He Won't Go Trivia Quiz

Answer: Augusto Pinochet

Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte was born on the 25th of November, 1915 in Valparaiso. He made a career in the Chilean military, making it to the rank of Commander in Chief of the Army in 1973. In that year he would lead the coup to overthrow the government of president Salvador Allende. He remained Commander in Chief of the Chilean Army and was also made president of the government junta of Chile.

His presidency was marked by a strong oppression of the opposition, with frequent reports of people being killed, imprisoned or tortured during his regime. In 1980 the Chilean constitution was changed, giving more power to the president, including a new 8-year period for the president. In 1988 a referendum was planned to elect Pinochet for another 8 years. Amid growing opposition against his regime, it came down to a vote for or against Pinochet. The majority voted for the no-option, so general elections were called for a year later. This meant a return to democracy for the country. In 1990 Pinochet was succeeded by Patricio Aylwin as president.

Answer: Central African Republic

Jean-Bédel Bokassa was born on the 22nd of February, 1928 in Bobangui. At the time his coutry was part of French Equatorial Africa. He served in the French army and later in the army of the Central African Republic (CAR), when this country became independent in 1960, quickly rising to the rank of corporal. He had a family relation with the first president of CAR, David Dacko, but relations between the two soon became tense, when Bokassa felt he did not receive enough recognition. He had ambitions to lead the country in a better way than Dacko did. In December 1965 he led a coup overthrowing the government led by Dacko.

After his reign as president of the Central African Republic for 10 years, Bokassa changed the constitution to make his country a monarchy known as the Central African Empire. He declared himself the emperor of this new formed monarchy. Opposition against his regime grew following an incident where 100 children were killed after protesting against having to wear expensive school uniforms with an image of the emperor himself. Former colonial power France led an operation to oust Bokassa from power. The first president of CAR David Dacko was once again installed as president and the country returned to being a republic.

Answer: Nicolae Ceausescu

Nicolae Ceausescu was born on the 26th of January, 1918 in Scornicesti, Romania. He joined the Communist party at an early age and was imprisoned for some years. During his internment he met the later Romanian leader Gheorge Gheorgiu-Dej and became one of his protegés. He held several cabinet posts and rose to power after the death of Gheorgiu-Dej, first becoming the General Secretary of the Communist Party and later president of the Socialist Republic of Romania.

By the year 1989 opposition against his regime had begun to grow like in several other Warsaw Pact countries. Ceausescu was unable to contain the violent revolution and tried to flee the country with his wife Elena. They were captured by the army however and executed after a short trial.

Answer: North Korea

The Korean Peninsula was governed by Japan since 1910. The Japanese reign over this area ended, when Japan was defeated in World War II. The peninsula was then divided into two parts, with the Soviet Union governing the northern part. North Korea did not want to cooperate with a solution created by the United Nations to hold elections for the entire peninsula. They established the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), known to most people as North Korea. Kim Il-sung was appointed as Prime Minister.

Kim Il-sung was born on the 15th of April, 1912 in Mangyongdae. The details of his personal history are not easy to establish, as sources often seem to contradict each other. After the establishment of the DPRK, he was appointed Prime Minister. In 1972 a new constitution established the position of President of the DPRK. From that time on Kim Il-sung held this post. He died suddenly as a result of a heart attack in 1994. He was succeeded by his son Kim Jong-il.

Answer: Ferdinand Marcos

Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos was born on September 11th, 1917 in Sarrat. He graduated cum laude from the University of the Phillippines College of Law. His father (also a lawyer and politician) was suspected of the murder of a political rival, along with his sons (among them Ferdinand). Ferdinand was convicted of this crime, but the case was later overturned by the Supreme Court.

Ferdinand first became a member of the House of Representatives for the Ilocos Norte's Second District in 1949. He became a Senator in 1958, making it to President of the Senate in 1963. In 1965 he was named the 10th President of the Phillippines, succeeding Diosdado Macapagal. He would go on to serve three terms of presidency, finally ousted from power in 1986 among charges of major corruption, political mismanagement and embezzlement. He was also accused of having oppositon leader Benigno Aquino Jr. killed in 1983. Ferdinand Marcos died in 1989.

