Answers: The Forever Leaders

The starting point for this quiz was the re-election of Aleksandr Lukashenko for a seventh straight term as the president of Belarus. He was credited with 86.8 percent of the vote in an election without any opposition candidate critical of him. This ‘Forever Leaders’ quiz focuses on strongmen who have held on to power for decades, securing term after term following dubious elections.

Answers:

1) This African country’s had only one president since independence in 1993. It’s never had a national election. It was ranked last in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (below North Korea and Afghanistan). Which country?

Eritrea. Isaias Afwerki has been president since Eritrea broke away from Ethiopia in 1993. More on the shaky ties between Eritrea and Ethiopia in my earlier quiz here. Eritrea got involved in Ethiopia’s civil war, sending troops to support the Ethiopian government’s offensive against Tigrayan forces.

Men and women are subject to unlimited military service from the age of 18. Many have fled the country, ending up as refugees. Pro and anti-government Eritreans have fought on the streets in several countries ranging from Canada to Israel.

The other two countries with just one head of state since independence are South Sudan (Salva Kiir) and Brunei (Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah).

2) This African country’s had only two presidents since independence from France in 1960. The current president was prime minister from 1975 to 1982 when he became the president. He is now 91, the world’s oldest leader. Catholic bishops in the country have urged him against seeking another term in elections due in October. Who and which country?

Paul Biya, Cameroon. The one time Biya faced a competitive presidential election was in 1992 against opposition contender John Fru Ndi. He was declared the winner but international observers concluded that the poll was marred by widespread irregularities. Fru Ndi was invited to Washington DC for Bill Clinton’s presidential inauguration but did not reach the same political heights again.

John Fru Ndi is from Cameroon’s minority English-speaking region but was kidnapped twice by separatists for opposing them. The conflict between the Francophone-dominated government and an Anglophone separatist movement intensified in recent years. More in my earlier quiz here on Language and Conflict.

3) Another former French colony in Africa now and this country’s also had only two presidents since independence in 1977. The current head of state, Ismail Omar Guelleh first took office in 1999. In 2021 he won a fifth term with nearly 99 percent of the vote. Which country? (Big hint: China, the United States are among the countries with naval bases there)

Djibouti. Ismail Omar Guelleh’s uncle and Djibouti’s first president Hassan Gouled Aptidon ensured a smooth transition when he stepped down in 1999.

4) Denis Sassou Nguesso was president of his country from 1979 to 1992. Elections were held in 1992, two years after he was forced to accept a multi-party system. He finished third. But in 1997 he returned to power following a civil war. He’s stayed in power ever since. Which country?

Republic of Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville after its capital. This is to distinguish the former French colony from its much larger neighbour, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Brazzaville and the DRC’s capital Kinshasa are the closest capital cities in the world (outside Rome and Vatican City). But there is still no bridge connecting the two cities on opposite ends of the Congo river. More in my earlier quiz here on the DRC.

5) After years as a rebel leader, he seized power in 1986 and has been president of his country ever since. Over the years, this African country’s parliament amended the constitution to remove presidential term limits as well as an age limit for presidents. His son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, is the country’s military chief. Who and which country?

Yoweri Museveni, Uganda. Museveni’s son and military chief General Muhoozi Kainerugaba said last year that he won’t run for the presidency in 2026, urging his supporters to back his father for another term. Opposition figure and former presidential candidate Kizza Besigye, who was once Museveni’s personal doctor, is facing a military trial despite a Supreme Court ruling that civilians cannot be tried in military court.

Museveni also features in my earlier quiz here on political dynasties. His use of rap to promote his election campaign back in 2010 got him a place in my quiz below on musical skills of world leaders.

6) This former intelligence officer was appointed prime minister by his country’s president in August 1999. On December 31, 1999 the president surprised the nation by announcing his resignation and named him acting president. He was elected to the post in 2000 and has been president ever since except for a spell as prime minister from 2008 to 2012. Who and which country?

Vladimir Putin, Russia.

7) In 1994 he was a 39-year-old political outsider and a former collective farm manager whose campaign themes were government corruption and inflation. He won in a landslide in the runoff vote and the New York Times called him a “populist anti-crime crusader”. He is still in power in the ex-Soviet state. Who and which country?

Aleksandr Lukashenko, Belarus.

8) Emomali Rahmon became the speaker of this ex-Soviet state as a compromise candidate in 1992 (that was the top position at the time because the post of president had been abolished). The presidency was restored in 1994 and he was elected. He’s stayed president since then. Which country?

Tajikistan. Rahmon’s son Rustam Emomali is widely expected to succeed him. More about the son in his role as the country’s football chief in my earlier quiz here on the AFC Asian Cup. More on Tajikistan in my quiz on the five Central Asian states.

9) This Southeast Asian leader was prime minister from 1985 until 2023 when he stepped down in favour of his son after a landslide election win without any significant opposition challenge. Last year, he was elected president of the senate, which allows him to be the acting head of state when the king is overseas. He continues to be president of the governing party and makes regular diplomatic visits abroad. Who and which country?

Hun Sen, Cambodia.

10) Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is the world’s longest-serving head of state, the only one whose presidency dates back to 1979. His son is the vice-president. The son has been sanctioned by the UK and convicted for corruption in France. A fleet of luxury cars owned by him was confiscated and auctioned off in Switzerland. Which oil-rich African country?

Equatorial Guinea. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo deposed his uncle Francisco Macías Nguema in a coup in 1979. Macias Nguema had become the first president in 1968 when colonial power Spain pulled out. He was soon executed.

Obiang’s son Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, known as Teodorin is vice-president and defence minister. More here, here and here. More about Equatorial Guinea’s peculiar geography and planned new capital city in my quiz below on changing capitals.

11) He led a rebel force that seized power in his country in 1994. He was considered the de facto leader from 1994 to 2000, while officially vice president and defence minister. He’s been president from 2000 and was re-elected last year with more than 99 percent of the vote. Who and which African country?

Paul Kagame, Rwanda. Kagame is now in the spotlight after advances by Rwanda-backed M23 fighters in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo. More in my quiz on the DRC here.

Post-script

I have excluded monarchs such as King Abdullah II of Jordan, King Mohammed VI of Morocco and King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, who all came to power in 1999 after the deaths of their fathers. Others such as Brunei’s Sultan since 1967, Hassanal Bolkiah and Eswatini’s King Mswati III (from 1986) have been rulers for longer. Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is a political and religious figure as Supreme Leader since 1989 is also not included.

Turkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 and president since then is excluded because he has repeatedly triumphed in competitive elections. Another longtime leader, Bashar Al Assad was toppled last December (more in my recent quiz here on Syria)

After posting the questions, I came across Ralph Gonsalves, who has been repeatedly elected prime minister of the Caribbean island nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines since 2001.