Family dictatorship

A family dictatorship is different from an absolute monarchy, and the ruler does not usually base his or her authority on the concept of divine right. In the latter, the transition of power within a family is required by general law as part of the state's constitutional arrangement, and continues to apply to all successions in the regime. In the former, this arrangement is not required by general law. In some cases, a special law might be enacted to formally nominate one particular family member of the present leader as the successor. In other cases, the law of the state may even formally provide for elections, but control exerted by the leader on the political and electoral process ensures a hereditary succession. Furthermore, whether each succession succeeds depends on the level of authority and control of the leader. As a result, modern family dictatorships often transition into a non-familial (non-personalistic) regime after a small number of successions: usually just one, and rarely more than two.

A family dictatorship is also different from other political families. In the latter, informal power and influence accrued to the family enables the family to continue to hold political power, often through open and contested elections. In the former, the family uses either formal legal or political power or control to ensure a familial succession, and usually via a controlled or uncontested election, or no election at all.

Because a family dictatorship exerts significant control on its succession, a successor is often determined well in advance. However, because it often lacks a formal general law basis for the succession, there are often long periods of uncertainty as to the identity of the successor. As often happens in other types of totalitarian regimes which plan their own succession, after a successor is determined or short-listed, they often go through a significant period of "grooming", in which the successor gains the experiences and qualifications aimed to make him or her attain the authority necessary to lead the regime.

Dates in parentheses denote the period of rule.

Asia

Kim Jong-Un, supreme leader of North Korea and member of the three-generation Kim dynasty is a prominent example of family dictatorship.

• Azerbaijan: Heydar Aliyev (President, 1993–2003); succeeded by his son Ilham Aliyev (2003–present).

The Al-Assad family has ruled Syria since 1971.

• Republic of China (Taiwan): Chiang Kai-shek (1928–1975) succeeded by his son Chiang Ching-kuo (1975–1988)[lower-alpha 1]
•  North Korea: Kim Il-sung (1948–1994), succeeded by his son Kim Jong-il (1994–2011), succeeded by his son Kim Jong-un (2011–present). Kim Jong-il did not officially take office until 1997, when his father was posthumously given the position of Eternal President. On 2 June 2009, it was reported that Kim Jong-il's youngest son, Kim Jong-un, was to be North Korea's next leader.[2] Like his father and grandfather, he was given an official sobriquet, The Great Successor and The Brilliant Comrade.[3] It was reported that Kim Jong-il was expected to officially designate the son as his successor in 2012,[4] but Kim Jong-il died in 2011 and Kim Jong-un was nevertheless announced as his successor.[5] The 2013 edition of the "Ten Fundamental Principles of the Korean Workers' Party" – Article 10, Clause 2 – states that the Party and Revolution must be carried "eternally" by the "Baekdu (Kim's) bloodline".[6] See also Kim Dynasty.
• Iraq: Abdul Salam Arif (President, 1963–1966); succeeded by his brother Abdul Rahman Arif (1966–1968).
• Syria: Hafez al-Assad (1971–2000), succeeded by his son Bashar al-Assad (2000–present). Bashar's elder brother, Basil al-Assad, had been designated for the presidency but died in 1994, six years prior to his father's death. See also Al-Assad family.

