jean-Claude Duvalier 1971-1986; "Baby Doc"
Jean-Bertrand Aristide 1991, 1994-1996; priest; ousted by coup led by
Cedras but restored with
US intervention
Rene Preval 1996-present
Honduras
Carlos Roberto Flores Facusse 1998-present; Hurricane Mitch killed
thousands in 1998
Huns
Balamir 300s; defeated Alans, conquering land between Volga and Don
Roas 400s; collected tribute from Roman Theodosius I
Attila 433-453; murdered brother Bleda; defeated Byzantine Theodosius
II; invaded Gaul but
lost to Romans at Chalons; ended advance on Rome after meeting with
Pope Leo I
Incan
Empire
Topa Inca to 1493
Huayna Capac 1493-1525
Atahualpa ~1525-1532; executed brother Huascar; conquered by Spanish
under Pizarro
India
Robert Clive 1750s; British governor of Bengal; won control of India at
Plassey in 1757
Warren Hastings 1772-1784; British colonial governor of Bengal; worked
for British East India
Company; tried by Francis, supported by Burke, in Parliament
Jawaharlal Nehru 1949-1964; led independence movement
Indira Gandhi 1966-77, 1980-84; ordered attack on Sikh's Golden Temple
at Amritsar;
assassinated by Sikh bodyguards
Rajiv Gandhi 1984-1989; son of Indira; assassinated by Tamil terrorist
Narasimha Rao 1991-1996
Atal Bihari Vajpayee 1996-present; member of Hindu nationalist
Bharatiya Janata Party
Indonesia
Sukarno 1950-1968; led independence from Netherlands; killed many
Communists after coup
Suharto 1968-1998
Jusuf Habibie 1998-1999
Abdurrahman Wahid 1999-2000; many East Timorese killed after voting for
independence
Megawati Sukarnoputri 2001-present
Iran
Reza Shah Pahlavi 1925-1941; ousted by Britain during WWII
Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi 1941-1979; Premier Mossadegh led oil
nationalization drive
Ayatollah Khomeini 1979-1989; led Islamic revolution
Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani 1989-1997
Mohamed Khatami 1997-present
Iraq
Faisal I 1921-1933; aided Britain in WWI; secured full independence for
Iraq in 1932
Faisal II 1939-1958; became king at age three; formed pro-Western Arab
Union with Jordan,
opposed by United Arab Republic, which supported a coup by Kassem in
which
Faisal II was assassinated
Saddam Hussein 1979-present; leader of Arab Baath Socialist Party;
fought Iran in Iran-Iraq
War and UN in Persian Gulf War after invading Kuwait; persecuted Kurds
Israel
United Kingdom
Saul 1020-1000 BC;
defeated Philistines and Ammonites; jealous of David
David 1000-961 BC; son of Jesse; anointed by Samuel; slew Goliath;
defeated Saul;
friends with Saul's son Jonathan and married Michal; committed adultery
with Uriah's wife Bathsheba, denounced by Nathan; son Absalom rebelled
and was killed by general Joab
Solomon 961-922 BC; son of David and Bathsheba; built Temple; wrote
Proverbs
Israel (capital at Samaria)
Jeroboam 922-901 BC; became king of the northern ten tribes
Ahab 869-850 BC; married Jezebel; worshipped Baal
Jehu 850-? BC; killed Jezebel; appointed king by Elijah
Hoshea ?-722 BC; Assyrians conquered Israel
Judah (capital at Jerusalem)
Rehoboam 922-? BC; northern tribes rebelled under Jeroboam, leaving
only Judah
and Benjamin
Asa 910-870 BC; defeated Egyptian invasion
Jehoshaphat
Josiah 648-609 BC; discovered Deuteronomy; slain by Egypt at Megiddo
Zedekiah 597-586 BC; defeated by Nebuchadnezzar II, and Babylon
conquered
Judah
Modern Israel
Chaim Weizmann 1949-1952; first president
David Ben-Gurion 1948-1953, 1955-1963; first prime minister; member of
Zionist
labor Mapai party; 1956 Suez Crisis
Golda Meir 1969-1974; resigned after Arab-Israeli War; leader of Labor
party
Menachem Begin 1977-1983; Likud party; signed Camp David Accords with
al-
Sadat (Egypt); shared 1978 Nobel Peace Prize; invaded Lebanon
Yitzhak Shamir 1983-1992; Likud leader shared power with Labor leader
