Supreme leader

For other uses, seeSupreme Leader (disambiguation).

See also:Paramount LeaderandGreat Leader

Asupreme leaderorsupreme rulertypically refers tothe person among a number of leadersof astate,organization or other such group who has been given or is able to exercise the most – or complete – authority over it. In a religion, this role is usually satisfied by a person deemed to be the representative or manifestation of adeityorGodon Earth. In politics, a supreme leader usually rules over anauthoritarianortotalitariangovernment and has acult of personalityassociated with them. Historic examples areAdolf Hitler(Führer) ofNazi Germany,Francisco Franco(Caudillo) ofFrancoist Spain,Benito Mussolini(Duce) ofFascist ItalyandJoseph Stalin(Vozhd(Вождь)) of theSoviet Union.

List of titles

Listed by date of establishment.

Interwar period

• Alexander Kolchak,White leader in the Russian Civil War as "Supreme Ruler of Russia".
• Benito Mussolini,dictator ofItalyfrom 1922 to 1943 and ofItalian Social Republicfrom 1943 to 1945, was known asDuce( "leader" ).
• Antanas Smetona,the authoritarian president ofLithuania(1926-1940), adopted the title ofTautos Vadas( "Leader of the Nation" ).
• Hirohito,emperor ofImperial Japanunder theMeiji Constitutionfrom 1926 to 1947, sometimes known asMikado(Đế ／ ngự môn)( "August Gate" ).
• Chiang Kai-shek,de factoleader of theKuomintangRepublic of China on the mainland(1928-1949) and inTaiwan(1949-1975), was sometimes referred aslingxiu(Chinese:Lĩnh tụ;pinyin:lǐngxiù;lit.'leader')
• Joseph Stalin,the firstGeneral Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Unionand dictator of theSoviet Union,decreed that he was to be officially designated asVozhd(Russian:Вождь,lit. 'leader') from his fiftieth birthday in 1929.
• Getúlio Vargas,dictator ofBrazil from 1930 to 1945,was known as the "Supreme Leader of the Revolution".
• Rafael Trujillo,Dominican dictator from 1930 to 1961,assumed the nicknames of "El Jefe" ( "The Boss" ) and "El Benefactor" ( "The Benefactor" ).
• Adolf Hitler,dictator ofNazi Germanyfrom 1933 to 1945, was known asderFührer( "The Leader" ).
• Engelbert DollfussandKurt Schuschnigg,austrofascistleaders ofAustriafrom 1933 to 1938, were referred to asBundesführer( "Federal Leader" ) as heads of theFatherland Front.
• Karlis Ulmanis,theauthoritarian president of Latviafrom 1934 to 1940, adopted the title ofTautas Vadonis( "Leader of People" ) andNācijas Tēvs( "Father of the Nation" ).
• Francisco Franco,dictator ofFrancoist Spain,assumed the titleCaudillo,originally an honorary title for an army leader.
• Birger Furugård,leader of theSwedish National Socialist Partyhad the title ofRiksledaren( "Leader of the Realm" ).
• Ioannis Metaxas,Greek dictator during the4th of August Regimefrom 1936 until his death in 1941, assumed the title ofΑρχηγός(Archigós,IPA:[arçiˈɣos]) meaning "The Leader".

World War II

• Ante Pavelić,as dictator of theIndependent State of Croatia,named himselfPoglavnik( "The Leader" ).
• Ferenc Szálasi,as dictator of theHungarian State,named himselfNemzetvezető( "Leader of the Nation" ).
• Josef Tiso,President of theFirst Slovak Republic,named himselfVodca( "The Leader" ) in 1942.
• Ion Antonescu,as Prime Minister of Romania during most of World War II, named himselfConducător( "The Leader" ).
• Vidkun Quisling,leader ofNasjonal Samlingand from 1942 Minister-President of the nominalQuisling regime,named himselfFører ( "Leader" ).
• Frits Clausen,leader of theNational Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark,had the title ofFører ( "Leader" ).
• Anton Mussert,leader of theNational Socialist Movement in the Netherlands,was allowed to use the titleLeider van het Nederlandsche Volk( "Leader of theDutch people") by the Germans in 1942.
• Léon Degrelle,leader of theRexist Party,was namedChef-du-People-Wallon( "Leader of theWalloon people") in December 1944.
• Jef van de Wiele,leader of theDeVlagparty, was namedLandsleider van het Vlaamsche Volk( "National Leader of theFlemish people") in December 1944.
• Staf de Clercq,co-founder and leader of the Flemish nationalistVlaamsch Nationaal Verbond,was referred to asden Leiderby his followers.
• Oswald Mosley,leader of theBritish Union of Fascists,was known as "The Leader".
• Josip Broz Tito,leader of theLeague of Communists of Yugoslavia,was known as "Marshal".

