Isayas Afewerki
Eritrea
Age:  61.
In power since 1991.
Last year’s rank:  13

Afewerki led Eritrea to independence after a 30-year war of liberation.  But his real goal was to keep himself in power, which he has successfully done for 16 years, suspending the constitution and canceling elections.  He also forced his people into a useless border war with Ethiopia that caused the death of tens of thousands of soldiers and displaced more than 600,000 Eritreans. No doubt inspired by George W. Bush’s declaration that Iraq, Iran and North Korea were an “Axis of Evil,” Isayas accused his neighbors, Ethiopia, Yemen and Sudan, of being an “Axis of Belligerence.”

Source:parade.com