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Top 5 Most Influential Leaders of Europe

Top 5 Most Influential Leaders

By MA KhalidPublished about a year ago 4 min read
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Top 5 Most Influential Leaders of Europe

There are several leaders in the history who influenced their people in vast numbers. History itself ranked them appropriately in a great way, while portraying Caligula and Nero in the worst way possible. The silent war between Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama for the place to the top as the most powerful person is now a recent sensation for the modern world. Even technology is no far away while trying to figure out the most influential people in the history.

After a vast research with the help of an algorithm that ranks historical figures by Wikipedia PageRank, readership and the achievements, computer science professor Steven Skiena from Stony Brook University and Google software engineer Charles B. Ward published a book called "Who's Bigger: Where Historical Figures Really Rank". Many different Europeans also established themselves as the most powerful people in history. So here is a list of Europe's top ten most powerful leaders.

1. Napoleon Bonaparte

Emperor of the French, Napoleon Bonaparte, accomplished various liberal reforms across Europe, which include the spreading of religious tolerance and termination of feudalism. Numerous civil law jurisdictions of different countries were directly influenced by his Napoleonic Code and his war campaigns are still studied at military academies throughout the world.

He was a forefather of the French Revolution. And won most of his Napoleonic Wars while seizing control of majority of the continental Europe. He became Emperor of France in 1804 after establishing himself as First Consul through a coup d'état in 1799. At a young age, he embarked on his first Italian campaign, followed by Egyptian expeditions. He was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815, after winning various military expeditions around the world with his massive battalion.

2. Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler, the Nazi Party's founding father, was chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945 before becoming dictator of Nazi Germany in 1934. His role in World War II and the Holocaust will live on in history. After serving his duty as a veteran of World War I, he joined the German Workers' Party in 1919 and became the sole leader of the party in 1921. After he failed in his Beer Hall Putsch, he was sentenced to five years' imprisonment at Landsberg Prison during which he wrote Mein Kampf.

After his release in 1924, during the Great Depression in Germany, he was given a major political opportunity. In 1939, after becoming the sole ruler of Nazi Germany, Hitler declared Britain the main enemy and began preparing for World War II. After a grueling war in World War II, he was finally defeated in 1945 by the Red Army and the Western Allies. You might also be interested in these amazing facts about Adolf Hitler.

3. Joseph Stalin

Leader of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, dictated the concept of “socialism in one country” and replaced the New Economic Policy introduced by Lenin in the early 1920s. While establishing Russia as a major Industrial power, he declared imprisonment of millions of opposing people in correctional labor camps and deported many others to remote areas. Division of influence and territory within Eastern Europe between Führer and Stalin took place after he agreed to sign a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany in August 1939. Germany later violated the pact and started a massive invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941.

After the destructive Battles of Moscow and Stalingrad, Soviet forces under Stalin’s command managed to halt the Nazi incursion but faced heavy territorial and human-power losses. His red army then captured Berlin after defeating the Axis powers on the Eastern Front in 1945. You may also like; 10 Most Cruel Rulers Ever in History.

4. Peter The Great

In the 17th century, the Tsardom of Russia's ruler and Russian Emperor, Peter The Great, replaced many medieval social and political systems with modern and scientific systems based on The Enlightenment. Through a series of successful wars, he expanded Russia's Tsardom into a much larger empire, establishing his territory as the major European power. As part of his reformation, he ordered all courtiers, state officials, and military personnel to shave their beards and wear modern clothing. In September 1698, he established the first Russian Navy base in history in Taganrog.

After his defeat in Battle of Narva, Peter The Great later captured the Swedish province of Livonia. He occupied most of Finland after winning Battle of Gangut in 1714. After Great Northern War, he paid two million Riksdaler and surrendered most of Finland but retained some Finnish lands close to Saint Petersburg. Peter The Great officially became the Emperor of All Russia on 22 October 1721.

5. Benito Mussolini

Benito Mussolini, the leader and founder of the National Fascist Party, served as Prime Minister of Italy from 1922 until his expulsion in 1943. He established a legal dictatorship and abolished all forms of democracy in his country after ruling constitutionally until 1925. Mussolini and his fascist supporters established one-party dictatorship throughout the country through a series of laws and secret police forces, followed by the annihilation of all political opposition.

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