A-Z of Alliterative World Leaders Quiz

Answer: Santiago

Arturo Alessandri first came to power in 1920 as part of the Liberal Alliance, defeating his conservative opposition Luis Barros Borgono despite losing the popular vote. As his time in power progressed he struggled with a heavily conservative congress, not enabling him to enforce any of the laws he wanted to pass and so he eventually resigned in 1924 and sought asylum in the US embassy. From this point on the country was under the rule of a military Junta known as the September Junta.

However, not all members of the Junta agreed with the way the country was being run and so in a coup in January 1925 an interim liberal president, Pedro Dartnell, was appointed, until the return of Alessandri in March 1925. On his return to power he drafted a new constitution but despite this being passed in September 1925 he resigned again in October before finally resuming the position of president in 1932. He served out a normal 6-year term before losing power to Pedro Aguirre Cerda of the Radical Party in December 1938.

Answer: Pakistan

Benazir Bhutto was born on the 21st of June 1953 and was the eldest child of former Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Zulfikar founded the democratic socialist Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in 1967, and served as its leader until his death in 1979. From 1979 until 1983 the party was led by his wife Nusrat before their daughter Benazir took over upon Nusrat's death.

Benazir Bhutto was first elected into the position of prime minister in 1988 following a very large swing in voting towards the PPP and away from the military government of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. Throughout her first two years in power she struggled against the President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, who still had the power to veto any policies put forward by the prime minister. In 1990, stories of corruption appeared in the media, discrediting Benazir Bhutto, and she was eventually dismissed by Khan in August of that year.

Bhutto was elected for a second time in 1993, narrowly ousting Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League out of the position that he'd held since 1990. However, more charges of corruption again discredited Bhutto and she was dismissed by President Farooq Leghari in 1996. She went into exile in Dubai in 1998.

She was attempting a return to power after having lived in exile for some years when she was assassinated in a motorcade in December 2007.

Answer: Warren G. Harding

Warren G. Harding served as president for around two and a half years after having been a senator of Ohio for the previous six years. He convincingly beat the Democratic candidate James M. Cox in the election of 1920, gaining over 60% of the popular vote and 37 of the 48 states at the time. His term as president is often called unremarkable and many polls have voted Harding as one of the worst of all time.

Calvin Coolidge replaced Harding upon his death in 1923. However, he was somewhat unknown to the public, having not played a great role in the Harding administration. Many expected him to be voted out in the election of 1924 but it was another comfortable victory for the Republicans, with Coolidge receiving 54% of the popular vote. He chose not to run for a second full term in the election of 1928.

Answer: Panama

Domingo Díaz Arosemena had a long political history in Panama, serving as a major as early as 1910 and also as vice president to Harmodio Arias Madrid between 1932 and 1936. He eventually became president himself after being elected as the leader of the National Liberal Party in 1948. However he served for less than a year, retiring after suffering with a heart attack in 1949 and dying shortly afterwards.

The blue and red on the national flag represent the Conservative and Liberal parties respectively, while the white represents peace between the two. The blue star symbolises purity and honesty, while the red represents authority and law.

Answer: Francisco Franco

Before moving into politics, Francisco Franco was very prominent in the Spanish military, moving through the ranks at an early age he became the youngest general in Europe in the 1920s. He rose to power during the Spanish Civil War as the leader of the triumphant Nationalist faction, who overcame the Republicans in the three year conflict.

From that point onwards, Franco went on to rule Spain as a dictator for almost forty years. In 1938, he fused the far-right Falange party and the Carlist monarchist parties to form 'Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista', which he then decreed as the only legal political party. He led Spain until his death aged 82 in 1975.

Answer: William Pitt

George Grenville was prime minister of the United Kingdom for a little over two years, from April 1763 until July 1765. He was the second prime minister elected during the monarchy of George III (the first being John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, the first ever Tory prime minister), and the 8th prime minister overall. He also held the post of the Chancellor of the Exchequer during his tenure. However, he did not get along well with the King, nor was he particularly popular in Parliament and so was dismissed without serving a full term.

In between George Grenville and Pitt the Elder, Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham was prime minister. However, he lasted a little over a year before he was dismissed, meaning that Pitt became prime minister in July 1766.

Answer: Iowa

Early in his career Herbert Hoover served as head of the US Food Administration. He was then United States Secretary of Commerce under both Harding and Coolidge, where he notably promoted relations between businesses and the government. In 1928, despite having never previously had elected office experience, he was awarded the position of Republican candidate for the upcoming election.

The Republicans won 40 of the 48 states as a result of the economic bubble at the time. However, this bubble inevitably burst when there was a huge Stock Market crash in 1929, one of the primary reasons for the Great Depression that pervaded America and the rest of the world for the following decade. On a lighter note, to keep fit Hoover played a sport of his own invention (a mix between tennis and volleyball) every morning in the White House.