Peres
Yitzhak Rabin 1974-1977, 1992-1995; signed Declaration of Principles
with PLO
leader Arafat; assassinated at peace rally
Simon Peres 1995-1996; continued peace negotiations
Benjamin Netanyahu 1996-1998; Likud party
Ehud Barak 1998-2001; Labor party
Ariel Sharon 2001-present; hardliner; Peres appointed foreign minister
Jamaica
Michael Manley 1972-1980, 1989-1992; advocated Nonaligned status; wrote
book on cricket
Percival Patterson 1992-present
Japan
Yamato Rulers
Shotoku Taishi 594-622; introduced Chinese-style rule; 17 Injunctions
constitution
Tenji 645-692; Taika reforms
Jimmu c. 660 BC; legendary king who supposedly unified Japan
Heinan Period
Fujiwara Michinaga 995-1028; model for Murasaki's Genji
Kamakura Shogunate
Minamoto Yoritomo 1185-1199; leader of Minamoto clan; defeated Taira
clan in
Gempei War and established shogunate
Go-Toba 1221; former emperor tried to retake power from Hojo family
Ashikaga Shogunate
Go-Daigo and Ashikaga Takauji 1333; led Kemmu Restoration, ending
Kamakura
Shogunate; established rival courts at Kyoto (Ashikaga) and Yoshino
(Go-Daigo)
Reunification
Oda Nabunaga 1568-1582; daimyo who reunified much of the country and
ousted
last Ashikaga shogun; assassinated by a vassal
Toyotomi Hideyoshi 1581-1598; continued Nabunaga's reunification work
Tokugawa Shogunate
Tokugawa Ieyasu 1603-1605; won civil war at Battle of Sekigahara and
built capital
at Edo (Tokyo); bakuhan system of shared rule with daimyos
Meiji Restoration
Meiji 1868-1912; overthrew Tokugawa shogunate; modernized, unified and
industrialized Japan
Ito Hirobumi late 1800s; four-time prime minister; wrote constitution
Emperor Yoshihito 1912-1926
Emperor Hirohito 1926-1989; allowed to remain as emperor, though with
no real
powers, by US occupation under MacArthur
Konoe Fumimaro 1937-1938, 1940-1941; prime minister who joined Axis
powers
and started invasions of Indochina to create "Greater East Asia
Co-Prosperity
Sphere"
Tojo Hideki 1941-1944; led Japan in WWII; forced to resign after loss
at Saipan
Postwar
Yoshida Shigeru 1946-1947, 1947-1954; first postwar prime minister
Tanaka Kakuei 1972-1974; member of Liberal Democratic Party; arrested
for taking
bribes from Lockheed Martin
Emperor Akihito 1989- ;
son of Hirohito
Jordan
King Hussein 1952-1999; cousin of King Faisal (Iraq)
King Abdallah II 1999-
Kanem-Bornu
Idris Alooma 1500s; acquired firearms from Turks and expanded empire
Kazakhstan
Nursultan Nazarbayev 1990-present
Kenya
Jomo Kenyatta 1963-1978; studied under Malinowski; wrote Facing
Mount Kenya; arrested
after Mau Mau rebellion; won independence for Kenya
Daniel arap Moi 1978-present; truck bomb exploded at US embassy in 1998
Korea
Silla Dynasty 668-918
Koryo Period 918-1392
Yi (Choson) Dynasty 1391-19010
Japanese Rule 1910-1945
South Korea
Syngman Rhee 1948-1960; UN prevented North Korean conquest of South
Korea in
Korean War; resigned after student protests 1960
Park Chung Hee 1963-1979; led military coup; assassinated by Korean CIA
chief
Chun Dao-Hwan 1980-1987; allowed elections after massive protests
Roh Tae Woo 1987-92
Kim Young Sam 1993-1998; arrested Chun and Roh for treason; renamed
Democratic Liberal Party the New Korea Party
Kim Dae Jung 1998-present; won 2000 Nobel Peace Prize
North Korea
Kim Il Sung 1948-1994; failed to extend Communist to South Korea in
Korean War
Kim Jong Il 1994-present
Kuwait
Emir Sheikh Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir as-Sabah 1978-present
Kyrgyzstan
Askar Akayev 1990-present
Laos
Fa Ngum 1300s; founded Lan Xang (Million Elephants) kingdom
Souvanna Phouma 1953-1954, 1956-1958, 1960, 1962-1975; won independence
from France;
tried to integrate the Communist Pathet Lao rebels led by half-brother
Souphanouvong into government, but they took full control when US