• Hungary: Miklos Horthy (1920-1944) designated his son Istvan Horthy to succeed him as regent until Istvan was killed by accident in 1942.
• Argentina: Juan Perón (President, 1946-1955) wanted his wife, Eva Perón to succeed him until her death in 1952
• China: After the death of Mao Zedong (1949–1976) his wife Jiang Qing planned a bloodless coup with the Gang of Four.
•  South Vietnam: Ngô Đình Diệm (Prime Minister, 1954–1955; President, 1955–1963) intended to hand power to his brother, Ngô Đình Nhu until both were arrested and assassinated during the 1963 coup.
• Philippines: Ferdinand Marcos (1965–1986) intended his wife Imelda Marcos to be his successor but was ousted through the People Power Revolution.[7]
•  Indonesia: Suharto (President, 1967–1998) intended to hand power to his daughter, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana or his son, Tommy Suharto to be his successor but the succession never happened as he resigned after the violent protest in 1998 that spread countrywide. He was later replaced by his vice-president B. J. Habibie[8][9]
•  Romania: Elena Ceaușescu, wife of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu (President of the State Council, 1967–1989; President, 1974–1989), was intended to succeed her husband until they were executed during the 1989 Romanian Revolution.[10] Also, they were preparing their son, Nicu Ceausescu to succeed them.
• Libya: It was speculated that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the second son of then-leader Muammar Gaddafi (Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution, 1969–2011) was going to succeed Gaddafi as leader, but Muammar was overthrown and Saif al-Islam stated that "this is not a farm to inherit".[11] Muammar Gaddafi's fourth son Mutassim Gaddafi was considered Saif al-Islam's strongest competitor in the question of succeeding their father.[12]
• Bangladesh: Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first President of Bangladesh (1971–1975), expected his son Sheikh Kamal to succeed him. Both were assassinated in 1975.
• Yemen: In 2004, Ali Abdullah Saleh (President of North Yemen then President of unified Yemen, 1978–2012) appointed his son, Ahmed Saleh, as commander of the Yemeni Republican Guard – a move interpreted by analysts as designating a family succession. Amid the Yemeni Revolution in 2012 and shortly after being elected president, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi dissolved the Republican Guard, effectively removing Ahmed Saleh from any meaningful power.
• Iraq: Saddam Hussein (de facto 1979–2003) designated his elder son Uday Hussein to succeed him as dictator, then changed the succession to his younger son Qusay Hussein after Uday suffered a severe injury in 1996. The U.S. invasion of Iraq and the death of both his sons, followed by Saddam's trial and subsequent execution made a successor irrelevant. See also Saddam's family.
•  Angola: In 2010, José Eduardo dos Santos (President, 1979–2017) appointed his cousin Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos as Vice-President of Angola which opened speculation about a succession. However, in 2012, the ruling People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola announced President dos Santos' candidacy for re-election instead, because he had no intention to retire until 2017, when João Lourenço was chosen to succeed him instead.[13]
• Zimbabwe: Robert Mugabe (Prime Minister then President, 1980–2017) wanted his wife Grace to succeed him,[14][15][16] but this was prevented by a military coup.
• Malaysia: Mahathir Mohamad (Prime Minister, 1981–2003; 2018–2020) once told the high court that he would have made his son, Mukhriz Mahathir, head of government long ago, but this never happened as Mahathir chose Anwar Ibrahim as his successor later.[17]
• Egypt: Hosni Mubarak (President, 1981–2011) groomed his son Gamal Mubarak to become his successor, but was ousted in the 2011 Egyptian revolution.[18]
• Tunisia: It was speculated that either Leïla Ben Ali, the wife of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (President of Tunisia, 1987–2011),[19][20][21][22] or their youngest son Mohamed Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali[23][24][20] were going to succeed Ben Ali, until the Ben Ali family fled into exile amid the 2011 Tunisian Revolution.
• Kazakhstan: Analysts believed long-time leader Nursultan Nazarbayev (President, 1991–2019) had been preparing his daughter Dariga Nazarbayeva to succeed him. Despite a strained relationship during 2013;[25] in September 2016, Dariga was appointed to the Senate – she was designated as head of the Senate's International Affairs, Defense, and Security Committee.[26] On 19 March 2019, Nazarbayev resigned as president and was succeeded by Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev. Following Nursultan's resignation, Dariga was elected Chairwoman of the Senate leading some analysts to believe she would run for president in the scheduled 2020 election.[27][28] Dariga chose to not run in the snap June 2019 presidential election.
• Myanmar: There are some sources that stated Nay Shwe Thway Aung, the favourite grandson of former military leader Than Shwe (Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, 1992-2011) was given military high rank despite never actually served in the military. The move created speculation that Nay Shwe Thway Aung was the next in line to succeed his grandfather rule. However the succession never happened as Myanmar was returned to democracy in 2011.[29][30][31][32]
• Venezuela: It was speculated that Adán Chávez, the brother of then-leader Hugo Chávez (President, 1999–2013) was going to succeed Chávez as president, but this never happened. There was also speculation that one of Hugo Chávez's daughters, Maria Gabriela or Rosa Virginia, would succeed him.[33]

