Greatest 20th Century Political Leaders (Round 1)

[vcczar]

Note to @Patine as he'll gripe. Many worthy leaders outside North America and Europe will no doubt be missing. I can only include people that I know enough about to determine if they do or do not belong. Therefore, many parts of the world will be overlooked. Despite that, I'm not going to let it stop me from making a poll. For future reference, all my polls will likely have blind spots. There. That should stop the griping. 

[Timur]

Oops, failed to vote Sun Yat Sen and Havel

[vcczar]

Just now, Patine said:

What I will gripe about is R.B. Bennett. He's considered an utter failure among Canadian PM's, and not in a positive light for - well, anything of note, really. Lester B. Pearson, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, or even Robert Borden would be appropriate alongside Mackenzie King, but Bennet would be like having Hoover or Ford among U.S. Presidents. Just a note from someone in Canada.

Ok thanks for letting me know. 

[vcczar]

I meant to vote for Mandela

[Dobs]

34 minutes ago, Patine said:

@vcczarI notice you voted for Nasser. You do know he was one of the authoritarian, nationalistic, fiery populists you often condemn on principal, or do you? If you didn't know, I thought you should.

It’s ok because he’s anti-western 😌 

[Edouard]

The word great is always hard to be interpreted, because for example if we think about Hitler, he, like Napoléon rose to the top of his country in an incredible and rapid way, but both did not use their political rise for the same goals.

[Edouard]

3 minutes ago, Patine said:

Fun fact. Even though the moniker seems ubiquitous across history, no monarchial leader in the 19th, 20th, or 21st Century was formally (either during their reign or post-humously) awarded the recognition of being, "the Great." Friedrich II of Prussia (died 1786) was formally the last.

Probably because times changed and their appelations with 🙂

[vcczar]

1 hour ago, Patine said:

@vcczarI notice you voted for Nasser. You do know he was one of the authoritarian, nationalistic, fiery populists you often condemn on principal, or do you? If you didn't know, I thought you should.

 

48 minutes ago, Dobs said:

It’s ok because he’s anti-western 😌 

I give Nasser points for having secured a lasting peace with Israel. If I were going to write off every person because of their flaws as a leader, then there'd be no one to vote for. 

[Dobs]

44 minutes ago, Patine said:

Well, I, myself, don't hold such double-standards. if a political leader or regime possesses a trait I find repugnant, I still find it repugnant, regardless of alignment in the international strategum or on the political spectrum. Pol Pot (far-left-wing) is not much different to me than Juvenal Habyaramana (far-right-wing). How does your view currently stand on this sticky issue? You and I usually bandy about, quite admittedly, very moderate political leaders in electoral frameworks, relative to the the broad spectrum of what is, and has been, out there.

I know I was just being satirical. And yes, I agree that authoritarianism is the ultimate opponent, and that often comes with the territory of far-left and far-right leaders.