Dictators: The quiz

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What country's ruler relocated the national capital almost overnight in 2005?

Than Shwe, Burma

Kim Jong-Il, North Korea

Moammar Gadhafi, Libya

Hugo Chavez, Venezuela

Wrong.Right. Government workers moved from Rangoon to a spot near the remote, inland town of Pyinmana. Some in Burma attributed the move to Than Shwe's belief in astrology.

North Korea's official story about Kim Jong Il's birth says he was born on sacred Mount Paekdu, heralded by flashes of light, thunder, double rainbows, and a sudden change of seasons.

True

False

Wrong.Right. Western historians believe Kim Jong Il was actually born in in Siberia, where his father had fled with his communist guerrillas from the Japanese.

Which of the following leaders was a teacher for years before entering politics?

Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe

Bashar al-Assad, Syria

Hu Jintao, China

Paul Biya, Cameroon

Wrong.Right. As a young man, Mugabe studied at Catholic schools. By the time he was released from prison in 1974, he had earned seven different degrees.

Which country's government launched its own brand of computers in 2007?

Venezuela

North Korea

China

Cuba

Wrong.Right. The initiative aimed to mass-produce Linux-based "Bolivarian computers." President Hugo Chavez claimed the computers cost 40 percent less than similar U.S. brands.

Cuba's long-time dictator Fidel Castro transferred power to his brother in 2006. What is this brother's first name?

Raúl

Elían

Luís

Ramón

Wrong.Right. Fidel Castro remains active in commenting on world affairs, most recently criticizing the anti-semitic rhetoric of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

What astrological sign is shared by Hosni Mubarak, Saddam Hussein, Vladimir Lenin, Pol Pot, Ho Chi Minh and Adolf Hitler?

Taurus

Aquarius

Capricorn

Scorpio

Wrong.Right. Josef Stalin was a Capricorn.

Who wields the most power in Iran?

Ali Khamenei

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Mir-Hossein Mousavi

Rahim Mashaei

Wrong.Right. Ahmadinejad's position as president enables him to make incendiary comments, but as Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei is the final authority in all matters.

What military rank does Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi hold?

Colonel

Captain

Major

General

Wrong.Right. After seizing power in a coup d'état in 1969, Gadafi did not promote himself to general. Instead he accepted a ceremonial promotion from captain to colonel.

Which of these present-day dictators was studying opthamology in London when his older brother died in a car accident?

Bashar al-Assad, Syria

Omar al-Bashir, Sudan

Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan

Raúl Castro, Cuba

Wrong.Right. Syrian president Hafez al-Assad was grooming his son Basil to be his successor. When Basil died, younger brother Bashar cut short his studies and returned to Syria.

Which leader said in 2005: "Nuclear energy is for peaceful purposes. We are not the ones developing atomic bombs, it's others who do that. We are not the ones who launch atomic bombs."

Hugo Chavez, Venezuela

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran

Kim Jong Il, North Korea

Raúl Castro, Cuba

Wrong.Right. Five years later, Chavez signed a deal with Russia to build and operate the first nuclear power plant in Venezuela.