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Elected leaders from ethnic minorities
So here's a question that's been nagging at me: How many nations have elected a member of that nation's ethnic minority to be president / prime minister / fearless leader?
There were about 46 female leaders elected in the 20th century. But how many members of a minority ethnic group? I honestly don't know - I don't know Asian or African politics well enough to say - but I've been wondering about it for some time.
I asked my boyfriend this question and he stared at me for a moment before shouting "Stalin!" I was puzzled, and he explained that Stalin was Georgian. "I said elected leaders..."
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Comments (3)
Most South African leaders.
Iraq under Saddam Hussein
Yugoslavia (before the breakup)
UK with Gordon Bro... oh, sorry, not elected.
Bolivia's Evo Morales
Those are the ones I just thought of.... I'm sure there are plenty more.
March 5, 2008 6:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Most South African leaders.
Iraq under Saddam Hussein
Yugoslavia (before the breakup)
UK with Gordon Bro... oh, sorry, not elected.
Bolivia's Evo Morales
Those are the ones I just thought of.... I'm sure there are plenty more.
March 5, 2008 6:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
I thought of Evo Morales too, but I checked - 55% of Bolivians are indigenous. So it depends on whether his specific group counts as a minority? And would that make every previous president a minority candidate?
Oh, there was the president of peru... I forget his name.
I guess it's complicated since ethnic/racial identity can take on so many different levels of intensity. And colonization throws a wrench in things. So let's say, post-colonial and post-Apartheid, for the sake of argument.
To me, though, it was like thinking of an Algerian elected president of France, or someone of caribbean or indian descent being part of leadership in Britain. Which just seems more unthinkable to me than a woman leader. Anyway.
March 5, 2008 8:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
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