Quit Laughing--I Am Your Leader Quiz

Answer: Andropov

Yes, it's a corny joke, but then most of the jokes from "Silver Spoons" were. Yuri Andropov's brief rule in the Soviet Union was actually very interesting for the Western World. On one hand, he was a former KGB leader, seemingly as hardline as his predecessors Khrushchev and Brezhnev. On the other hand, he may be best remembered for his exchange of letters with a 10-year old American girl, Samantha Smith.

Dear Mr. Andropov,

My name is Samantha Smith. I am ten years old. Congratulations on your new job. I have been worrying about Russia and the United States getting into a nuclear war. Are you going to vote to have a war or not? If you aren't please tell me how you are going to help to not have a war. This question you do not have to answer, but I would like to know why you want to conquer the world or at least our country. God made the world for us to live together in peace and not to fight.

Sincerely,
Samantha Smith



Dear Samantha,

I received your letter, which is like many others that have reached me recently from your country and from other countries around the world.

It seems to me - I can tell by your letter - that you are a courageous and honest girl, resembling Becky, the friend of Tom Sawyer in the famous book of your compatriot Mark Twain. This book is well known and loved in our country by all boys and girls.

[Most of the letter is omitted here in the interest of brevity.]

We want peace - there is something that we are occupied with: growing wheat, building and inventing, writing books and flying into space. We want peace for ourselves and for all peoples of the planet. For our children and for you, Samantha.

I invite you, if your parents will let you, to come to our country, the best time being this summer. You will find out about our country, meet with your contemporaries, visit an international children's camp - Artek - on the sea. And see for yourself: in the Soviet Union, everyone is for peace and friendship among peoples.

Thank you for your letter. I wish you all the best in your young life.

Y. Andropov

Answer: Canaan Banana

Canaan Banana was a Methodist minister who held the Presidency of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987, being succeeded by his Prime Minister Robert Mugabe, who was pretty much in charge all along. He was seen as a unifier, bringing together two rival political parties and in general promoting peace.

However, in later life, he was accused of being homosexual. He was defrocked and sent to prison, then upon release, moved to South Africa to get treatment for the cancer that would eventually take his life.

Answer: Gabon

When he took the Presidency of Gabon, he succeeded a man whose name sounded like a Hanson song, "M'ba" (President Leon M'ba). Like many a third-world president, he held office for so long by suppressing opposition. Naturally, the only party he allowed to exist was the "Gabonese Democratic Party", as nothing screams democracy like dictatorial one-party rule. Strikes and riots forced him to allow other parties into the fray in 1990, though his primary opponent was found dead of poisoning the day after Bongo announced open elections. Bongo died in 2009 from cancer, and elections were held to allow his son to take power "legitimately."

Answer: Cambodia

Lon Nol was a military dictator who overthrew Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk in 1970 with the backing of the United States. He had been head of the Cambodian Armed Forces and prime minister under Sihanouk. Reportedly, the CIA organized the coup, though this has never been proven. Lon Nol officially staged the coup to rid the government of its widespread corruption.

However, due to civil war, his own failing health (he had a stroke in 1971), and over-reliance on American aid when America was struggling with the Vietnam War, his rule was very ineffective, and in 1975, the Khmer Rouge deposed him and began what was probably the most brutal regime of modern times. Like many of his countrymen at the end of the Vietnam War, Lon Nol moved to the US, and died in Fullerton, CA in 1985.

Answer: Fiji

Frank Bainimarama became prime minister of Fiji in 2007. A naval officer, he was the head of the armed forces from 1999 to 2014. He first became President of Fiji in 2000, in a "coup within a coup", where George Speight, a businessman who went bankrupt due to cancelled government contracts, led a coup and held the prime minister and cabinet ministers hostage for 56 days while trying to negotiate with President Kamisese Mara. Bainimarama then overthrew Mara, claiming he was mishandling the crisis.

He negotiated a deal for the release of the hostages, then reneged on it, arrested Speight, and stepped down as president two months later, appointing President Joseph Iloilo. In 2006, he led another coup, ousting Iloilo and Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, then two weeks later, returning Iloilo to the presidency, while becoming prime minister himself.

Answer: Goodluck Jonathan

Goodluck Jonathan started out as a zoology professor, and gradually worked his way to being elected the governor of Bayalesa state, and vice president. He became acting president when President Umaru Yar'Adua became ill, and succeeded him upon his death.

He was re-elected in 2011 for a full term. As president, he focused primarily on infrastructure, bringing electricity and highways to rural villages and cleaning up the water supply following a lead poisoning incident. However, his presidency was also seen as highly corrupt, with lots of money diverted to politicians and cronies.

In addition, he was essentially powerless against Boko Haram, which increased in strength during his term. When he was defeated in his re-election bid in 2015, he stepped aside graciously, the first Nigerian president ever to concede a lost election peacefully.

Answer: Young Boozer

Young J. Boozer III took office as the Treasurer of Alabama in 2011. He received his Bachelors in Economics from Stanford and his Masters in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He had a strong career in corporate finance prior to becoming state treasurer.

His father, Young Boozer II, was a college football star, and his grandfather, the original Young Boozer, was the mayor of Samson, Alabama.

Answer: True

Steve Strait narrowly defeated Becky Gay in the Republican primary for Alaska state representative from the Turnagin District 26 in Anchorage in 2002. He lost in the general election, however.

Answer: Madagascar

Hery Rajaonarimampianina is a Canadian-trained economist who, in addition to being president of Madagascar, is the CEO of Air Madagascar. Prior to his election as president, he was the Minister of Finance and Budget. In his race for president, his primary opponent was Jean-Louis Robinson.

In 2015, the Parliament of Madagascar attempted to impeach Rajaonarimampianina, but the constitutional court disallowed it, stating that the charges against him were unfounded.

Answer: King Zog

When Ahmet Mutar Zogolli was born, Albania was part of the Ottoman Empire. His family were feudal lords over their region and he was born in a castle, albeit a small one. His mother claimed to be descended from General Skanderbeg, an Albanian national hero from the 15th century. In 1911, he was appointed Governor of the Mat district, and in that capacity, signed the Albanian Declaration of Independence in 1912. He fought in World War I with Austria-Hungary and was detained, then upon the end of the war returned to Albania and held a variety of offices. He changed his name from Zogolli to the more Albanian sounding Zogu.

He was elected President in 1925 and enacted several reforms, then set up a police state, murdering his opponents. In 1928 he announced himself as King Zog I, choosing that because Ahmet I would sound too Middle Eastern for Europe. He also called himself Skanderbeg III, referencing his ancestor, but nobody acknowledged that and it fell out of use.

Zog I was ignored by European royalty, as he was self-proclaimed, and unlike the rest of European royalty, he shared no bloodlines with them. Zog attempted to keep peace with all religions, and held a swearing-in ceremony in which he swore on both the Bible and the Qu'ran. He also opened Albania to Jews fleeing the Nazis. He was Muslim, himself, but married a Catholic.

Prior to World War II, Italy was Albania's primary ally, but Mussolini invaded Albania and Zog fled to England. The populace of Albania was largely relieved to see him go. He briefly lived in Egypt, bought an estate in New York that he never lived in, and finally settled down in France, where he died in 1961.