Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
President Nguema started his reign of power early in his political career as the leader of the Black Beach Prison – a facility known for ruthlessly torturing inmates.
Nguema then overthrew his own uncle, Francisco Macías Nguema in a 1979 military coup. Nguema then became President of Equatorial Guinea and has held the position till this day. He has earned the title of the second longest-serving non-royal national leader in the world.
A self-proclaimed “God,” Nguema has been accused of abusing his power by imposing government directed kidnappings, subjective arrest, impunity and has been proven to be involved in embezzlement and corruption by the United States Department of Justice.
Strategically, Nguema has maintained a “dominant-party state” which ensures a specific political party – Nguema’s Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE) stays in power for an indefinite amount of time.