Taking Dictation - Part II Trivia Quiz

Answer: Uganda

Often called "The Butcher of Uganda", Idi Amin (1925-2003) was the third President of Uganda, ruling from 1971 to 1979. His reign may have been one of the most brutal of all of Africa's post-independent despots. It is estimated that the number of his adversaries who were killed, tortured or imprisoned ranges from 100,000 to half a million.

In 1979 Amin was deposed, fled, sought refuge in Libya, and later moved to Saudi Arabia.

Answer: Pakistan

Agha Muhammed Yahya Khan (1917-1980) was a general who became the third President of Pakistan from 1969 until 1971. In 1966 he was Commander-in-Chief of the army and, in 1969, he succeeded Ayub Khan as President. Yahya dissolved the parliament and declared martial law. Under his regime there were reports of widespread atrocities being performed by the Pakistani army.

In 1971, after East Pakistan's succession to Bangladesh and Pakistan's defeat in the Indo-Pakistani war, Yahya stepped down. He was put under house arrest until 1977.

Answer: Italy

Benito Mussolini became the head of the National Fascist Party in 1919; he then became Prime Minister and dictator of the country from 1922 until his ouster in 1943. Mussolini had been an ardent socialist but changed his position when it was to his advantage.

A bully since childhood, prior to World War II Mussolini organized the para-military unit called 'The Black Shirts' who terrorized their adversaries. He slowly dismantled the democratic institutions and, by 1925, took the title "Il Duce" ("The Leader").

In 1939 he formed a pact with Hitler but, by 1942, the Allied Forces prevailed and Mussolini was forced to resign. He was executed on April 28, 1945.

Answer: Zaire

The military dictator Joseph-Desire Mobuto (1930-1997) was President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997; in 1971 he renamed the country the Republic of Zaire, and also changed his name to Mobuto Sese Seko the following year. Mobutu seized power in a 1965 coup and ruled for 32 years until he was ousted in a rebellion. He died in exile a short time later.
The name (of the country, not the despot) was again changed back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo after Mobutu's reign.

Answer: Liberia

Liberia, on the West African coast, is the Latin word for 'Land of the Free'. On July 26, 1847, the settlers established the independent Republic of Liberia, based on the principles of the US Constitution; the capital was called Monrovia. In August 1997 Charles Taylor became the 22nd President of Liberia. Taylor had been a warlord and coerced the population to elect him by threatening continued war. During his tenure, he was accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, e.g., murder and rape.

He resigned in 2003, was found guilty in 2012, and sentenced to 50 years in prison.

Answer: Sierra Leone

In the 11 year Sierra Leone Civil War, from 1991 to 2002, Foday Sankoh (1937-2003) founded and led the rebel group called the Revolutionary United Front. It is interesting to note that he started his career criticizing the corruption in his country whose people are among the poorest in the world.

But the RUF became savage, with a reputation for rapes, abductions, and using machetes to amputate the limbs of civilians. When Sankoh was captured on May 17 2002, there was dancing in the streets of Freetown.

Answer: North Vietnam

Vietnamese Communist revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) was president and prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (or North Vietnam) from 1945 to 1969. Ho was born Nguyen Sinh Cung in central Vietnam (French Indochina at the time); in 1940 he began to use the name Ho Chi Minh or "Bringer of Light".

He was able to withstand the US forces in the Vietnam War and, after the Tet Offensive in 1968, President Johnson called for peace talks. Ho Chi Minh died in 1969, before the last troops were withdrawn in March 1973.

In April 1975 communist forces took control of Saigon and renamed it Ho Chi Minh City.

Answer: Syria

A list of the credentials of Bashar Hafez al-Assad include the following: President of Syria, commander-in-chief of the Syrian armed forces, General Secretary of the ruling Ba'ath Party and Regional Secretary of the party's branch in Syria. The irony in that is that Bashar originally had no intention of entering politics or of continuing his father's brutal rule of the country; but when protests against his government began in March 2011, he gave orders to crush the dissent.

This eventually gave rise to an armed conflict that has led to the deaths of more than 250,000 people.

Answer: Burundi

Michel Micombero (1940-1983) is a name with which many Westerners may not be familiar. Micombero became the first President of Burundi on November 28, 1966 and ruled until November 1, 1976. He started out as a young Tutsi military captain and became Prime Minister in July 1966. On November 1st, while the Burundi King was out of the country, Micombero overthrew the monarchy and declared himself president of the republic.

After his ascension, he imposed a harsh regime of law, repressing Hutu militarism.

In the civil war which followed, Micombero was responsible for the slaughter of at least 100,000 Hutus, before his ousting in 1976.

Answer: Haiti

"Baby Doc" Jean-Claude Duvalier (1951-2014) succeeded his father, Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, as the President of Haiti. His regime lasted from 1971 until he was overthrown in 1986. His rule has been called one of the most oppressive in the Western Hemisphere.

He took over the reign(s) at 19 years old when he declared himself 'President for Life'. He continued the brutal tactics and atrocities on his opponents, with the help of his civilian militia, the Tonton Macoutes. As conditions in the country worsened, Duvalier fled the country in 1986.

He died before he could be brought to trial.