Who are the authorities’ dictators in Africa? Coups, bloodshed, and tyranny define African leadership, and some historians believe that democracy is not an African concept. Historically, African leadership was founded on conquest, royalty, colonialism, and then dictatorship, which can still be found in some African countries.
So, what is a dictatorship? A dictatorship is a type of government in which a single person or party has absolute power. This means that the ruler or party has complete control and the rights of the people are suppressed. Dictatorships are led by a single individual who possesses direct autonomy over the country. Leaders of authoritarian regimes, often classified as dictators, frequently have a group of officials that make up the dictatorship’s government.
Nonetheless, these authorities have little influence on the overall conclusion with something. Following is a list of all the current dictators and authoritarian regimes in Africa in no particular order.
The Top 10 Dictators in Africa
1. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Algeria’s president
“Abdelmadjid Tebboune” is an Algerian politician who was born on November 17, 1945. He presently serves as Algeria’s President and Minister of Defense. After Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Abdelkader Bensalah stepped down, he took over the reins of the country’s government.
In May and August of 2017, he served as Algeria’s Prime Minister. His other roles include housing minister from 2001 to 2002, and then housing minister again from 2012 to 2017 for five years.
2. Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Angola’s president
Mr Jose Eduardo dos Santos was born in Luanda, Angola, on August 28, 1942. His political career began at a young age when he founded the MPLA ( Movement Popular for the Liberation of Angola) youth organization in 1961 to aid Angola’s independence struggle.
In 1963, he received a scholarship to study petroleum engineering in the Soviet Union, where he graduated with honours. He stayed in the Soviet Union to continue his communications studies after graduating in 1969. Mr Jose Eduardo Dos Santos was appointed Co-ordinator of the MPLA’s Foreign Affairs Department in 1974. He then expanded his diplomatic efforts in various African capitals in order to gain international support for the MPLA’s efforts.
3. Paul Biya, Cameroon’s president
Paul Biya was born in Mvomeka’a, Cameroon, on February 13, 1933. Paul Biya, a worldly and educated man, served Cameroon in a variety of capacities as a career bureaucrat.
He took steps to make his west African country’s government more efficient when he became president in 1982. Many critics believe Biya’s rule has become repressive and ineffective over time. As a result, he was ranked as one of the worst dictators in Africa in Parade Magazine’s list of the top 20 world’s worst dictators.
4. Faustin Archange Touadera, Central African Republic’s president
Faustin Archange Touadera is one of famous African tyrants. On April 21, 1957, Faustin-Archange Touadéra was born in Touadéra, Central African Republic. From January 2008 to January 2013, he served as Prime Minister.
In a second-round runoff against former Prime Minister Anicet Georges Dologuelé, he was elected President of the Central African Republic, according to an announcement made by the national electoral authority on February 19, 2016. As a result, he became the president of the Central African Republic in April 2016.
5. Idriss Deby, Chad’s president
Since 1990, Idriss Déby has been the president of Chad, one of the poorest countries on the African continent. In fact, he is one of the longest-serving African Presidents. Déby, a former military commander, took power that year after leading a military coup.
He then allowed a series of political reforms, culminating in the 1996 free election, in which Chadian voters elected Déby to a five-year term as president. Déby, the son of a shepherd, was born in Fada, a village in the Ennedi province of eastern Chad, in 1952.
There have been numerous human rights violations committed by him, including murders, unlawful imprisonment, torture, and inhumane prison conditions. Years of warfare and civil strife followed the country’s independence in 1960. Chad’s economy has been weakened by water shortages and a series of corrupt governments since independence, and the country has become heavily reliant on foreign aid.
6. Félix Antoine Tshilombo Tshisekedi, Congo’s president
President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Félix Antoine Tshilombo Tshisekedi (born 13 June 1963) is a Congolese politician and one of the African dictators. He is the founder and leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), the oldest and largest opposition party in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He is the son of the late Étienne Tshisekedi, a three-time Prime Minister of Zaire and opposition leader, and would thus be the first Congolese president to have a Prime Minister as a relative. Despite the African Union and the European Union expressing reservations about the Constitutional Court’s decision, South Africa congratulated Felix Tshisekedi on his election as President of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday.
7. Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, Djibouti ‘s President
Ismael Omar Guelleh, the second president of Djibouti, was born on November 27, 1947, in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. In 1999, he succeeded his uncle, Hassan Gouled Aptidon. Guelleh moved to Djibouti in the late 1960s before finishing high school.
He later joined the police force and rose through the ranks to become a junior non-commissioned officer. He became the head of the secret police and the cabinet chief in Hassan Gouled Aptidon’s government after Djibouti gained independence. He was supposed to succeed his uncle and received training from the Somali National Security Service and then the French Secret Service. He is well known as one of the African dictators.
8. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt’s President
Al-Sisi was born in Gamaleya, Old Cairo, and attended the Egyptian Military Academy and the United States Army War College. Sisi served as Egypt’s Military Attaché in Riyadh and held various command positions in the Egyptian Armed Forces.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in military science in 1977, a master’s degree in military science from the Egyptian Command and Staff College in 1987, and another master’s degree in military science from the Joint Services Command and Staff College in the United Kingdom in 1992, in addition to a fellowship at the United States Army War College.
He announced his intention to run for president on March 26, 2014, after resigning from the military amid calls for him to do so. On May 26-28, 2014, the el-resounding Sisi defeated his sole opponent in an election that was held without the participation of most political parties. Egyptian President Sisi was sworn into office on June 8, 2014.
9. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Equatorial Guinea’s president
President of Equatorial Guinea since 1979, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (born June 5, 1942) is an Equatoguinean politician. He is also one of the richest dictators in Africa. In a coup, he ousted his uncle Francisco Macias Nguema and has overseen Equatorial Guinea’s rise as a global oil producer.
From 2011 to 2012, he served as the President of the African Union. In Akoakam, he was born into the Esanguii clan. During colonial rule, Obiang enlisted in the military and attended the General Military Academy in Zaragoza, Spain. After his uncle, Francisco Macias Nguema, was elected president, he was promoted to lieutenant.
Obiang held a number of positions during his presidency, including the governor of Bioko and head of the National Guard. He also made a name for himself as the head of Black Beach Prison, where he tortured a large number of prisoners.
10. Isaias Afwerki, Eritrea’s President
In Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki served as a soldier, a fighter, and a political leader. Isaias is a well-liked man who fought for the Eritrean people and the country’s history to be better.
Since then, Isaias Afwerki has been the president of Eritrea. Eritrea declared independence on May 24, 1993. Isaias Afwerki was a member of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front prior to independence, which was a group of people who planned to fight Ethiopians in the Eritrean-Ethiopian war.
They were fighting for the right to live in a free country, and with this newfound freedom, Eritrea entered the global political economy, where it is ranked as one of the world’s poorest countries.
