Dictator

In ancient Rome, the post of dictator was initially introduced during wars and civil unrest for a period of six months, although sometimes a dictator was elected to carry out a single assignment, for example, “a dictator for hammering a nail” (a religious ritual during a holiday). The dictator received full empires , the laws published by him were immediately put into effect, and upon the verdict of the dictator until the 4th century BC. e. it was impossible to appeal the assembly ( comitia ). Inside Rome, his power was not unlimited: he could not control the lives of citizens. In the late republic, under Sulla and Caesar , appointed by dictators without any time limit ( dictator perpetuus ), the post of dictator acquired a monarchical character ^[2] .

In ancient Rome, the procedure for appointing a dictator was as follows: the senate issued the so-called "extraordinary senate adviser (decree)", expressed in the formula: "Let the consuls take measures so that the state does not suffer damage." After this, the consuls called the name of the dictator and immediately dismissed their lictors , who all passed on to the dictator (the dictator relied on 24 lictors, while the consuls relied on 12); thus, they faced the dictator by ordinary citizens, and he had the right to life and death over them, as well as over all citizens, except for the people's tribunes . By appointment, the dictator chose an assistant - the " chief of the cavalry ", and the reason for his election was added to his title (for example, a dictator who was elected in case of military danger - Dictator rei gerundae causa , that is, a dictator for waging war).

Most often, dictators were appointed in the IV century, since the Romans at that time fought with the Gauls and neighboring Italian tribes ^[2] .

Initially, only patricians could be appointed to the post of dictator, but from 356 BC. e. - also plebeians .

In 82 BC. e. Sulla significantly expanded the powers of dictators, and in 44 BC. e. after Caesar's death, the post was canceled by Mark Anthony . A law was passed prohibiting dictatorship ^[2] .

In modern times (especially since the era of the French Revolution ), the term, under the influence of classical reminiscences, is revived, designating a ruler who received unlimited power in an emergency. The dictionary of foreign words ( 1954 ) records the use of the word in the figurative meaning: "A person vested with unlimited power in any area of ​​government or economy" ).

Unlimited power does not mean that the dictator single-handedly makes all fundamental decisions, since it is physically impossible. It should also be noted that with it there can be (and often are) advisory bodies formally endowed with the highest authority. However, under dictatorship, any such bodies issue their decrees and decrees according to the will of the dictator.

In other countries of modern times, famous dictators were: Adolf Hitler , Karlis Ulmanis , Benito Mussolini , Joseph Stalin , Francisco Franco , Antoniu de Salazar , Nicolae Ceausescu , Enver Hoxha , Josip Broz Tito , Fidel Castro , Augusto Pinochet , Kim Jedu , Pol Pot , Muammar Gaddafi , Idi Amin , Mobutu Sese Seko , Jean-Bedel Bokassa , Saddam Hussein , Hafez Assad and others ^{[3] [4]} .

Currently, all dictators are men ^[5] .

In 2010, Foreign Policy magazine published a list of the 23 worst dictators of our time ^{[6] [7]} . As of November 2017, 12 rulers from the list lost power, 5 of them died.

• Tyrant

• Koch-Hillebrecht M. Homo Hitler: Dictator's Psychogram = Homo Hitler. Psychogramm des deutschen Diktators. - Minsk: Potpourri, 2003 .-- 416 p. - ISBN 985-438-767-4 .
• Dictator // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.