NationStates Jolt Archive

There is an interesting tread on the best African leader, which unfortunately is too broad and neglects the fact that even the best African leaders have blood on their hands. So to remedy this, I ask, who is the most damaging African Leader of the Last century. I'm looking for heads of state/government, because to be honest the likes of Johnas Savimbi et al far out number those who actually get to the top of the greesy pole. What I'm looking for is that mix of creulty, incompetance, betrayal and genocide that goes into making Africa's own special brand of leaders. Once we hit page three or four I'll put a vote up. Oh, and the list extends to those whoes rule started in the last century as well.

Hard to say. Probably Mobutu Sese Seko or Siad Barre.

Idi Amin?

What about laurent Kabila?

What about laurent Kabila?

Him, too.

Idi Amin. Bastard kicked my family out of |Uganda back in the day..

Ah well.. Turned out for the best in the end.

Mugabe. Enough Said.

Mugabe. Enough Said.

I'm a Zimbabwean, and I'ld agree that Mugabe has done the most damage to an African nation, because of how low he has brought us, from being on a par with Portugal in the 1980s to the worst performing ecconomy in the world. The drop is hugh, far worse than any other country in peace time.

However, the Gukurahundi (Zimbabwe's genocide) only killed between 14 000 and 22 000 people, when compared to Idi, Mabuto or Laurent who between them caused the deaths of millions.

If you'll count a European colonial leader who's time just spills over into the 20th C, Leopold II, King of the Belgians.

If you want native Africans, then either Omar Hassan al-Bashir, the man behind the Darfur genocide, or Paul Kagame, the man behind the Rawandan Genocide.

Dishonorable mentions to everyone on the poll, plus: Daniel Arap Moi, Charles Taylor, Olusegun Obasanjo, and too many others to mention.

And both this and the other thread make me want to ask why North African (the Maghrebi and Egyptian) leaders (Quadaffi and Sadat) are getting lumped in with Sub-Saharan African leaders.

I'm a Zimbabwean, and I'ld agree that Mugabe has done the most damage to an African nation, because of how low he has brought us, from being on a par with Portugal in the 1980s to the worst performing ecconomy in the world. The drop is hugh, far worse than any other country in peace time.

However, the Gukurahundi (Zimbabwe's genocide) only killed between 14 000 and 22 000 people, when compared to Idi, Mabuto or Laurent who between them caused the deaths of millions.
Give him time, he's just getting started.

There is an interesting tread on the best African leader, which unfortunately is too broad and neglects the fact that even the best African leaders have blood on their hands. So to remedy this, I ask, who is the most damaging African Leader of the Last century. I'm looking for heads of state/government, because to be honest the likes of Johnas Savimbi et al far out number those who actually get to the top of the greesy pole. What I'm looking for is that mix of creulty, incompetance, betrayal and genocide that goes into making Africa's own special brand of leaders. Once we hit page three or four I'll put a vote up. Oh, and the list extends to those whoes rule started in the last century as well.

Mobutu and his fall destabilised an entire region, to be fair, a region that should have been economically the powerhouse of the emergent Africa. So i'm going with him.

And both this and the other thread make me want to ask why North African (the Maghrebi and Egyptian) leaders (Quadaffi and Sadat) are getting lumped in with Sub-Saharan African leaders.

Quite right. Compated to the rest, those two are virtual saints.

And thats not saying they ARE saints...

Give him time, he's just getting started.
Well then he's more of a 21st Century leader then 20th....

Hmmm, not sure who to vote for. However, it's hardly suprizingly that Mugabe has the most votes, mainly because he's been in the media most recently.

My choice would probably either be a leader of Angola, DR of Congo, Ethiopia or Zimbabwe. All those countries could have been very prosperous. Of those 4 I know most about the Zaire and Ethiopia/Eritrea. If you ever get the chance then read 'In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz' (Zaire/Congo) and 'I Didn't Do It For You' (more about Eritrea) by Michela Wrong. Good author, it's all very well written and she has a lot of interesting things to say in both books.

Pik Botha wasn't a leader. He was S. Africa's foreign minister.