The MegaMilitary Project | Online Edition #551

Politician - Biographies

Politicians that have left a major impact on the outcome of wars and stood out for sometimes questionable decisions

Politicians had a major role not only in the outcome of a war but also that a war happened in the first place. It is interesting to see how many politicians started with a military career and at a later stage took on different assignments as holder of an elected office.

We can assume that their previous experiences as soldiers have influenced decision making while in political power. Most times, it has been difficult for us to classify them into one particular segment, as they left an impact on global development in either function.

9 results - showing 1 - 9

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill

Politicians Biographies
Winston Churchill was the son of Lord Randolph Churchill, descended from the First Duke of Marlborough and Jennie Jerome (an American). Young Churchill did not take well to schooling (at Harrow) and rejected the university education that befitted his aristocratic station. Instead, he enrolled at Sandhurst (the "British West Point") graduating in 1894 and receiving a commission in the Fourth Hussars.

Édouard Daladier

Politicians Biographies
Born in Carpentras and educated at the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris and the Collège-lycée Ampère, Edouard Daladier became known as a French Radical Socialist politician and protégé of radical leader Edouard Herriot. Daladier entered politics in 1919. Three times Premier, in 1933, 1934 and, his longest tenure, 1938-40, the misnamed "Bull of Vaucluse" was also Minister of War between 1936 and 1940 and thus bore the greatest political responsibility for France's defense preparations.
The saga of Rudolf Hess is strange indeed. A devoted follower of Hitler from the very beginning, Hess had a tremendous future in the Nazi Party. In 1941 he threw it all away by flying to Scotland in a cockeyed attempt to work out an unauthorized peace treaty. The stunt landed him in prison for the rest of his life.
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg, a German Generalfeldmarschall (general field marshal) during WW I and the German president during the Weimar Republic, was born on October 2, 1847 in Posen, Prussia (present-day Poznan, Poland), into an aristocratic family tracing back to the era of the Teutonic Knights.

Emperor Hirohito of Japan

Politicians Biographies
Emperor Hirohito (born in 1901) reigned as emperor of Japan from 1926 until his death in 1989. Revered as divine by his people, he had little to do with the actual governing of his country, his authority stifled by pomp and pageantry. During World War II, he held the title of commander-in-chief of the armed forces, though almost all military affairs were handled by others.

Madame Chiang Kai-shek - Soong Mei-ling

Politicians Biographies
Soong Mei-ling was the first and the most famous woman of her day to break through the barriers of traditionally male-dominated Chinese society. By using extraordinary intelligence and eloquence to charm the members of the United States Congress into giving financial support and armaments to her country, she was an important part of the reason influential Americans supported China during World War II.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Politicians Biographies
During his unprecedented twelve years in office, Franklin D. Roosevelt faced national and international problems whose severity had not been seen since the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln. It's a testament to his skill as a leader and a politician that he could successfully guide the nation through these troubling times.

President Harry S. Truman

Politicians Biographies
Truman had served as vice president under Franklin D. Roosevelt for less than three months when Roosevelt's death thrust Truman into the White House. His administration would be rife with controversy, but the stalwart Missourian never backed away from the rigors of high office, and he assumed responsibility for all the decisions made by his administration. A small plaque on his desk confirmed Truman's conviction: "The buck stops here."
Mao Zedong, the founding father of the People’s Republic of China and leader of the Chinese Communist Party, was born on December 26, 1893 in Shaoshan, Hunan Province, China into a wealthy farmer’s family. His truly drastic policies decisively shaped China during the twentieth century.
9 results - showing 1 - 9

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