History's Greatest Statesmen

[Adam Smith]

Why Deng Xiaoping, and not Zhou Enlai?

Zhou recruited Deng to the CCP, and arranged his succession upon Zhou's death; engineered the KMT-CCP united front ("Chinese should not fight Chinese but a common enemy: the invader"); moderated the worst excesses of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution; participated in the 1954 Geneva conference; negotiated renewed ties with the West; all the while staying one step ahead of Chinese domestic politics, which is no small accomplishment in itself.

Going back a bit farther, how about Li Shimin (Emperor Taizong), who essentially founded the Tang Dynasty?

[Fake Boris]

Originally posted by TheStinger
How exactly was Churchill behind WW2

Oh I forgot he invaded Poland

Congratulations, you have pushed Ned's 'ON' button.

[Fake Boris]

I don't know enough to decide. But I like very much Julius Caesar and Jan de Witt.

[TheStinger]

Originally posted by Oncle Boris


Congratulations, you have pushed Ned's 'ON' button.

I know I know, but he is becomming a Nazi apologist and even if its clever trolloing I think I should comment

[molly bloom]

Caliph al Ma'Mun

Cyrus The Great

Clement Attlee

Cardinal Richelieu

Otto von Bismarck

[Sirotnikov]

What about Anastas Mikoyan? Possibly one of the most under appreciated statesmen of the 20th century.

[Zkribbler]

I'm casting a vote for Otto von Bismarck

His unification of 39 separate principalities and free states into the German Empire, coupled with his humiliating defeats of Austria and France, and his elevation of a Prussian-led Germany to the apex of central European power make him one of the most successful national leaders of all time.

[Cartimandua]

I'd say that Washington did a pretty good job. He was reluctant to be president, which is one of his best qualifications, AND the country begged him to take the job. If I am not mistaken, that's not quite the way elections are being run these days (if it were, perhaps we'd have a better outcome).

Also, I'll vote for Cyrus, who was so popular that when he entered Babylon the city was handed to him on a silver platter by it's own people.

Julius Caesar, 'cause, well... he's Julius Caesar.

Nelson Mandela, whose substantial achievements can speak for themselves.

And let's go nuts... Mikhail Gorbachev!

[OzzyKP]

Originally posted by LordShiva
Chanakya

I got a lot of mileage out of him in the History of the World V diplogame:

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?postid=4345652#post4345652

He was definitely my favorite character I used in the game. I had him do so many sneaky things.

[axi]

Given that Mikoyan got to survive through Lenin, Stalin, Kruschev and Breznev, then kudos to him.

[DAVOUT]

Re: Re: History's Greatest Statesmen

Originally posted by Ned


Churchill? He was one of the folks who behind both WWI and WWII.

Is not that a sufficient reason? No other has been instrumental in causing two World Wars...

[Sir Og]

My vote is for Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Transforming the rotten and badly beaten Ottoman Empire into a modern state is an enormous achievement.

[Zkribbler]

Previously, I've voted for von Metternich and von Bismarck. I'm topping off my 5 votes with:

Cardinal Richlieu -- for bringing Catholic France into the 30 Years War on the side of the Protestants, supplanting religious wars with nationalism.

Anwar Sadat -- for his efforts to bring peace between Egypt and Israel.

Benjamin Franklin - for obtaining the critical support of monarchial France to the cause of American republicanism, and in bankrupting France in the process.

[Asmodean]

Originally posted by Ned
Irving pointed out

http://www.ihr.org/jhr/v07/v07p498_Okeefe.html

Like anybody really listens to Irving....I mean the man is a revisionist for Christs' sake. He believes that the holocaust never happened

Asmodean

[Wycoff]

Here's another vote for Bismarck.