withdrew
Khamtai Sphandon 1998-present
Latvia
Vaira Vike-Freiberga 1999-present
Lebanon
Amin Gemayel 1982-1988; became president after president-elect brother
Bashir Gemayel was
assassinated; Maronite Christian; civil war ravaged Lebanon
Elias Hrawi 1989-1998; became president after Moawad was assassinated;
ended revolt by
Aoun; ended Lebanese Civil War
Emile Lahoud 1998-present
Liberia
Samuel Doe 1980-1990; deposed Tolbert in a coup; killed in civil war
Ruth Perry 1996-1997; first female head of state in modern Africa
Charles Taylor 1997-present
Libya
Muammar al-Qaddafi 1969-present; US bombed Libya in 1986; sanctioned
imposed on Libya
when it refused to hand over suspects in Pan Am 103 bombing
Lithuania
Valdas Adamkus 1998-present
Luxembourg
Grand Duke Henri 2000-present
Lydia
Croesus 560-546 BC; capital at Sardis; defeated by Cyrus the Great of
Persia
Madagascar
Didier Ratsiraka 1976-1993
Albert Zafy 1993-1996; impeached by legislature
Didier Ratsiraka 1997-present
Malaysia
Tunku Abdul Rahman 1957-1970; won independence from Britain; joined
Malaya, Singapore,
Sabah, and Sarawak in 1963; Singapore left federation in 1965
Mahathir bin Mohamad 1981-present; leader of National Front;
"Vision 2020" industrialization
plan; arrested Deputy Prime Minister Anwar who charged corruption
Mali
Sundiata Keita 1235-1260; defeated the Susa under Sumanguru Kante at
Kirina and established
empire; built capital at Niani
Mansa Musa 1312-1337; made pilgrimage to Mecca with much gold and
adopted Islam; made
Tombouctou a cultural center
Moussa Traore 1968-1991
Alpha Oumar Konare 1992-present
Mauryan
Dynasty
Chandragupta Maurya 321-298 BC; founded dynasty in Magadha kingdom;
conquered much of
India; defeated Seleucids
Bindusara 298-273 BC; extended empire south
Ashoka 273-232 BC; became disillusioned with war and adopted Buddhism;
issued Edicts of
Ashoka
Mexico
Emperor Augustin de Iturbide 1822-1823; leader of war for independence,
authoring Plan of
Iguala with Guerrero; declared himself emperor but forced to abdicate
Guadalupe Victoria 1823-1829; first president; succession of the United
Provinces of Central
America; 1824 constitution
Vicente Guerrero 1829-1831; leader of war for independence;
assassinated by Bustamante's
conservatives
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna 1833-1837, 1841-1845, 1846-1847, 1853-1855;
fought Spaniards
with
Iturbide but then ousted him in 1823; defeated Texans at the Alamo but lost at
San
Jacinto;
lost a leg defeating French at Veracruz; lost to US in Mexican-American War;
fled
to Jamaica but was recalled and became dictator; exiled to Caribbean
Emperor Maximilian 1863-1867; installed as emperor by Napoleon III
(France), but was
defeated
by troops under Diaz at Queretaro and executed after French troops left
Benito Pablo Juarez 1867-1872; Zapotec who instituted liberal reforms;
helped oust French
Porfirio Diaz 1877-1880, 1884-1911; long rule called the Porfiriato;
encouraged foreign
investment, stability, and modernization; resigned 1911
Francisco Madero 1911-1913; ousted Diaz but instituted few reforms,
upsetting Zapata and
Villa; murdered by his general Huerta
Victoriano Huerta 1913-1914; not recognized by US, which seized
Veracruz
Venustiano Carranza 1915-1920; he and general Obregon restored order,
but Villa continued
raids in the north, prompting US to send Pershing after him; 1917
constitution
Alvaro Obregon 1920-1924; led revolt against Carranza, who did not
implement reforms from
1917 constitution
Plutarco Elias Calles 1924-1928; instituted reforms but conflict with
the church led to Cristero
Rebellion, mediated by US ambassador Morrow; founded PNR (later PRI)
and
controlled later presidents until 1934 during Maximato period
