Fall of Giants Trivia Quiz

Answer: Baby Doc

Duvalier senior was president from 1957 until his death in 1971, with his regime enforced by his personal paramilitary force, the Tonton Macoutes. According to Wikipedia between 30,000 and 60,000 Haitians were murdered by them and many of the more educated inhabitants left the country. Ironically, Duvalier's nickname of 'Papa Doc' was given due to his success in fighting against disease. 'Baby Doc' succeeded his father and remained in control until 1986 when he was ousted by a popular uprising.

Answer: Albania

Albania lies in the south eastern corner of Europe, with Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and Greece its neighbours. During Hoxha's time in power, the country maintained relations with the two big communist powers, the USSR (as it then was) and China. Hoxha began passing power in 1980 to Ramiz Alia, although his comrade, Mehmet Shehu, had been widely expected to be his chosen successor.

Shehu was denounced by Hoxha as a foreign spy and was said to have committed suicide. With the collapse of communism, the country has begun to take steps towards democracy.

Answer: Imelda

Among the atrocities carried out by the Marcos government was the assassination of his political rival, Benigno Aquino Jr., in 1983. This led to the ultimate downfall of Marcos as it triggered the 'People Power Revolution' which ended with Aquino's widow, Corazon, being installed as president in 1986. Marcos and his wife fled to Hawaii where he died in 1989. Marcos was found to have embezzled billions of dollars and his wife had amassed over 2,500 pairs of shoes, which were left behind in the presidential palace.

Answer: Idi Amin

Amin took power in a military coup and remained as leader of Uganda until 1979, when he fled the country following the loss of a war with neighbouring Tanzania. During Amin's time in power, Uganda suffered human rights abuse and persecution of minority groups, including the expulsion of all Ugandans of Asian origin in 1972. Among the titles he bestowed upon himself was his claim to be the rightful king of Scotland, which was dramatised in the 2006 film 'The Last King of Scotland'. Following Amin's fall, Obote returned to Uganda until being deposed for a second time in 1985.

Answer: Egypt

The early months of 2011 saw major unrest in the Arab world with uprisings against the government in all the countries listed as well as Yemen, Bahrain and Algeria (among others). Tunisia saw the fall of President Ben Ali, but fighting in other countries was still ongoing in June 2011. Mubarak had been president of Egypt since 1981, taking over following the assassination of Anwar El-Sadat, who had negotiated a peace settlement with Israel.

Answer: Augusto Pinochet

Pinochet took control of Chile in a coup against Salvador Allende in 1973. His regime has been described as fascist and he began his time in power by ruthlessly suppressing all opposition parties. Many opponents were assassinated, even if they had left the country. Pinochet lost a presidential referendum in 1988 and was succeeded as President by Patricio Aylwin. Perón was leader of Argentina, Álvarez of Uruguay and Gómez of Venezuela.

Answer: Shah of Iran

Pahlavi became Shah of Iran in 1941 and remained in power until being overthrown and exiled, with Iran becoming an Islamic republic. During his time as ruler his government was responsible for suppression of political dissent and the banning of the communist party.

His increasingly secular rule led to uprisings and he abdicated, suddenly, in 1979. Shah is a traditional Iranian (Persian) title for a king and is recorded as being used in this sense as long ago as 1564. Sheik (or Sheikh), Sultan and Emir are all Arabic titles, although the Sheik of Araby is a song title, unlike the other titles which are real.

Answer: Romania

Although Ceausescu's time in office as president began well, in 1965, with resistance to hardline communist rule, by 1989 the situation in Romania had deteriorated. Shops were out of food, but Ceausescu seemed oblivious to the facts, probably deliberately. Stage managed pictures were published of him visiting shops full of food which had been brought in specially for the occasion.

He was re-elected for a further five year term of office in 1989, despite already being 71 years of age. Following a popular uprising, he and his wife attempted to flee but were arrested and quickly executed following a military trial. Since their downfall, Romania has become a democracy.

Answer: Cambodia

Pol Pot was the leader of the Khmer Rouge, the communist party of Kampuchea, from 1963 until his death in 1998. He was leader of the government from 1975 until 1979, during which time city dwellers were forcibly relocated to the countryside. Many died from malnutrition, overwork and disease, as well as executions with estimates of deaths during this period varying between one million and three million.

This dreadful period in Cambodia's history was dramatised in the 1984 film 'The Killing Fields'.

Answer: Fulgencio Batista

Batista had two spells as president of Cuba. The first was from 1940 to 1944, when he left for the USA after being defeated in an election. In 1952 he ran for president in an election, but seized power when he realised he was unlikely to gain power via the ballot box.

Although he was supported by the USA, his regime was corrupt with thousands of Cubans losing their lives and poverty being widespread. Batista fled Cuba in 1959 and settled in Portugal, having been refused entry to both the USA and Mexico.

The other options are famous Cubans, with Garcia being an actor, Juantorena a track athlete and Cugat a musician.