Kim Jong-Eun | North Korean political official. Kim Jong-un - Military Leader. Kim Jong-un became the leader of North Korea in 2011, having inherited his position from his father Kim Jong-il. Synopsis Much of the early life of Kim Jong-un is unknown to Western media. Presumably born in North Korea, Kim Jong-un is the son of Ko Young-hee, an opera singer, and Kim Jong-il, who was the military-oriented leader of the country for over a decade until his death in 2011.
Kim Jong-un has continued the country’s nuclear testing and what is believed to be the development of missile technology despite international disapproval. He has pledged to focus on educational and economic reforms and is more mediagenic in his approach to leadership than his father. Limited Information on Early Life The birthdate and early childhood of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is shrouded in mystery. Kim Jong-un's mother was opera singer Ko Young-hee, who had two other children and is thought to have campaigned for Kim Jong-un to be his father's successor before her death in 2004. Related Videos. Osama bin Laden. Osama bin Laden is a terrorist extremist who planned the attacks on the World Trade Center and is intent on driving Western influence from the Muslim world. Synopsis Osama bin Laden was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 1957. When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, bin Laden joined the Afghan resistance.
After the Soviet withdrawal, bin Laden formed the al-Qaeda network which carried out global strikes against Western interests, culminating in the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. On May 2, 2011, President Barack Obama announced that bin Laden had been killed in a terrorist compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Early Life Osama bin Laden was born Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden on March 10, 1957, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to construction billionaire Mohammed Awad bin Laden and Mohammed's 10th wife, Syrian-born Alia Ghanem. Osama, however, barely came to know his father before his parents divorced. Advertisement — Continue reading below Videos.
Osama bin Laden. In an attempt to protect himself from arrest and win even more recruits to al-Qaida’s deadly cause, bin Laden moved from Sudan to Afghanistan in 1996. Meanwhile, the scale of al-Qaida’s attacks continued to increase. On August 7, 1998, bombs exploded simultaneously at the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, where 213 people were killed and 4,500 were injured, and Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, where 11 people were killed and 85 were injured. Al-Qaida took credit for the bombings. Then, on October 12, 2000, a small boat loaded with explosives plowed into the hull of the U.S.S. A federal grand jury in the United States indicted bin Laden on charges related to the embassy bombings, but with no defendant there could be no trial.
Even in the frenzy of the post-September 11 “global war on terror,” bin Laden eluded capture. Finally, in August 2010, they traced bin Laden to a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, about 35 miles from Islamabad. Bashar al-Assad | president of Syria. Bashar al-Assad, (born September 11, 1965, Damascus, Syria), Syrian president from 2000. He succeeded his father, Ḥafiz al-Assad, who had ruled Syria since 1971.
In spite of early hopes that his presidency would usher in an era of democratic reform and economic revival, Bashar al-Assad largely continued his father’s authoritarian methods. Beginning in 2011, Assad faced a major uprising in Syria that evolved into a civil war. Early life Bashar al-Assad was the third child of Ḥafiz al-Assad, a Syrian military officer and member of the Baʿth Party who in 1971 ascended to the presidency via a coup. Bashar received his early education in Damascus and studied medicine at the University of Damascus, graduating as an ophthalmologist in 1988.
Presidency Ḥafiz al-Assad died on June 10, 2000. Although many Syrians objected to the transfer of power from father to son, Bashar’s ascent engendered some optimism both in Syria and abroad. Unrest and civil war. Bashar al-Assad - President (non-U.S.) - Biography.com. As the successor to his father, Hafez, Bashar al-Assad has continued with his father's brutal rule of Syria. Synopsis Born on September 11, 1965, Bashar al-Assad had no intention of entering political life, let alone becoming president of Syria.
But a tragic death and a calculating father saw to it that he would. Though promising to be a transformational figure who would propel Syria into the 21st century, al-Assad failed, and has instead followed in the footsteps of his father, leading to demands for reform and responding with a violent crackdown on the people of Syria. Early Life Born on September 11, 1965, Bashar Hafez al-Assad is the second son of former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, and his wife, Anisa. Bashar grew up quiet and reserved, in the shadow of his more dynamic and outgoing brother, Bassel. At this time, Bashar was leading the life a medical student, and had no intentions of entering a political life.