Lazaro Cardenas 1934-1940; nationalized oil (Pemex)
Manuel Avila Camacho 1940-1946; joined US in WWII, supplying labor in
Bracero program
Gustavo Diaz Ordaz 1964-1970; many killed at Tlateloco Plaza of the
Three Cultures massacre;
1968 Mexico City Olympics
Jose Lopez Portillo 1976-1982
Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado 1982-88; accepted IMF loan
Carlos Salinas de Gortari 1988-1994; negotiated NAFTA; Zapatistas in
Chipas rebelled; his
brother Raul Salinas was convicted of assassination and drug dealing
Ernesto Zedillo 1994-2000; repla ced assassinated PRI candidate
Colosio; devalued currency
Vicente Fox Padilla 2000- ;
PAN candidate Fox ended PRI's rule; former Coca-Cola executive
Moldova
Vladimir Voronin 2001-present
Mongolia
Natsagiyn Bagabandi 1997-present
Mongols
Genghis Khan 1206-1227; real name Tamujin; capital at Karakorum;
established Great Yasa
code; conquered empire from China Sea to Dneiper
Ogodei 1227-?; ruled East Asia after Genghis's death
Kublai Khan 1279-1294; grandson of Ghengis; ruled in China,
establishing Yuan dynasty; built
court at Cambaluc (Beijing); visited by Marco Polo (Venice); Buddhist;
brother
Mangu Khan
Jagatai 1227-?; ruled Turkistan; established Jagatai dynasty
Hulaga 1231-1265; ruled Iran; established Il-Khanid dynasty
Batu Khan 1237-1255; led Tatar army in conquering Eastern Europe;
recalled to Asia when
uncle Ogodei died, preventing conquest of Western Europe
Tamerlane 1370-1405; called the Lame after sheep-stealing accident;
conquered much of Asia;
made capital at Samarqand; defeated Bayazid I (Ottoman) at Ankara
Morocco
King Hassan II 1961-1999
King Muhammad VI 1999-present
Mozambique
Samora Machel 1975-1986; won independence from Portugal; Maoist; killed
in plane crash in
South Africa
Joaquim Chissano 1986-present
Mughal
Empire
Babur 1526-1530; defeated Ibrahim Lodi at Panipat and captured Agra
Humayun 1530-1556; defeated by Afghan leader Sher Shah
Akbar 1556-1605; re-conquered empire; promoted Dini-Ilahi religion;
allied with Hindus
Jahangir 1605-1628; wife Nur Jahan assumed most power
Shah Jahan 1628-1658; built capital at Delhi and Taj Mahal (tomb for
his wife and later
himself) and the Pearl Mosque at Agra
Aurangzeb 1658-1707; took the name Alamgir (Conqueror of the World);
expanded empire to
largest extend; executed Sikh guru
Myanmar
King Anawrahta 1044-1077; founded unified Myanmar kingdom at Pagan
Kyanzittha 1084-1112; brought Pagan Kingdom to zenith
Bayinnaung 1551-1581; reunited Myanmar under Toungoo Dynasty
Alaungpaya 1752-1763; founded Konbaung Dynasty
Hsinbyushin 1763-1776; destroyed Thai capital at Ayutthaya
U Nu 1948-1958, 1960-1962; won independence from Britain; led
Anti-Fascist People's
Freedom League, founded by U Aung San during WWII
Ne Win 1962-1988; dictator; U Aung San's daughter Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
began nonviolent
resistance to military rule in late 1980s and won 1991 Nobel Peace
Prize
Than Shwe 1992-present
Nepal
King Birendra 1972-2001; son Dipendra killed himself, Birendra, and
eight other members of
the royal family June 1, 2001
King Gyanendra 2001-present
New
Zealand
Jim Bolger 1990-1997; led National Party
Jenny Shipley 1997-1999; first female New Zealand prime minister
Helen Clark 1999-present
Nicaragua
William Walker 1855-1857; American filibuster
Jose Santos Zelaya 1893-1909; Taft's Dollar Diplomacy encouraged a
revolt that ousted him
Anastacio Somoza 1936-1956; tried to win favor of US and FDR
Luis Somoza Debayle 1956-1967
Anastacio Somoza Debayle 1967-1979; corrupt; stole relief money from
1972 Managua
earthquake
Daniel Ortega Saavedra 1984-1990; led Sandinista rebellion against
Somoza; opposed by US-
aided contras
Violeta Chamorro 1990-1997; widow of assassinated newspaper editor;
