A family dictatorship is a form of dictatorship that operates much like an absolute monarchy, yet occurs in a nominally republican state and is not part of its laws.

When the dictator of a family dictatorship dies, one of his relatives (usually his son) becomes the new ruler of the country. This transition often occurs after years of "grooming" the dictator's successor as heir apparent.

Successful transitions of power

• Nicaragua: Anastasio Somoza García (1937-1947, 1950-1956) succeeded by his son Luis Somoza Debayle (1956-1963). There was also a third Somoza president, Anastasio Somoza Debayle (1967-1972, 1974-1979), though he did not directly succeed the other two.
• Haiti: François Duvalier (1957-1971) succeeded by his son Jean-Claude Duvalier (1971-1986)
• Republic of China (from 1949 on Taiwan): Chiang Kai-shek (1928-1975) indirectly succeeded by his son Chiang Ching-kuo (1975-1988)
• North Korea: Kim Il Sung (1948-1994) succeeded by his son Kim Jong Il (1994- )
• Syria: Hafez al-Assad (1971-2000) succeeded by his son Bashar al-Assad (2000- )
• Congo-Kinshasa: Laurent Kabila (1997-2001), succeeded by his son Joseph Kabila (2001-)
• Azerbaijan: Heydar Aliyev (1993-2003) succeeded by his son Ilham Aliyev (2003- )
• Singapore: Lee Kuan Yew (Prime Minister 1959-1990, Senior Minister 1990-2004, Minister Mentor 2004-), indirectly succeeded by his son Lee Hsien Loong (2004-)

Successful but short-lived successions of power

• England: Oliver Cromwell (1653-1658) succeeded by his son Richard Cromwell (1658-1659)

Unsuccessful transitions of power

• Romania: Nicolae Ceausescu's heir apparent was his son Nicu Ceausescu.
• Iraq: Saddam Hussein's heir apparent was his son Qusay Hussein.

Recent transitions of power

• Togo: Faure Gnassingbé succeeded his father Gnassingbé Eyadéma as President on February 5, 2005. However, under international pressure, Faure had to resign on February 25, 2005.

Prospective family dictatorships

• Egypt: Aging Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak introduced his son Gamal Mubarak into the leadership of the National Democratic Party. Succession is highly probable.
• Cuba: Fidel Castro's vice-president is his brother, Raúl Castro. He will presumably succeed to office once the elder Castro dies.
• Libya: Muammar al-Qaddafi rumoured to be considering transferring power to one of his three eldest sons (Muhammad Qaddafi , Al-Saadi Qaddafi , or Saif al-Islam Qaddafi), or to his daughter, Ayesha Qaddafi.
• North Korea: Kim Jong Il rumoured to transfer power to his son Kim Jong-nam or his son Kim Jong-chul.
• Maldives: Maumoon Abdul Gayoom likely to transfer power to his daughter Dunya Maumoon or Brother Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom .

See also: List of Political Families

External link

• Dynasties of the ex-USSR