•  Azerbaijan: The Vice President and First Lady of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva is widely considered to be in line to succeed her husband Ilham Aliyev as President of Azerbaijan. Analysts also believe that their daughters Leyla and Arzu are also being prepared as their father's or their mother's successors.[34] On 21 February 2017 Mehriban Aliyeva was appointed Vice President of Azerbaijan, an office that was created through a constitutional referendum in 2016.[35]
• Bangladesh: Sajeeb Wazed is widely regarded as the frontrunner to succeed his mother Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Even commentators who doubt his succession presume that a member of the Sheikh-Wazed family will take her place.[36][37][38]
•  Belarus: It is rumored that President Alexander Lukashenko has been preparing to have his young son Nikolai succeed him.[39] Observers have noted how Lukashenko often brings his son on official engagements.[40] On some occasions Nikolai is given a chair with the other heads of state, in sharp contrast with, for instance, the children of the then-President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov also present in the conference room.
•  Cambodia: The Cambodian prime minister, Hun Sen, has appointed his eldest son, Hun Manet, to a higher military command to prepare him for the premiership.[41]
•  Equatorial Guinea: On 3 August 1979, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo seized power from his uncle[42] Francisco Macías Nguema. It is rumored that his son, the First Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, is his favorite to succeed him[43] (see also 2011 Equatorial Guinean constitutional referendum). However, it is suspected that a power struggle between the younger Teodoro and his uncle Armengol Ondo Nguema might occur after President Obiang's death.
•  Iran: According to Iranian Journalist Momahad Ahwaze report, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is going to hand power to his son Sayyid Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, which said to be his favourite pick to be his successor due to his declining health.[44]
•  Nicaragua: On 10 January 2017, Rosario Murillo, wife of Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega, was appointed as vice president of Nicaragua, which raised speculation that Murillo will succeed Ortega as president later.[45]
•  North Korea: The sister of the Chairman of the WPK Kim Jong-un, Kim Yo-jong, had been removed from the Politburo, but became vice-member in April 2020, further fueling speculation about a possible successor. It is rumored that she takes over state business if he cannot run it for health reasons.[46][47] His daughter Kim Ju-ae as a formal successor as a puppet is also speculated in the event of his death.[48] Other candidates are said to be his brother Kim Jong-chul, his half-uncle Kim Pyong-il, and his wife Ri Sol-ju.[49][50]
•  Russia: In July 2020, the great-nephew of President Vladimir Putin, Roman Putin, led the "People against Corruption" party.[51] Some media believe that this is preparation for the transfer of the presidency from uncle to nephew.[52]
•  Tajikistan: On 3 April 2017, Rustam Emomali, the son of President Emomali Rahmon, was elected to the city legislature of the capital and largest city, Dushanbe. This made Rahmon's earlier appointment of Rustam Emomali as Mayor of Dushanbe legal. President Rahmon has other "close relatives" in "high official positions" in Tajikistan.[53][54] For example, Ozoda Rahmon, one of President Rahmon's daughters, is both her father's chief of the presidential staff and a member of the National Assembly, the upper house of the Tajik parliament.[55]
•  Turkey: Some observers believe that especially since the shock of the 2016 coup attempt, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan tends to trust his own family more than his party or senior bureaucrats.[56][57] A potential successor could be his son-in-law Berat Albayrak, who holds the influential post of finance minister and a seat on the Supreme Military Council.[58][59][60]
•  Turkmenistan: On 22 March 2017, the son of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, Assembly member[61] Serdar Berdimuhamedow, was appointed to chair the parliament's legal affairs committee – a move interpreted to be bringing Serdar closer to succeeding Gurbanguly.[62] On 2 January 2019, Serdar was appointed by his father, President Gurbanguly, as Deputy Governor of the Ahal region.[63] Serdar was elevated to Governor of the Ahal region on 17 June 2019.[64]
•  Uganda: Critics believe long-time president Yoweri Museveni has been preparing his son Muhoozi Kainerugaba to succeed him. The President's son was commander of Uganda's military elite Special Forces Group until January 2017 when the President appointed him Senior Adviser to the President for Special Operations, plus since 1998 Muhoozi has gone from the rank of Major to Lieutenant General in quick succession. All of this is leading the succession rumours to swell even more.
•  Venezuela: There is a rumor that Nicolás Maduro Guerra, the son of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, is being prepared to succeed his father as Maduro Guerra was named in 2017 as the director of a newly created position, the Director General of Delegations and Presidential Instructions of the Vice President; the creation of which is believed to establish a line of succession.[65]

• List of political families
• Conjugal dictatorship
• Nepotism
• Self-proclaimed monarchy

• Dynasties of the ex-USSR