ended Sandinista rule
Arnoldo Aleman 1997-present; Liberal Party; Hurricane Mitch killed many
in 1998
Nigeria
Nnambdi Azikiwe 1963-1966; won independence from Britain
Yakubu Gowon 1966-1975; defeated Biafra succession attempt
Sani Abacha 1993-1998; committed human rights abuses; hanged Ken
Saro-Wiwa
Olusegun Obasanjo 1999-present; returned country to civilian rule;
elected after frontrunner
Abiola died
Numidia
Masinissa 201-? BC; supported Rome in the Second Punic War
Jugurtha 113-104 BC; defeated by Sulla in the Jugurthine War
Oman
Sultan Qabus bin Said 1970-present
Ottoman
Empire
Osman 1289-1326; founded Ottoman dynasty; established small state in NW
Anatolia
Orhan 1326-1362; conquered Bursa and made in the capital; Ottomans
served as mercenaries
for Byzantine usurper John VI Cantacuzene; crossed Dardanelles into
Europe;
married Theodora, daughter of Cantacuzene; occupied Galllipoli
Murad I 1362-1389; captured Adrianople (now Edirne) in 1361; made
Byzantine emperor his
vassal; founded Janissary military unit; conquered much of Balkans;
killed at Battle
of Kosovo
Bayazid I Yilderim (Lightning) 1389-1402; first with title sultan;
blockaded Constantinople;
defeated by Mongol Tamerlane near Ankara in 1402
Murad II 1421-1451; took Thessaloniki from Ventians in 1430 and
defeated Polish Wladyslaw
II at Battle of Varna in 1444; abdicated to son Muhammad II 1444-1446
but returned;
defeated Hungarian Janos Hunyadi at Second Battle of Kosovo in 1448
Muhammad II the Conqueror 1451-1481; captured Constantinople in 1453
and made it the
capital; codified law; took lands around Black Sea
Bayazid II 1481-1512; built Mosque of Bayazid in Constantinople; fought
many wars against
Hungary, Poland, Venice, Egypt, and Persia; depended on Janissaries
Selim I 1512-1520; subdued ersian Safavids; executed Mameluke sultan of
Egypt
Suleiman I the Magnificent 1520-1566; captured Belgrade in 1521; killed
Hungarian Louis II;
besieged Vienna and Baghdad; allied with France against HRE Charles V
Murad IV 1623-1640; executed more than 100,000; commanded troops
against Baghdad in
1638; fought Poland
Sultanate of the Women 1640-1656; several women served as regents for
young sultans
Grand Vizierates 1656-1683; Koprulu Muhammad Pasha defeated Venice
navy; Koprulu Fazil
Ahmad Pasha captured Ukraine and Crete; Kara Mustafa Pasha lost at
Vienna
Abd Al-Hamid I 1774-1789; reformer; lost to Austria and Russia
Selim III 1789-1807; introduced Western reforms; Russo-Turkish War
1787-1792; Egyptian
invasion of Napoleon; war with Russia and Britain; opposed by
Janissaries who
deposed him in 1807
Mahmud II 1808-1839; ceded Black Sea to Russia; lost Greece in 1827;
forced to cede Syria to
Egypt by Muhammad Ali
Abd Al-Madjid 1839-1861; introduced Western Tanzimat
("reorganization") reforms; Crimean
War 1853 - 1856; reformist grand viziers Ali and Fuad Pasha
Abd Al-Hamid II 1876-1909; lost war to Russia; lost most European
possessions in Treaty of
San Stefano 1878; allowed massacres of Armenians; deposed by Young
Turks 1909
Young Turks 1909-1918; wanted to continue reforms of Selim III;
nominally Islamic; Abdullah
Cevdet and others at Royal Medical Academy founded Committee of Union
and
Progress in 1889; Enver Bey and Niyazi Bey led mutiny demanding
restoration of
1876 constitution; conservatives mutinied in 1909 demanding restoration
of Sharia
holy law; dissention within CUP; Enver Pasha, Talat Pasha, and Cemal
Pasha
dominated; lost WWI
Pakistan
Muhammad Ali Jinnah 1947-1948; won independence from Britain; leader of
Muslim League
Mohammad Ayub Khan 1958-1969
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto 1970-1977; Bangladesh succeeded after civil war;
executed in 1979
Muhammad Zia ul-Haq 1978-1988; ousted Bhutto; killed in plane crash
