List of cults of personality

The cult of personality is a phenomenon that took place in several countries in the world, when a leader or an authority figure creates an idealized or heroic persona that becomes the center of quasi-worshipful adoration among the general population. The cult of personality production is usually government-driven by totalitarian or authoritarian rulers and it involves control over courts and laws, political opposition, the media, art, and everyday life. It consists of production and co-production components; the co-production component is driven by the population that internalizes and supports the cult of personality.

Below is a list of those who have been described as the centers of personality cults.

Nur Muhammad Taraki of the ruling communist party served as President of Afghanistan from 1978 to 1979, when he told people to refer to him titles such as the "Great Leader".

Long time ruler of communist Albania Enver Hoxha had what the OECD called "an overwhelming cult of personality and an ultra-centralised, authoritarian form of decision-making". Hoxha was widely portrayed as a genius who commented on virtually all facets of life from culture to economics to military matters. Statues were erected in cities. Each schoolbook required quotations from him on the subjects being studied. The ruling party of the time, the Party of Labour of Albania, honored him with titles such as Supreme Comrade, Sole Force and Great Teacher. When Hoxha died in 1985, Ramiz Alia took power. Robert D. McFadden of The New York Times wrote that Alia's policies of liberalization were "too little, too late", and the country descended into violent anarchy. Alia served one year in prison for corruption, but the anarchy prevented further charges from being brought against the former Communist regime.

Juan Domingo Perón, elected three times as President of Argentina, and his second wife, Eva Duarte de Perón, were immensely popular among many of the Argentine people, and to this day they are still considered icons by the leading Justicialist Party. Followers of the Peróns praised their efforts to eliminate poverty and dignify labor, while their detractors considered them demagogues and dictators. To achieve their political goals, the Peronists had to unite around the head of state. As a result, a personality cult developed around both Perón and his wife.

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