Answer: Nicolae Ceausescu

Nicolae Ceausescu was the last Communist leader of Romania, and was the Head of State between 1967 and 1989, taking the title 'President of the State Council' before creating the position of president in 1974 which is the title still used today. Despite having a fairly open relationship with Western Europe and the US in his early years, he is infamous for his brutal leadership of the country later in his rule. His treatment of the Romanian people triggered the December Revolution in 1989 which saw Ceausescu and his wife executed.

Ion Iliescu was born in 1930 and became part of the Communist Party in 1953. However, he was gradually marginalized by Ceausescu, changing his Communist views, and after Ceausescu's death in 1989 he was elected as the leader of the National Salvation Front, which filled the political void left by the loss of the Communist Party. He was therefore the natural choice for president, and took the position on Boxing Day 1989, the day after Ceausescu was shot. Capital punishment was abolished in Romania on January 7th 1990.

Answer: Guyana

Janet Jagan was born in the United States and served as prime minister of Guyana from March 17, 1997 until to December 19, 1997, as well as occupying the position of president from December 19, 1997 to August 11, 1999. In Guyana, the prime minister is the Head of Government while the president is the Head of State. Janet was married to fellow Guyanese politician Cheddi Jagan, who also served as president during the 1990s (1992 - 1997) as well as taking on several other roles earlier in his career. These included the position of Premier of British Guiana from 1961 to 1964.

Despite geographically being a part of South America, Guyana is also a part of the Caribbean Community, which has its headquarters at the Guyanese capital of Georgetown.

Answer: Finland

Kyosti Kallio had a career spanning many areas of Finnish politics. He was originally part of the Diet of Finland as a member of the Estate of Peasantry, the lowest of the four Estates (the others being Nobility, Clergy and Burghers). This was the legislative assembly of the Grand Duchy of Finland for almost a century before the reform of 1906.

After independence from Soviet Russia in 1917, Kallio took part in the debates about the future of the country. This partly concerned whether or not the country should proceed as a republic or a monarchy, with Kallio so strongly opposed the idea of a constitutional monarchy that he resigned from the Senate in 1918. After it was decided that Finland should become a republic in 1922, Kallio returned and occupied the position of prime minister until 1924. He then held the position a subsequent three times in his career, with his final stint as prime minister coming to an end in February 1937.

While not occupying the position of prime minister, Kyosti Kallio was Speaker of the Finnish House of Parliament no less than six times. In 1937 he was elected to become the fourth president of Finland, a position he held until he resigned due to ill health in November 1940.

Answer: Venice

Luigi Luzzatti held the position of prime minister of Italy from March 31, 1910 until March 30, 1911. Although the Italian prime minister is the Head of Government, as is common in many political systems, the Italian PM has less power than their international counterparts. For instance, the Italian prime minister is unable to directly dismiss ministers and must first hold a vote to do so.

Luzzatti was only the second Jewish man ever to hold the position of prime minister, the first being Alessandro Fortis, who occupied the post between 1905 and 1906. Both of these men served under the monarchy of King Victor Emmanuel III. He was a member of the House of Savoy, and his reign began in July 1900 upon the death of his father Umberto I. His time in power lasted 46 years, seeing Italy pass through both of the World Wars.

Answer: Mohamed Morsi

Mohamed Morsi was first elected to political office in 2000, when he became an 'independent' Member of Parliament (as members of the Muslim Brotherhood could not run). In 2011, the Freedom and Justice Party was formed and Morsi became the first leader of the party. In the election of 2012 he narrowly defeated the independent candidate Ahmed Shafik to become the first Islamist to hold the position of Head of State in the Arab world.

Mahmoud Mekki became vice president at the same time as Morsi's presidency began. However he resigned from the post in December 2012, after which the position was abolished. Muhammad Naguib, not Muhammad Maguib, was a key leader in the revolution of 1952 and served as the first president of Egypt after the country became a republic in 1953. Mohamed Mubarak is not an Egyptian political figure, although Hosni Mubarak was president for 20 years before being overthrown in 2011.

Answer: Nigeria

Olusegun Obasanjo was born in 1937 and enlisted in the Nigerian Army in 1958 at the age of 21. Although he was not heavily involved in the military coup of July 1975, he was appointed to the position of vice president under the leader of the coup Murtala Mohammed. In 1976, there was a plot to assassinate Obasanjo, Mohammed and other military leaders in order to take control of the country, although this was ultimately unsuccessful as only Mohammed was killed and Olusegun Obasanjo survived.

One of the important generals who was not assassinated was Theophilus Danjuma. Between him and Obasanjo the military eventually regained control of the country before appointing Obasanjo as the Head of State, as well as holding the rather impressive title 'Head of the Federal Military Government of Nigeria'. Nigeria returned to a civilian president in October 1979 with the election of Shehu Shagari. Olusegun Obasanjo went on to become president between 1999 until 2007.

Answer: Leuven

Prosper Poullet was born in 1868 and studied law at the Catholic University of Leuven, the oldest and most prestigious university in Belgium. Later in life he was also a professor at the university. He was a member of the Catholic Party in Belgium and held several political posts, including Arts and Science Minister and Internal Minister, before eventually becoming prime minister in June 1925. However, he occupied the position for less than a year before being replaced by fellow Catholic Henri Jaspar in May 1926.