Benazir Bhutto 1988-1990; daughter of Zulfikar Bhutto; first female
leader of Muslim country
Nawaz Sharif 1990-1993, 1997-1999; ousted by coup after firing General
Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf 1999-present; agreed to assist US against Taliban in
Afghanistan
Panama
Harmodio Arias 1931-1940; led coup by Common Action group; lessened US
influence
Arnulfo Arias 1940-1941, 1949-1951, 1968; brother of Harmodio Arias
Omar Torrijos 1969-1981; signed treaty with Carter (US) to transfer
Panama Canal to Panama
by 1999; died in plane crash
Manuel Noriega 1983-1990; arrested by US troops in 1989-1990 invasion;
convicted of drug
trafficking in Miami
Guillermo Endara 1990-1994; led Arnulfista Party; won 1989 election
that was nullified by
Noriega; installed as president by US invading force
Ernesto Balladares 1994-1999
Mireya Elisa Moscoso 1999-present; widow of Arnulfo Arias
Paraguay
Alfredo Stroessner 1954-1989; led coup against Chavez; led Colorado
party; ousted by
coup led by Rodriguez
Juan Carlos Wasmosy 1993-1998; first civilian leader in many years
Luis Angel Gonzalez Macchi 1999-present
Parthian
Empire
Arsaces I 247-? BC; rebelled against Seleucids; made capital at Dara,
later Hecatompylos
Peru
Prado Ugarteche 1939-45, 1956-62
Alberto Fujimori 1990-2000; captured leader of Shining Path guerrillas
Guzman Reynoso;
ordered attack on Tupac Amaru guerrillas who had taken hostages at
Japanese
embassy; accused of complicity in murders; resigned from Japan
Alejandro Toledo 2001-present
Persian
Empire
Cyrus I the Great 550-530 BC; defeated the Medes, Lydia, and Babylonia
Cambyses II 530-522 BC; son of Cyrus I; conquered Egypt
Darius I 522-486 BC; crushed revolt of Ionian Greeks; defeated by
Greeks at Marathon; built
canal from the Nile to the Red Sea; built capital at Persepolis
Xerxes I 486-465 BC; defeated by Greeks at Salamis
Artaxerxes I 465-? BC; Egyptians revolted
Darius III 336-330 BC; defeated by Alexander the Great at Issus and
Gaugamela
Philippines
Manuel Roxas 1946-1948; won independence from US; faced rebellion by
Communist Huks
Ferdinand Marcos 1965-1986; declared martial law 1972; wife Imelda held
significant power;
opposition leader Aquino was murdered; fled to Hawaii after 1986
election
Corazon Aquino 1986-1992; widow of opposition leader Benigno Aquino; US
helped defeat
coup; Mt. Pinatubo erupted; forced US to close Clark and Subic Bay
bases
Fidel Ramos 1992-1998; leader of People Power Movement that ousted
Marcos; made peace
with Moro rebels
Joseph Estrada 1998-2000; former actor; populist; impeached
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo 2001-present
Rwanda
Juvenal Habyarimana 1973-1994; killed in plane crash with Burundi
president Ntaryamira,
leading to much fighting between Tutsis and majority Hutus
Safavids
Abbas I 1588-1629; rebuilt capital at Esfahan; won back lands ceded to
Uzbeks and Ottomans
Sassanids
Ardashir I 224-241; defeated Parthians at Hormuz and established
dynasty in Persia; established
Zoroastrianism as official religion
Khosrau I 529-590; fought Byzantine Justinian I, extending empire to
the Black Sea; restored
Zoroastrianism
Saudi
Arabia
King Ibn Saud 1932-1953; Wahhabis leader; conquered Al Hijaz and
established
Saudi Arabia
King Saud 1953-1964
King Faisal 1964-1975; fought Israel in Six-Day and Arab-Israeli Wars;
assassinated by nephew
King Khalid 1975-1982; sickly; brother Faud held most power
King Faud 1982-present; allowed US troops in Saudi Arabia for Persian
Gulf War; half-brother
Abdullah's power has increased since Faud's 1995 stroke
Seleucids
Seleucus I 312-280 BC; received Babylon and Syria upon Alexander the
Great's death; built
Antioch
Antiochus II 261-246 BC; freed Miletus from Timarchus; his satrap
Diodotus I seized Bactria