Cold War era

• Mao Zedong,the firstChairmanof theChinese Communist PartyandChairman of the Central Military Commission,officially named "Great Leader Chairman" (Chinese:Vĩ đại lĩnh tụ mao chủ tịch;pinyin:Wěidà Lǐngxiù Zhǔxí)
• Hua Guofeng,the second Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party andPremierof theState CouncilafterMao's death,officially named "Great Teacher"
• Deng Xiaoping,thede factoleaderof thePeople's Republic of Chinaand Chairman of the Central Military Commission of theChinese Communist Party,officially named "The chief architect of China's reform opening and modernization drive".
• Kim Il Sung,theGeneral Secretary of the Workers' Party of Koreaand the firstleaderofNorth Korea,is officially referred to by the North Korean government as "Great Leader" (Korean:위대한 수령,romanized:widaehan suryŏng).
• Ho Chi Minh,the only oneChairmanof theCommunist Party of Vietnamis referred to many times asLãnh Tụ(The leader of all), which has theSino-Vietnameseroot of the word "Lǐngxiù" ( lĩnh tụ ) in Chinese, although the word "Lãnh Tụ" is also sometimes used to address a beloved or supreme leader of any other country.
• Liaquat Ali Khan,the first Prime Minister of independentPakistanwas named asQuaid-i-Millat( "Leader of the Nation" ) andShaheed-i-Millat( "Martyr of the Nation" ).
• Sukarno,the president of post-revolutionIndonesiawas known as thePemimpin Besar Revolusi(Great Leader of the Revolution) andBung Karno( "Comrade Karno" ).
• François Duvalier,the president-dictator ofHaiti,obtained from the pocket parliament "Supreme Leader of Revolution" amongst other titles.
• Ferdinand Marcos,the president-dictator of thePhilippines,sometimes named asPinuno ng Bansa"Leader of the Nation".
• Fidel Castro,theFirst Secretary of the Communist Party of Cubawas known as theMáximo Líder( "Greatest Leader" ).
• Enver Hoxha,theFirst Secretaryof theParty of Labour of Albaniawas named as "The Leader", "Supreme Comrade", "Sole Force", "Great Teacher".
• Nicolae Ceaușescu,theGeneral Secretaryof theRomanian Communist Partyfrom 1965 to 1989, was sometimes referred to asConducător.
• Mobutu Sese Seko,the president-dictator ofZaire,sometimes named as "Father of People" and "Saver of Nation".
• Alfredo Stroessner,the dictatorial president of Paraguay from 1954 to 1989, was eulogized asGran LíderandÚnico Líder.
• Abd al-Karim Qasim,Prime Minister ofIraqfrom 1958 to 1963, named asal-za'īm( "The Leader" ).
• Saddam Hussein,the president-dictator ofIraqfrom 1979 to 2003, named as "The Leader".
• Muammar Gaddafi,thede factoleader ofLibyafrom 1969 to 2011, was named theRevolutionary Chairmanfrom 1969 to 1977, theBrotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolutionfrom 1979 to 2011 and supreme leader from 1990.
• Omar Torrijos,de factodictator of Panama from 1968 to 1981, assumed the titleLíder Máximo de la Revolución Panameña( "Supreme Leader of the Panamanian Revolution" ).
• Dési Bouterse,de factoleader of Suriname during 1980 military rule
• TheSupreme Leader of Iran,the highest-ranking political and religious authority in the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The first person to hold this title was theAyatollah Khomeini.
• Pol Pot,theGeneral Secretary of the Communist Party of Kampucheaand former dictator ofKampuchea.

Post–Cold War era

• Supreme Leader of Afghanistan,first held byMullah Omarfrom 1996 to 2001; also used in exile during theTaliban insurgency
• Hibatullah Akhundzada,current supreme leader of Afghanistan since 2021
• Hugo Chávez,former President of Venezuela, was calledEl Comandante(The Commander) by some people during his reign.
• Xi Jinping,currentGeneral Secretary of the Chinese Communist Partyandparamount leadersince 15 November 2012, has been officially recognized aslingxiu,a reverential term for "leader", by theParty Politburo.
• Kim Jong Il,formerGeneral Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea,is officially referred to by the North Korean government as위대한 령도자(translit.widaehan ryŏngdoja- "Honorable Leader" ) and "The Leader" (his fatherKim Il Sungafter death stayed as "Great Leader" ).
• Kim Jong Un,currentGeneral Secretary of the Workers' Party of Koreaandsupreme leader,was made "Supreme Guide" after his fatherKim Jong-Ildied in 2011.
• Ali Khamenei,currentSupreme Leader of Iransince 4 June 1989.
• Nursultan Nazarbayev,Chairman of theSecurity Council of Kazakhstanfrom 1991 to 2022, and firstPresident of Kazakhstan,was granted the titleElbasy(Kazakh:Елбасы,lit. 'Leader of the Nation') by a parliamentary decision in 2010.
• Saparmurat Niyazov,president ofTurkmenistanin 1990–2006, was referred by his self-given titlesSardar( "Leader" ) andTürkmenbaşy( "Head of the Turkmens" ).His successorGurbanguly Berdimuhamedowcarries the titleArkadag( "Protector", "Patron" ).
• Emomali Rahmon,President of the Republic of Tajikistansince 1994, carries the titlePeşvoi Millat(Tajik:Пешвои Миллат,romanized:Leader of the Nation).
• Nawaz Sharif,ex-prime minister of Pakistan, was made the Supreme Leader of his political partyPML-Nafter the Pakistan Supreme Court ruled that as he was disqualifiedunder the constitution for dishonesty, he can no longer serve as the head of a political party.
• Heydar Aliyev,the formerPresident of Azerbaijan,is sometimes referred to, including on many government-sponsored websites, as the "National leader of the Azerbaijani people" or as the "Great Leader", a title similarly applied to the North Korean supreme leader.He is notably sometimes referred to as "genius personality."
• Withone-party statestatus of Laos, theGeneral Secretary(party leader) holds ultimate power and authority over state and government and serves as the supreme leader.

Popular media

In the 2012 movieThe Dictator,the titular character was referred to as "Supreme Leader."

See also

• Absolute monarchy
• Autocracy
• Centralisation
• Despotism
• Dictatorship
• Führerprinzip
• Tyranny