Leuven is the capital of the Flemish Brabant province and is home to the headquarters of the world's largest brewer company Anheuser-Busch InBev, who produce many household named beers such as Budweiser, Beck's and Corona. Marktrock was first held in 1982 and attracted acts such as Snoop Dogg and Kanye West to the 2007 edition.

Answer: Washington DC

The airport's official full name is Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and is sited in Arlington, Virginia, adjacent to the border of Washington, D.C.

Ronald Reagan was born in 1911 and had began his working life in the entertainment industry, predominantly acting. He appeared in films such as 'Secret Service of the Air' and 'Kings Row' as well as appearing on television shows including 'Lux Video Theatre' and 'Wagon Train'. His last film appearance was in 'The Killers' in 1964. He also spent eight years as the president of the Screen Actors Guild.

Although he was originally a Democrat, Reagan was a Republican during his political career. Upon switching to the Republican Party in 1962 he said "I didn't leave the Democrat Party. The part left me". He then went on to become the Governor of California between 1967 and 1975 before challenging the incumbent Gerald Ford for the leadership of the Republican Party in the election of 1976. However, Gerald Ford held his place as leader of the Republican Party but lost the election to the Democrat Jimmy Carter. Reagan went on to be the Republican candidate for the following election, winning the Presidency and serving two full terms.

Answer: Wilbur Wright

Sidney Sonnino was born in 1847 to a father of Jewish heritage and a Welsh mother. However, he was not raised in a Jewish environment as was brought up a Protestant. Before becoming prime minister, he led a varied life, carrying out political research in Sicily and then founding a newspaper in 1878. His career in politics began in the 1880s and he became Italy's Finance Minister in 1893.

He had two brief periods in the position of prime minister, firstly in 1906, and then for four months from December 1909 to March 1910. In April 1909, between his two stints as prime minister, Wilbur Wright visited Rome and Sonnino and Wright went for a flight over Centocelle field.

Answer: Bird

In Kiribati, the president is both the Head of State and the Head of Government. Ieremia Tabai became the first president of Kiribati on the 12th of July 1979 after the small island nation gained it's independence from the UK. During Tabai's time as president, Teatao Teannaki held the position of vice president.

However, in 1991, Teannaki was narrowly elected to become leader of the National Progressive Party, the party from which both men came. This mean that Teatao Teannaki took over as president for the next 3 years before he lost to Teburoro Tito in the general election of 1994. Although Teannaki officially held the position of president during his tenure, many suggest that he was heavily leaned on by Ieremia Tabai, who was still present in government as Foreign Minister.

Answer: Latvia

Vaira Vike-Freiberga was elected as the sixth president of Latvia in 1999, the second since the formation of the Republic of Latvia in 1991. She served two full terms before leaving office in 2007 and achieved many things for the small Baltic nation during her time in power. An example of this is the extremely active role she played in securing Latvia membership of both the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union. In 2005 she was part of a select group of world leaders chosen by Kofi Annan to help with his reform and she was a candidate for the position of United Nations Secretary General in 2006.

Outside of politics, Vike-Freiberga is a noted scholar of psycholinguistics, penning more than ten books in her career. She is also a prominent public speaker, often talking on the subjects of equality and social justice.

Answer: League of Nations

After graduating from Princeton in 1879, Woodrow Wilson went on to study law at the University of Virginia. Although he did not complete this degree, he continued to study political philosophy and history fervently and enrolled at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland in 1883. He went to attain his Ph.D, his thesis entitled 'Congressional Government: A Study in American Politics', three years later. He spent several decades as an academic, including holding the post of president of Princeton, before becoming a politician. He was the Democrat candidate for the position of Governor of New Jersey in 1910 and won the election, defeating the Republican Vivian M. Lewis. Only two years later, he was the Democratic candidate in the presidential election of 1912. He defeated both William Taft and Theodore Roosevelt and went on to serve two full terms, including leading the US through the First World War.

The League of Nations was created at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and was the first organisation of its kind, that is, an organisation set up for the purpose of maintaining world peace. The League existed from 1919 until 1946, however many members such as Germany, Spain and Italy left during the 1930s and the organisation was unable to stop the Axis powers in the run-up to World War 2. The League of Nations was essentially replaced by the United Nations at the end of the war.

Answer: Minister for Defence

Yuriy Yekhanurov has held many positions within the Ukrainian political system. He was the Minister of the Economy in 1997 before becoming prime minister for almost a year between 2005 and 2006. Despite the fact that Ukraine was part of the USSR at the time of his birth, he was not born in modern day Ukraine, he was in fact born in Yakut ASSR, an oil rich area of what is now the Russian Federation.

John Reid was the British Secretary of State for Defence between 2005 and 2006 under the Labour government of Tony Blair, while Liam Fox was the first Secretary of State for Defence under the Conservative David Cameron. William Sebastian Cohen was the US Secretary of Defense during Bill Clinton's second term as president, while Leon Panetta was Secretary of Defense under Barack Obama.