Answer: Portugal

Antonio de Oliveira Salazar was born on April 28th, 1889 in Vimieiro, Portugal. He studied law at the University of Coimbra. He later worked as an assistant professor in economic policy at this university. In 1926 he was briefly appointed as the Minister of Finance in the government of Jose Mendes Cabecadas. He quickly resigned due to the fact he felt he could not perform his duties properly. He was later again appointed to the same post in 1928. He was appointed as the 101st Prime Minister of Portugal in 1932, but also remained Minister of Finance until 1940.

In 1933 Salazar established a regime known as Estado Novo (New State in English). It opposed several other state forms like communism or socialism. The regime relied on expanding the Portuguese state over the other continents. The economy was based on corporatism. Salazar's regime was often seen as oppressive, since civil rights were limited and the secret police PIDE acted against opponents of the regime. In 1968 Salazar suffered from a brain haemorrhage. He was succeeded by Marcello Caetano. Salazar died in July 1970.

Answer: Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong was born December 26th, 1893 in Shaoshan, China. After completing his education, he worked as a library assistant at the university of Beijing. He also worked as headmaster of a school. In that period he became involved in the Communist Party. He led the communist revolutionaries during several conflicts, including the Chinese civil war. This led to the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Mao Zedong was appointed at the time as the first Chairman of the country, acting as the head of state.

During his time as head of state he tried to bring his country forward with large projects such as "The Great Leap Forward" and "The Cultural Revolution". He is known for bringing about several positive changes, like the rapid development and industrialization of the country. His leadership was also characterized by oppression of politial opponents with methods including torture and executions. His leadership came to an end when he suffered a heart attack in 1976 at age 76. By that time his leadership was already reduced to a more ceremonial role.

Answer: Libya

Muammar Gaddafi was born in June 1942 near the city of Sirte, Libya. He attended the military academy in Benghazi, graduating in 1966. During that time Libya had become an independent country led by King Idris. Gaddafi held various posts in the military. In 1969 he led a coup against King Idris and took leadership of the new Revolutionary Command Council. He was officially appointed as Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution in 1979.

Gaddafi's leadership from 1979 was characterized as purely symbolic, although few doubted his power. His autocratic style of leading the country led to the international isolation of Libya. In 2011 protests began in the Arab world protesting dictatorships in those countries. The protests began in Tunisia and Egypt, but soon spread all over the region, including Libya. Gaddafi long resisted the protests, with the situation escalating into a civil war. Among rising international pressure, Gaddafi refused to step down and continued to fight the revolutionaries. He was eventually captured and killed on the 20th of October 2011.

Answer: Fidel Castro

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born on August 13th in Biran, Cuba. He studied law at the University of Havana. He soon became involved in several attempted rebellions against the Cuban regime, eventually leading the coup against president Fulgencio Batista in 1959. He was appointed as Prime Minister and later in 1979 as President of Cuba. He is regarded as a dictator with his regime dominated by human rights violations include torture and political killings.

In 2006 he transferred his duties to his brother Raul, with speculations about his failing health, with him possibly suffering from pancreatic cancer. He told his people not to worry, as he would take up his duties again soon. In 2008 his position of president was officially taken over by his brother Raul however.

Answer: Haiti

Jean-Claude Duvalier was born on July 3rd, 1951 in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. He studied law at the University of Haiti. His father Francois Duvalier (nicknamed Papa Doc) was the 40th President of Haiti. When he died in 1971, Jean-Claude took over the presidency at the age of 19 (and was soon nicknamed Baby Doc). He made small changes to his father's regime, but pretty much left things unchanged, carrying on the oppressive reign his father had, leaving little room for opposition.

The country's economic conditions got worse over the years, while Duvalier led a life of luxury. International pressure started to mount for Duvalier to step down. In February 1986 Jean-Claude decided to flee the country heading for France with his wife. He later divorced his wife, starting a new relationship soon after. He returned with his second wife to Haiti in 2011, but was soon arrested for charges of fraud and corruption during his presidency.