14 Iconic Villains of the Past Century - Washington Post

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A look back at 14 historic figures who struck terror in hearts of their countrymen and around the world. Washington Post | 05.02.2011 Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/iconic-villains-of-the-past-100-years/2011/05/02/AFcyXNcF_gallery.html
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Francois Duvalier (1907 – 1971) was an authoritarian ruler of Haiti between 1957 and 1971. During his reign, Duvalier, who promoted himself as a semi-divine embodiment of Haiti, oversaw the deaths of nearly 30,000 people in a brutal campaign against dissent. - Anonymous / AP
Gen. Augusto Pinochet (1915 – 2006) ruled Chile with an iron fist from 1973 to 1990. A fierce anti-communist, his government murdered more than 3,000 people and tortured about 29,000, according to a government report. At the time of his death, he was facing numerous criminal charges for human rights violations, tax evasion and embezzlement. - Anonymous / AP
Gen. Augusto Pinochet (1915 – 2006) ruled Chile with an iron fist from 1973 to 1990. A fierce anti-communist, his government murdered more than 3,000 people and tortured about 29,000, according to a government report. At the time of his death, he was facing numerous criminal charges for human rights violations, tax evasion and embezzlement.
Jorge Rafael Videla led a military dictatorship in Argentina between 1976 and 1981. He led a so-called "Dirty War" against political dissidents in which more than 12,000 people died or disappeared. In December 2010, Videla was sentenced to life in prison for the killing of 31 prisoners.
Rafael Trujillo (1891 – 1961), second from left, ruled the Dominican Republic as a ruthless dictator from 1930 until his assassination in 1961. His rule was marked by bloody repression that left more than 50,000 people dead and the establishment of a personality cult in which numerous monuments were erected in the ruler's honor.
Former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic (1941 – 2006) presided over the Balkan wars of the 1990s -- conflicts that left an estimated 200,000 civilians dead and millions more displaced, as refugees or through forced relocations. He died in 2006 while on trial accused of genocide for atrocities committed during the conflicts.
Mengistu Haile Marian is a dictator who ruled Ethiopia between 1974 and 1991. He directed the "Red Terror" against supposed enemies of his Soviet-backed regime, killing an estimated 150,000 people. In 2006, he was tried in absentia and found guilty of genocide. He lives today in Zimbabwe.
Kim Il-Sung (1912 – 1994), center, ruled North Korea from its founding in 1948 with autocratic power, establishing a cult of personality and acquiring the status of a semi-god. His eldest son Kim Jong il, right, assumed office in 1994 and has extended the personality cult. The dictator's severe restrictions on political and economic freedoms have led human rights groups to call North Korea one of the world's most repressive countries. - AFP
Pol Pot (1928 - 1998) led Cambodia's Khmer Rouge, a communist movement that sought to purge the country of intellectuals and city dwellers. As many as 2 million were killed were killed through forced labor, disease and systematic executions. - Kyodo News / AP
The communist politician Joseph Stalin (1878 - 1953) led the Soviet Union through a period of rapid industrialization and expansion. During his 30 years in power, he erected an authoritarian system under which millions were executed or died from famine.
Mao Zedong (1893 - 1976) led China's Communist revolution in 1949 and held authoritarian control over the country until his death in 1976. His Great Leap Forward, a campaign that sought to turn China from an agrarian economy into a modern communist society, led tens of millions to die from harsh conditions and starvation. - AP
Adolf Hitler (1889 – 1945), seen here in 1940, led Germany's Nazi party and served as chancellor-president of the country from 1933 to 1945. The Führer, or leader, oversaw the deaths of an estimated 6 million Jews during WWII. He committed suicide in 1945 as Soviet forces closed in. - HO / Reuters
Saddam Hussein (1937 – 2006) was an autocratic Arab nationalist who ruled Iraq for 24 years and led his nation into repeated wars with its neighbors. Hussein cultivated a climate of fear in Iraq, a place where political dissent was a capital offense. In 2006, he was hanged for crimes against humanity in the mass murder of Shiite men and boys in the 1980s. - INA / AP
Saddam Hussein (1937 – 2006) was an autocratic Arab nationalist who ruled Iraq for 24 years and led his nation into repeated wars with its neighbors. Hussein cultivated a climate of fear in Iraq, a place where political dissent was a capital offense. In 2006, he was hanged for crimes against humanity in the mass murder of Shiite men and boys in the 1980s. - INA / AP
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