Presidency Hafez al-Assad died on June 10, 2000. Troubled Times. Slobodan Milosevic - President (non-U.S.) - Biography.com. Slobodan Milosevic was a politician best known as the Serbian and Yugoslavian president in the late 1980s through the '90s. After losing power in 2000, he was charged for crimes against humanity. Synopsis Slobodan Milosevic was a Serbian and Yugoslavian president who was born on August 20, 1941 in Pozarevac, Serbia. He worked as a businessman in the economic and banking sectors before delving into politics in 1983. He was elected as Serbia’s president in 1989 and founded the Socialist party. Political Career President of Serbia (1990-2000) and Yugoslavia (1997-2000), Slobodan Milosevic was born in Pozarevac, Serbia, on August 20, 1941.
Criminal History and Death Following considerable international political and economic pressure, the new government arrested Milosevic in April 2001, and in June he was handed over to UN investigators to face a war crimes tribunal in The Hague. On March 11, 2006, Milosevic was found dead in his cell at the United Nations detention center in The Hague. Slobodan Milosevic | president of Yugoslavia. Slobodan Milošević, (born Aug. 29, 1941, Požarevac, Yugos. —found dead March 11, 2006, The Hague, Neth.), politician and administrator, who, as Serbia’s party leader and president (1989–97), pursued Serbian nationalist policies that contributed to the breakup of the socialist Yugoslav federation.
He subsequently embroiled Serbia in a series of conflicts with the successor Balkan states. From 1997 to 2000 he served as president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Milošević was born in Serbia of Montenegrin parents and joined the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (from 1963 the League of Communists of Yugoslavia [LCY]) when he was 18 years old. He graduated from the University of Belgrade with a law degree in 1964 and began a career in business administration, eventually becoming head of the state-owned gas company and president of a major Belgrade bank. John B. Kim Jong Il | North Korean political leader.
Alternative title: Kim Chong Il Kim Jong IlAFP/Getty Images Kim Jong Il, also spelled Kim Chong Il (born February 16, 1941, Siberia, Russia, U.S.S.R. —died December 17, 2011), North Korean politician, son of the former North Korean premier and (communist) Korean Workers’ Party (KWP) chairman Kim Il-Sung, and successor to his father as ruler (1994–2011) of North Korea. The official North Korean version of Kim Jong Il’s life, different from the biography documented elsewhere, says that he was born at a guerrilla base camp on Mount Paektu, the highest point on the Korean peninsula; it attributes many precocious abilities to him; and it claims his birth was accompanied by such auspicious ... (100 of 1,025 words) Kim Jong Il - Dictator - Biography.com. Kim Jong Il's dominating personality and complete concentration of power has come to define the country North Korea.
Synopsis Born in either 1941 or 1942, much of Kim Jong Il's persona is based on a cult of personality, meaning that legend and official North Korean government accounts describe his life, character, and actions in ways that promote and legitimize his leadership, including his birth. Over the years, Kim's dominating personality and complete concentration of power has come to define the country North Korea. Early Life Born February 16, 1941, though official accounts place birth a year later. Some mystery surrounds when and where Kim Jong Il was born. Official North Korean biographies state that his birth occurred on February 16, 1942, in a secret camp on Mount Paekdu along the Chinese border, in Samjiyon County, Ryanggang Province, in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea).
Advertisement — Continue reading below Rise to Power Foreign Aid and Nuclear Testing. Pol Pot - Dictator - Biography.com. Pol Pot | biography - Cambodian political leader. Alternative title: Saloth Sar Pol PotUPI—Bettmann/Corbis Pol Pot, original name Saloth Sar (born May 19, 1925, Kompong Thom province, Cambodia—died April 15, 1998, near Anlong Veng, along the Cambodia-Thailand border), Khmer political leader whose totalitarian regime (1975–79) imposed severe hardships on the Cambodian people. His radical communist government forced the mass evacuations of cities, killed or displaced millions of people, and left a legacy of brutality and impoverishment. The son of a landowning farmer, Saloth Sar was sent at age 5 or 6 to live with an older brother in Phnom Penh, where he was educated. A mediocre student, he failed the entrance examinations for high school ... (100 of 492 words)
Augusto Pinochet | biography - president of Chile. Augusto Pinochet, in full Augusto Pinochet Ugarte (born November 25, 1915, Valparaiso, Chile—died December 10, 2006, Santiago), leader of the military junta that overthrew the socialist government of Pres. Salvador Allende of Chile on September 11, 1973, and head of Chile’s military government (1974–90). Chile: 1973 coupStock footage courtesy The WPA Film LibraryPinochet, a graduate of the military academy in Santiago (1936), was a career military officer who was appointed army commander in chief by President Allende 18 days before the coup, which he planned and led. Pinochet was named head of the victorious junta’s governing council, and he moved to crush Chile’s liberal opposition; in its first three years, the regime arrested approximately 130,000 people, many of whom were tortured. In June 1974 Pinochet assumed sole power as president, relegating the rest of the junta to an advisory role.