Antiochus III the Great 223-187 BC; defeated Ptolemy V (Egypt) but lost
to Rome at
Thermopylae and Magnesia
Antiochus IV Epiphanes 175-164 BC; captured Jerusalem but was driven
out by the Maccabees
Seljuk
Turks
Togrul Beg 1040-1055; conquered Iraq and Iran
Alp Arslan late 1000s; defeated Byzantines at Manzikert
Malik Shah early 1100s
Singapore
Thomas Raffles 1819; British founder of Singapore
SR Nathan 1999-present
Somalia
Muhammad Siad Barre 1970-1991; led coup; established socialist state;
fled during civil war
Abdiqassim Salad Hassan 2000-present
Songhai
Sunni Ali 1464-1492; capital at Gao; captured Djenne and Tombouctou;
Niger River empire
South
Africa
Paul Kruger 1883-1902; president of South African Republic in
Transvaal; leader of the
Afrikaners; declared war on Cape Colony but was defeated by the British
Cecil Rhodes 1890-1895; prime minister of Cape Colony; founder of
DeBeers diamond
company; resigned after failed Jameson Raid
Alfred Milner 1897-?; prime minister of Cape Colony; defeated South
African Republic in the
Boer War
Louis Botha 1910-1919; leader of South African Party; Native Lands Act
prevented blacks from
owning land outside of reserves
Jan Christiaan Smuts 1919-1924, 1939-1948; pro-British
JBM Hertzog 1924-1939; Afrikaner; leader of National Party
Daniel Malan 1948-1954; instituted apartheid; established 10 homelands
for blacks; leader of
National Party
PW Botha 1984-1989; tried to retain Namibia; allowed coloureds and
Indians in Parliament but
not blacks; resigned after a stroke
FW de Klerk 1989-1994; ended apartheid; freed political prisoners
including Mandela; met with
Archbishop Tutu
Nelson Mandela 1994-1999; leader of African National Congress; had
spent 27 years as
political prisoner at Robben Island and Pollsmoor; wrote Long Walk
to Freedom;
Truth and Reconciliation Commission investigated apartheid crimes
Thabo Mbeki 1999-present
Sudan
Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir 1989-present
Syria
Hafez al-Assad 1971-2000; Syrian troops fought in Arab-Israeli War and
Lebanon civil war;
allied with Iran in Iran-Iraq War; leader of Baath Party
Bashar al-Assad 2000-present; son of Hafez al-Assad
Taiwan
Chiang Kai-shek 1949-1975; leader of Kuomintang fled mainland after
losing to Communists
Chiang Ching-kuo 1975-1988; Chiang Kai-shek's son
Lee Teng-hui 1988-2000
Chen Shui-bian 2000-present; leader of Democratic Progressive Party;
first non-KMT president
Tajikistan
Imomali Rakhmonov 1994-present
Tanzania
Julius Nyerere 1964-1985; won independence from Britain
Benjamin Mkapa 1995-present
Thailand
Kingdom of Ayutthaya
King Ramathibodi I 1351-1448; conquered Angkor and Sukhothai
Naresuan 1590s; freed Thailand from Burma
Taksin 1790s; built capital at Thon Buri
Chakri Dynasty
King Rama I 1782-1809
King Rama IV (Mongkut) 1851-1868; prevented European colonization of
Thailand
King Rama V (Chulalongkorn) 1868-1910; continued to prevent European
colonization of Thailand
King Rama VII (Prajadhipok) 1930-1935; forced to accept a constitution
by a coup
led by Phanomyong
King Blumibol Adulyadej 1946-present
Tunisia
Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali 1987-present
Turkey
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk 1923-1938; opposed foreign occupation, allowed by
sultan in Treaty of
Sevres giving Greece part of Anatolia; set up government in Ankara;
occupied
Izmir;
proclaimed republic 1923; introduced Western reforms and abolishing Islamic
institutions
Ismet Inonu 1938-1950; remained neutral during most of WWII; accepted
aid from Truman
(US) to prevent Communist influence
Tansu Ciller 1993-1996; first female prime minister of Turkey; leader
of True Path Party
Ahmet Necdet Sezer 2000-present
Turkmenistan
Saparmurad Niyazov 1990-present
Uganda
