They were the leaders, the rulers of their countries. Yet, they were overthrown as a result of their own horrendous deeds and merciless killings. The recent death of Col. Moammar Gadhafi recalls to mind the ignoble ends of a number of other dictators, who were either toppled or killed by their own people.
Often tagged as bloodthirsty killers, these rulers violated the basic human rights of their countrymen and -women to slake their own thirst for power and fame.
History records the tyranny of these autocrats and dictators who shook the world with their acts of corruption, political repression, and human-rights abuse.
From third-world dictators like Idi Amin to the Nazi tyrant Adolf Hitler, take a look at some of the top autocrats overthrown from power:
Leader of the National Fascist Party in Italy, Benito Mussolini was among the founders of Italian Fascism, which included elements of nationalism, national syndicalism, expansionism, social progress, and anti-socialism. After being defeated, he tried to flee to Switzerland, but was captured by communist partisans who hanged his body upside down in Milan.Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-2007-10Idi Amin: An undated file photo shows Former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Amin, blamed for the murder of tens of thousands of Ugandans in the 1970s, died on August 16, 2003 in a Saudi hospital where he had been critically ill for weeks, a senior medical source said. ["We can confirm that Mr Idi Amin has died from complications due to multiple organ failure," the source at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in the Red Sea city of Jeddah. The Ugandan embassy in the kingdom would not comment on Amin's death, referring all queries to his family. Amin, one of the bloodiest despots in Africa, has been living in exile, chiefly in Saudi Arabia, since being ousted from Uganda in 1979. He was in his late 70sReuters.Uganda's former dictator, Idi Amin, lies in the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Jeddah in this picture taken on Aug. 9, 2003. Amin, blamed for the murder of tens of thousands of his people in the 1970s, died on Saturday in a Saudi hospital where he had been critically ill for weeks. "We can confirm that Mr Idi Amin has died from complications due to multiple organ failure," said a senior source at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in the Red Sea city of Jeddah. Amin's family in Jeddah also declined to comment and it was not immediately clear what would happen to his body. Reuters.Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak reacts during a news conference in Sharm el-Sheikh on Jan. 18, 2009. The leaders of Britain, the Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, Spain, and Turkey, along with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, were meeting in the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to coordinate policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after three weeks of fighting in and around Gaza.ReutersFormer Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak lies on his bed while being taken to the courtroom at the police academy in Cairo September 7, 2011. An Egyptian court trying Mubarak over the killing of protesters who ousted him convened on Wednesday to hear more testimonies after police witnesses suggested this week that neither he nor his interior minister gave orders to shoot.
ReutersAdolf Hitler: Hitler is most commonly associated with the rise of fascism in Europe, World War II, and the Holocaust.Reuters