Augusto Pinochet - Dictator, General - Biography.com. Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet overthrew the Allende government in 1973 and stayed in power until 1998. He was never tried for alleged human rights abuses. Synopsis Augusto Pinochet Ugarte (born November 25, 1915) joined the Chilean army in 1935. He rose through the ranks and was appointed Commander in Chief by President Salvador Allende in 1973. A month later, Pinochet led the military coup that overthrew Allende. Profile Chilean dictator (1973–90), born in Valparaíso, Chile. In October 1998 he became the centre of international attention when he was arrested in London, following a request from Spain for his extradition to stand trial for ‘crimes of genocide and terrorism’, in which some of the victims had been Spanish nationals.
In 2001 a Santiago appeals court voted in favour of suspending proceedings against him on the grounds that he was mentally unfit to stand trial, and in 2002 the Chilean Supreme Court ruled that proceedings against him be suspended for good. Genghis Khan | Mongol ruler. Alternative titles: Ching-gis Khan; Chinggiss Khan; Chingis Khan; Jenghiz Khan; Jinghis Khan; Temuchin; Temüjin Genghis KhanThe Bridgeman Art Library/Getty Images Genghis Khan, Genghis also spelled Chinggis, Chingis, Jenghiz, or Jinghis, original name Temüjin, also spelled Temuchin (born 1162, near Lake Baikal, Mongolia—died August 18, 1227), Mongolian warrior-ruler, one of the most famous conquerors of history, who consolidated tribes into a unified Mongolia and then extended his empire across Asia to the Adriatic Sea.
Genghis Khan was a warrior and ruler of genius who, starting from obscure and insignificant beginnings, brought all the nomadic tribes of Mongolia under the rule of himself and his family in a rigidly disciplined military state. He then turned ... (100 of 4,243 words) Genghis Khan Biography. Mongolian warrior and ruler Genghis Khan created the largest empire in the world, the Mongol Empire, by destroying individual tribes in Northeast Asia. Synopsis Genghis Khan was born "Temujin" in Mongolia around 1162. He married at age 16, but had many wives during his lifetime. At 20, he began building a large army with the intent to destroy individual tribes in Northeast Asia and unite them under his rule.
He was successful; the Mongol Empire was the largest empire in the world before the British Empire, and lasted well after his own death in 1227. Early Life Born in north central Mongolia around 1162, Genghis Khan was originally named "Temujin" after a Tatar chieftain that his father, Yesukhei, had captured. When Temujin was 9, his father took him to live with the family of his future bride, Borte. At 16, Temujin married Borte, cementing the alliance between the Konkirat tribe and his own. The 'Universal Ruler' Advertisement — Continue reading below Major Conquests Genghis Khan's Death. Henry VIII | king of England. Henry VIII, (born June 28, 1491, Greenwich, near London, England—died January 28, 1547, London), king of England (1509–47) who presided over the beginnings of the English Renaissance and the English Reformation. His six wives were, successively, Catherine of Aragon (the mother of the future queen Mary I), Anne Boleyn (the mother of the future queen Elizabeth I), Jane Seymour (the mother of Henry’s successor, Edward VI), Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr.
Accession to the throne Henry was the second son of Henry VII, first of the Tudor line, and Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV, first king of the short-lived line of York. When his elder brother, Arthur, died in 1502, Henry became the heir to the throne; of all the Tudor monarchs, he alone spent his childhood in calm expectation of the crown, which helped give an assurance of majesty and righteousness to his willful, ebullient character.
More serious was Henry’s determination to engage in military adventure. Assessment. Henry VIII - King - Biography.com. Ivan the Terrible - Tsar/Tsarina, Prince - Biography.com. Ivan IV | tsar of Russia. Maximilien de Robespierre | French revolutionary. Maximilien de Robespierre - Philosopher, Government Official, Journalist, Scholar, Judge, Activist, Lawyer - Biography.com. Joseph Stalin - Biography - Dictator. Joseph Stalin | biography - prime minister of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Adolf Hitler - Biography - Military Leader, Dictator. Adolf Hitler | biography - dictator of Germany. Robert Mugabe | president of Zimbabwe. Robert Mugabe - Prime Minister - Biography.com.