The Wrong Guy Was In Charge - Crazy Dictators Quiz

Answer: Burma - Myanmar

Ne Win crossed bridges backwards to ward off evil spirits. An astrologer told him that the nation had moved too far to the left politically, so overnight he ordered the nation's roads switched from left hand driving to right hand. The dolphin blood may have worked for him - Ne Win lived to age 91.

Answer: Zaire

When Mbutu left the country in 1997, his successor changed Zaire's name back to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mbutu's full adopted name was Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga meaning "The warrior who knows no defeat because of his endurance and inflexible will and is all powerful, leaving fire in his wake as he goes from conquest to conquest".
Mbutu personally stole an estimated $5 to $15 billion from his nation's coffers while leaving it one of the poorest in Africa. He regularly chartered a Concorde airliner for family shopping trips to Europe.

Answer: Albania

In the 1950s, Hoxha took Albania to the side of China in the Sino-Soviet split over Communist ideology. He became paranoid, fearing a Soviet invasion, and ordered the building of over 700,000 bunkers for defense - in a nation of about 3 million. In post-Hoxha Albania, the bunkers are used as novelty restaurants, public toilets or chicken coops.

A popular tourist souvenir is a small marble replica of a bunker with a tag saying, "Greetings to the land of the bunkers, we assumed you could not afford to buy a big one."

Answer: Nicolae Ceausescu - Romania

In 1985, Ceausescu began building the world's largest civilian building called the People's Palace to be the seat of his government. At enormous expense to his impoverished nation, he decorated it with gold, fine marble and several chandeliers weighing four to five tons each. Following his ouster and execution in 1989, Ceausescu's monument to his ego has been used by Romania's parliament which only occupies 30 per cent of the vast space.

Other parts of the building provide space for museums and international organizations.

Answer: Dominican Republic

Rafael Trujillo named his four-year-old son a colonel in his army. Shortly after, he promoted him to general. He unsuccessfully promoted himself for the Nobel Peace Prize and his semi-literate wife for a Nobel Prize for Literature. Dominican license plates bore the slogan, "Viva Trujillo".

Answer: The Gambia

Jammeh has threatened gays and lesbians with beheading and proposed to enact laws "stricter than those in Iran". His government sponsors "witch doctors" who have arrested as many as 1000 people and charged them with witchcraft. Amnesty International says these "witches" have been forced to drink poisons. Jammeh has won reelection multiple times in elections which were contested but, according to international agencies, were not conducted fairly.

His election platform is blunt but honest - "I will develop the areas that vote for me, but if you don't vote for me, don't expect anything".

Answer: Spain

In early 1979, Nguema exhibited unusual paranoia even for him. He executed several members of his inner circle including members of his family. His nephew, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, led a coup against him. Nguema and several cronies were charged with genocide, mass murder, embezzlement of public funds and violations of human rights.

They were found guilty and shot the same day. His nephew has replaced him as the nation's dictator and follows many of his policies, albeit with slightly less craziness. Freedom House's annual survey of political and civil rights consistently ranks Equatorial Guinea among "the worst of the worst" in the world.

Answer: Scotland

Rebuked by Queen Elizabeth, Idi Amin took every opportunity to show his scorn for Britain. At a diplomatic conference in Uganda, he ordered four British businessmen to carry him on a sedan chair to demonstrate "the white man's burden". Amin killed as many as 500,000 Ugandans including opposition leaders, foreign investors, and even archbishops.

He killed some with his bare hands, buried some alive and fed many to crocodiles. Some executions, especially of high-ranking officials, were carried out with a guillotine.

The dictator had the heads frozen so that he could take them out and scold them for their "crimes". After eight years of insanity, Amin was deposed and fled to Saudi Arabia where he died in 2003.

Answer: Central African Republic

After several years in exile, Bokassa returned to his country where he was charged with numerous crimes including treason, murder, cannibalism and embezzlement. Found guilty of all charges except cannibalism (a misdemeanor) he was sentenced to death.

A year later the sentence was commuted to life in prison. After 6 years imprisonment, Bokassa was freed as part of a general amnesty. He died a few years later leaving 50 children behind.

Answer: Great Leader

One or more Kims have made the following claims: To have fought in 10,000 battles during WWII, to be the world's greatest golfer scoring 11 holes-in-one in one round, to be able to turn sand into rice (real news for the millions of starving citizens), to have learned to walk at three weeks of age, to have invented the hamburger and, perhaps most impressively, to never defecate or urinate.

Kim Jung-il imported a dozen "giant" rabbits from a German breeder planning to breed them in an attempt to alleviate the country's long lasting famine. The breeder later heard that all twelve were eaten at Kim's birthday banquet. A 2004 Human Rights Watch report credits Kim Jung-il's regime with holding over 200,000 political prisoners. North Korea has no political opposition and no freedom of speech or press.

Thank goodness these guys have control of nuclear weapons and not someone unstable.