Much
has been said about the Uruguayan President Jose Mujica, who donates up
to 90 percent of his $144,000 annual salary to charity. In terms of
actual wages, Mujica’s salary actually compares favorably to that of
other leaders. Here is a list of the top 10 poorest presidents in the
world based on annual salary.
10. Borut Pahor, Slovenia – $44,280
Borut
Pahor of Slovenia became the President of his country in December 2012
after beating the then-incumbent President Danilo Turk in a runoff
election. Pahor comes from the Social Democrats Party and was a member
of the country’s National Assembly for a number of terms. He even served
as chairman of the Assembly from 2000 to 2004. In 2004, he became a
member of the European Parliament. In 2008, he became the Prime Minister
of Slovenia after his party won the parliamentary elections. He was
forced to step down in February 2012 after a loss of confidence because
of an economic crisis. Barely 10 months later, he won the largely
ceremonial presidential post.
9. Federico Franco, Paraguay – $40,000
Federico
Franco became the President of Paraguay in June 2012. He is actually a
surgeon by profession before becoming a member of the Authentic Radical
Liberal Party. In 2008, he was elected as the Vice President as the
running mate of the party’s presidential candidate Fernando Lugo. Lugo
had to step down in the middle of 2012, however, after he was impeached
in the Senate. Franco then took over the top post.
8. Xi Jinping, China – $39,720
Xi
Jinping is the President of the People’s Republic of China, the largest
nation in the world. He is also the General Secretary of the Communist
Party of China and the Chairman of the Central Military Commission. He
is also a member of the Politburo. He used to serve as Governor of
Fujian and Zhejiang before he got promoted to the central leadership in
2007, when he was immediately groomed for the top leadership.
7. Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus – $33,873
Alexander
Lukashenko has been the President of Belarus since July 1994.
Considered as the last dictator of Europe, he has maintained strict
government control over the country’s crucial industries, going against
the trend to privatization set by other former Soviet republics. A
former member of the Soviet Red Army, he was actually the only deputy to
vote against the independence of Belarus from the former Soviet Union.
He has been criticized for his abysmal human rights record.
6. Pranab Kumar Mukherjee, India – $32,216
Pranab
Kumar Mukherjee has been the President of India since July 2012. He has
been with government for over 40 years. He first entered politics as a
member of the Indian Upper House called the Rajya Sabha. He then became
one of the most trusted assistants of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
He served in a number of cabinet positions, as well as a leader in the
parliament. He had a brief falling out with the Congress Party after the
assassination of Gandhi when Indira’s son, Rajiv, took over. The two
later made up and Mukherjee became the party’s top troubleshooter. He
then became Union Finance Minister before getting elected as President.
5. Marin Raykov Nikolov, Bulgaria – $26,929
Marin
Raykov Nikolov has been acting Prime Minister of Bulgaria since March
2013. He took over after the resignation of the previous Prime Minister
Boyko Borisov, who has been accused of corruption, money-laundering,
connection with organized crime, curtailing press freedom, racism and
xenophobia. Low living standards and the high cost of energy led to huge
nationwide protests that forced him out of office. Raykov then took
over as both provisional Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister
after his appointment by Rosen Plevneliev, the President of Bulgaria.
Raykov also once served as the country’s ambassador to France.
4. Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe – $18,000
Robert
Mugabe has been the President of Zimbabwe since December 1987. He was
once seen as a hero after leading guerrilla forces against the
then-white rulers of Rhodesia. He took power in 1980 as Prime Minister
before becoming President in 1987. He has been involved in a number of
controversies, specifically the plunder of neighboring Congo in the
guise of helping the latter’s government. His land reform program has
also been characterized by violence as he seeks to redistribute land
that was inequitably distributed during his country’s time as a colony
of the United Kingdom.
3. Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan – $6,300
Hamid
Karzai has been the President of Afghanistan since December 2001. He
has led the landlocked Central Asian nation since American forces helped
remove the Taliban regime in the aftermath of 9/11. He was first
elected as Chairman of an interim administration by other political
figures of his country during an international conference on Afghanistan
held in Germany. He then became interim President after a vote by the
Grand Assembly in 2002. In 2004, he formally won the office after
winning the popular vote in presidential elections. He was then
re-elected in 2009.
2. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran – $3,000
Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad has been the President of Iran since August 2005. He is the
leader of a coalition of conservative groups in his country called the
Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran. A teacher by profession, he became
active after the Islamic Revolution of 1979 when he joined the Office
for Strengthening Unity. After a stint as a provincial governor, he went
back to teaching, only to return to the limelight after getting elected
as Mayor of Tehran in 2003. He ran as President in 2005 espousing a
hard line and extremely conservative stance, winning the elections by
attaining up to 62 percent of the vote in runoff elections. He survived
domestic protests over his economic policies and international criticism
over his belligerent stance to win a second term in 2009, though the
results were widely disputed.
1. Pope Francis, Vatican – $0
Pope
Francis is Jorge Mario Bergoglio and he assumed the leadership of the
state of Vatican in March 2013 after the resignation of Pope Benedict
XVI. Though the Vatican is the smallest independent state in the world,
the Pope’s influence is much larger because he also serves as the Bishop
of Rome and head of the Roman Catholic Church. He was born in
Argentina, though he is of Italian descent. He is known for his simple
and frugal ways.
more..........http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/nation/the-top-10-poorest-presidents-in-the-world/
No comments:
Post a Comment