Famous World Leaders

Harry Truman was President of the USA. For exams connect him with the final phase of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War.

Ronald Reagan was President of the USA. For exams connect him with the later phase of the Cold War.

Barack Obama became President of the USA. For exams remember him among famous twenty first century world leaders.

Helmut Kohl was linked with German reunification. For exams connect him with the union of East and West Germany.

Willy Brandt was a prominent German leader and served as Chancellor of West Germany from 1969 to 1974. He is especially known for Ostpolitik, a policy aimed at improving relations with Eastern European countries during the Cold War. He was not a leader of France, so option A is correct. Exam tip: associate Brandt with West Germany and Ostpolitik.

Adenauer was an early major leader of West Germany. For exams connect him with the reconstruction of Germany after World War II.

Queen Elizabeth II was the queen of Britain. For exams connect her with long modern monarchy.

Clement Attlee was Prime Minister of Britain. For exams connect him with British leadership after World War II.

Tony Blair was Prime Minister of Britain. For exams connect him with modern British politics.

Nikita Khrushchev was a leader of the Soviet Union. For exams connect him with the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Leonid Brezhnev was a leader of the Soviet Union. For exams connect him with Soviet politics during the Cold War.

Boris Yeltsin was a leader of Russia and served as the first President of the Russian Federation from 1991 to 1999. He is chiefly associated with Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Ukraine was a former Soviet republic, but Yeltsin was not its leader. Exam tip: link Yeltsin with post-Soviet Russia.

Deng Xiaoping was a major Chinese leader. From the late 1970s, he promoted economic reforms and the open-door policy, which brought major changes to China’s economy. South Korea is a separate country and was not associated with Deng Xiaoping’s leadership. Exam tip: remember Deng Xiaoping with China’s economic reforms.

Chiang Kai shek was associated with Chinese politics. For exams connect him with the Kuomintang and the Chinese Civil War.

Sukarno was an independence leader of Indonesia. For exams connect him with anti colonial movement.

F W de Klerk was a leader of South Africa. For exams connect him with the process of ending apartheid.

Desmond Tutu was an anti apartheid leader of South Africa. For exams connect him with peace and human rights.

Julius Nyerere was a leader of Tanzania. For exams connect him with African independence and nation building.

Patrice Lumumba was an independence leader of Congo. For exams connect him with African anti colonial history.

Haile Selassie was emperor of Ethiopia. For exams connect him with African history and Italy's invasion.