Dictator

Dictator was the title of a magistrate in ancient Rome appointed by the Senate to rule the state in times of emergency. In modern usage, it refers to an absolutist or autocratic ruler who assumes sole power over the state (though the term is normally not applied to an absolute monarch; see also Oliver Cromwell).

Modern era

In modern usage, the term "dictator" is generally used to describe a leader who holds an extraordinary amount of personal power, especially the power to make laws without effective restraint by a legislative assembly. It is comparable to (but not synonymous with) the ancient concept of a tyrant, although initially "tyrant," like "dictator," was not a negative term. A wide variety of people have been described as dictators, from lawfully installed government ministers like António de Oliveira Salazar and Engelbert Dollfuss, to unofficial military strongmen like Manuel Noriega to stratocrats like Francisco Franco and Augusto Pinochet and Communist dictators such as Fidel Castro of Cuba and Kim Jong-il of North Korea.

Related Topics:
Laws - Legislative assembly - Tyrant - Minister - António de Oliveira Salazar - Engelbert Dollfuss - Manuel Noriega - Stratocrat - Francisco Franco - Augusto Pinochet - Fidel Castro - Kim Jong-il

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In the modern American definition, "dictatorship" is increasingly being associated with brutality and oppression. As a result, it is often also used as a term of abuse for political opponents; Henry Clay's dominance of the U.S. Congress as Speaker of the House and as a member of the United States Senate led to his nickname "the Dictator."

Related Topics:
Henry Clay - U.S. Congress - Speaker of the House - United States Senate

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The term has also come to be associated with megalomania. Many dictators create a cult of personality and have come to favor increasingly grandiloquent titles and honours for themselves. For example, Idi Amin Dada, who had been a British army lieutenant prior to Uganda's independence from Britain in October 1962, subsequently styled himself as "His Excellency President for Life Field Marshal Al Hadji Dr. Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular." In The Great Dictator, Charlie Chaplin satirized not only Hitler but the institution of dictatorship itself.

Related Topics:
Megalomania - Cult of personality - Idi Amin Dada - British - Lieutenant - Uganda - 1962 - President for Life - Beast - Earth - Fish - Sea - British Empire - Africa - The Great Dictator - Charlie Chaplin - Hitler

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The association between the dictator and the military is a very common one; many dictators take great pains to emphasize their connections with the military and often wear military uniforms. In some cases, this is perfectly natural; Francisco Franco was a lieutenant general in the Spanish Army before he became Chief of State of Spain, and Noriega was officially commander of the Panamanian Defense Forces. In other cases, this is mere pretense.

Related Topics:
Spanish - Chief of State - Panama

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