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni 1986-present
Ukraine
Leonid Danylovich Kuchma 1994-present
United
Nations
Trygve Lie 1946-1953; Norway
Dag Hammarskjold 1953-1961; Sweden; died in plane crash in Africa
U Thant 1961-1972; Burma
Kurt Waldheim 1972-1982; Austria; accused of Nazi war crimes
1982-1992 Javier Perez de Cuellar; Peru
1992-1997 Boutros Boutros-Ghali; Egypt
1997-present Kofi Annan; Ghana
United
Provinces of Central America
Manuel Jose Arce 1825-1827; Salvadoran; allied with Guatemalan
conservatives
Francisco Morazan 1830-1834; Honduran general; natives under Aquino
revolted; defeated by
Guatemalan Carrera, liberating Guatemala and dissolving the United
Provinces
Uruguay
Jose Maria Bordaberry 1972-1976; leader of Colorado Party; defeated
rival Blanco Party
candidate; ousted by military
Jorge Batlle 2000-present; leader of Colorado Party
Uzbekistan
Islam Karimov 1990-present
Venezuela
Jose Antonio Paez 1829-1846; Venezuela succeeded from Gran Colombia
Antonio Gomez Blanco 1870-1888; built railroads; reduced power of the
church; US arbitrator
gave most land in boundary dispute with Guyana to Britain
Cipriano Castro 1899-1908; European nations blocked ports, demanding
payment of debts
Juan Vicente Gomez 1908-1935; used newfound oil to pay off foreign
debts
Romulo Betancourt 1945-1948, 1958-1963; leader of Democratic Action
Party; instituted land
reforms; Trujillo (Dominican Republic) and Castro (Cuba) tried to oust
him
Romulo Gallegos Freire 1948; founder of Democratic Action Party;
novelist; first
democratically elected president; ousted by army coup
Perez Jimenez 1952-1958; leader of military junta; jailed opposition
leaders including Social
Christian Party leader Caldera Rodriguez; ousted by Patriotic Junta
coup
Rafael Caldera 1968-1974, 1993-1999; leader of Social Christian Party;
nationalized industries;
in second term nationalized many banks
Carlos Perez 1974-1978, 1988-1993; leader of Democratic Action Party;
defeated two coups;
ousted by the Senate on charges of embezzlement
Hugo Chavez 1999-present; led two coup attempts against Perez; adopted
new constitution;
renamed nation Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; 1999 mudslides killed
many; briefly
ousted by coup but returned
Vietnam
Ly Dynasty 1010-1225
Tran Dynasty 1225-1407
Le Dynasty 1428-1789
Nguyen Dynasty
Nguyen Anh 1802-?; defeated Tay Son brothers who had ended Le Dynasty;
moved
capital to Hue
Tu Duc 1848-1883; persecuted Christians; France began conquest of
Indochina
Bao Dai 1926-1945, 1949-1955; ruled under French and Japanese
protection; ousted
by Viet Minh; brought back by French in 1949 to rival Ho Chi Minh;
leader of South Vietnam after partition in 1954
Recent
Ngo Dinh Diem 1955-1963; refused to hold re-unification elections
according to
Geneva Protocols in 1956; Viet Cong Communists staged guerilla warfare
in
Vietnam War; assassinated after becoming brutal and corrupt
Nguyen Van Thieu 1967-1975; leader in coup against Diem; weakened by
Tet
Offensive; ousted by Communists as Saigon and South Vietnam fell
Ho Chi Minh 1945-1969; trained in Moscow; established Communist Viet
Minh,
which fought Japan in WWII and the French in the First Indochina War;
fought US and South Vietnam in Second Indochina War
Le Duan 1969-1986; led reunited Communist Vietnam
Tran Duc Luong 1997-present; continued doi moi reforms
Zambia
Kenneth Kaunda 1964-1991; won independence from Britain
Frederick Chiluba 1991-present
Zimbabwe
Ian Smith 1964-1979; declared independent Rhodesia from Britain under
white rule; sanctioned
by UN; opposed by Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union; nation
recognized
as independent as Zimbabwe in 1980 under black rule
Robert Mugabe 1980-present; redistributed land owned by minority whites