Wikipedia: Family dictatorship

Family dictatorship
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A family dictatorship is a form of dictatorship that operates much like an absolute monarchy, yet occurs in a nominally republican state.

When the dictator of a family dictatorship dies, one of his relatives (usually his son) becomes the new ruler of the country. This transition often occurs after years of "grooming" the dictator's successor as heir apparent.

Successful transitions of power

England: Oliver Cromwell (1653-1658) succeeded by his son Richard Cromwell (1658-1659)
Nicaragua: Anastasio Somoza García (1937-1947, 1950-1956) succeeded by his son Luis Somoza Debayle (1956-1963). There was also a third Somoza president, Anastasio Somoza Debayle (1967-1972, 1974-1979), though he did not directly succeed the other two.
Haiti: François Duvalier (1957-1971) succeeded by his son Jean-Claude Duvalier (1971-1986)
Republic of China (from 1949 on Taiwan): Chiang Kai-shek (1928-1975) and his son Chiang Ching-kuo (1978-1988)
North Korea: Kim Il Sung (1948-1994) succeeded by his son Kim Jong Il (1994- )
Syria: Hafez al-Assad (1971-2000) succeeded by his son Bashar al-Assad (2000- )
Congo-Kinshasa: Laurent-Desire Kabila (1997-2001), succeeded by his son Joseph Kabila (2001-)
Azerbaijan: Heydar Aliyev (1993-2003) succeeded by his son Ilham Aliyev (2003- )
Armenia: Prime Minister Vazgen Sarkisian (1999), succeeded by his brother Aram Sarkisian (1999-2000).

Unsuccessful transitions of power

Iraq: Saddam Hussein's heir apparent was his son Qusay Hussein

Current family dictatorships

Cuba: Fidel Castro plans to transfer power to his brother Raúl Castro
Egypt: Hosni Mubarak plans to transfer power to his son Gamal Mubarak
North Korea: Kim Jong Il plans to transfer power to his son Kim Jong Nam
Singapore: Lee Kuan Yew plans to transfer power to his son Lee Hsien Loong

External link

Dynasties of the ex-USSR