Unusual – and Inspiring – Leaders

The name Volodymyr Zelenskyy is now synonymous with courage, determination and leading from the front. In a case of life imitating art, Zelenskyy acted in the television series “Servant of the People,” in which he played the part of a history teacher who was voted president after a video featuring him went viral on social media. The real-life Zelenskyy ran in the 2019 presidential election and won with a landslide 73% of the vote. More recently, his refusal to leave Kiev as the Russian forces advanced – stating to President Biden “I need ammunition, not a ride” – has made him perhaps the most admired contemporary politician in the world.

Vitali Klitschko first made a name for himself as a world heavyweight boxing champion, defending his title on 12 occasions. He turned to politics in 2005 and became the mayor of Kiev in 2014. With the Russian invasion, Klitschko’s stand against Putin has fast made him one of the heroes of the war. Both he and Zelenskyy have almost certainly been targeted for assassination by the Russian regime and yet they have remained in Kiev. Klitschko has placed himself in considerable danger going up to near the front lines to inspect the alleged massacres in the small Kiev satellite city of Bucha.

Kira Rudyk is the 36-year-old leader of the Voice party in Ukraine and member of the Ukrainian parliament. A former software developer, she came to the world’s attention when she published an image of herself holding an AK47 in her home in suburban Kiev. She did this while calling on women to take up arms, admitting, “I have never used a gun in my life.” Rudyk has recently spent most mornings training to use the weapon, and she has laughingly assured a journalist that she is “now better than on day one.” Rudyk has shown the world just how determined and committed are the young politicians of Ukraine.

Sanna Marin, at the age of 34, became the world’s youngest female head of government when she was made Finland’s prime minister in December 2019. Marin started her working life in a bakery but soon joined Finland’s Social Democratic Party. She has spent her time in office focusing on Finland’s social welfare system, equality and climate change. She made international news last year when she apologized for going out clubbing after coming in close contact with a fellow politician after he tested positive for Covid. However, Marin now faces another crisis: Sharing 830 miles of its border with Russia, the non-NATO-aligned Finland has an extremely serious dilemma on its hands.

When Boric, age 36, was sworn in as Chile’s head of state in 2022 he became the youngest serving president in the world. His rise from student protest leader to president has been meteoric. In the winter of 2011, he and fellow students brought the capital of Santiago to a standstill with protests demanding free education for all. A mere two years later he was elected to Chile’s congress. Boric resides in Barrio Yungay, an edgy Santiago neighborhood and a far cry from where the ruling elite have traditionally lived. With his majority-female cabinet, he is determined to make Chile a more equal society.

Before becoming Liberia’s president, George Weah was famous for scoring one of the greatest goals in the history of Italian club soccer. Growing up in the slums of Monrovia, Weah’s talent for soccer was spotted and he spent 14 years playing in Europe. After his illustrious sporting career, he dedicated his life to humanitarian causes. Weah successfully ran for president in the 2018 Liberian election. His presidency has been something of a bumpy road. There have been protests directed at his government due to the economic turmoil he inherited and the disappearance of newly printed cash. At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic Weah recorded a song as part of a UNESCO project to help fight the virus.

Hakainde Hichilema, president of Zambia, was born in a small rural village. He says that he grew up a simple “cattle boy.” However, he won a scholarship and ended up studying finance in Britain. He became CEO of two accounting firms and ran a highly successful cattle farm. After turning to politics, Hichilema was arrested on 15 occasions. In 2016 he was charged with treason when the car he was traveling in failed to give way to the presidential motorcade of then-President Edgar Lungu. He spent four months in a maximum-security jail before charges were dropped. His election to office in 2021 has raised hopes among many opposition leaders in Africa.

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José Mujica was president of Uruguay between 2010 and 2015. He became internationally famous for his austere lifestyle and donating 90% of his monthly salary to charity. Among his much-publicized idiosyncrasies were his 1987 Volkswagen Beetle which he drove to work and his love for his three-legged dog, Manuela. A left-wing rebel during the 1960s and 70s, Mujica was tortured and imprisoned for 14 years by Uruguay’s military regime. He was known then by his nom de guerre ‘Florero’ (the florist) because of his love for growing flowers. Mujica’s left-wing politics became more moderate in his later life. His policies are said to be one of the reasons for the decline in poverty in Uruguay.

Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in a political prison in South Africa for his resistance against the racist apartheid system. Instead of holding a grudge against the people who deprived him of much of his adult life, Mandela, on his release in 1990, preached reconciliation. In what became known in South Africa as ‘Madiba Magic’ (Madiba being his clan name) Mandela convinced some of the most hardened racists that a multiracial society was possible. His presidency from 1994 to 1999 remains the high-water mark in South African history.

Federico da Montefeltro, the Duke of Urbino during the Italian Renaissance, brought justice, education and stability to his small state. He created one of the most comprehensive libraries during the Renaissance and promoted important artists of the period, including Raphael and Piero della Francesca. When asked what was necessary in ruling a kingdom, he answered “to be human.” But despite this, Federico needed his armor close at hand and regularly fought wars to defend the independence of Urbino. He also lost an eye and the bridge of his nose in a jousting tournament.

Who, in your opinion, should be added to this list of unusual and inspiring leaders?

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