When eccentric Turkmenistani dictator Saparmurat “Turkmenbashi” Niyazov died in 2006, he was succeeded as head of state and head of government by a dentist-cum-politician named Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow.
I was wondering whether this is the first time in history a dentist has assumed a country’s highest political office. Anyone know of any other dentist head honchos?
Rudy Perpich was a Dentist from northern Minnesota, and he served 2 terms as Lt. Governor, and then 3 terms as Governor of Minnesota (the highest executive office in the state). After that, he went to Croatia and served as a consultant to them, when they were setting up a democratic form of government there.
Wikipedia has a list of notable dentists. I see no heads of state.
I would guess, however, that Kim Jong Il was skilled in the practice of dentistry, invented new dental tools, and lectured at dental schools while students listened with rapt attention.
Joaquim José da Silva Xavier almost counts. Dentist was one of several occupations he held while being part of the revolutionary independence movement in Brazil, but he was executed before Brazil became independent.
I suppose a near-miss is also Petar Shapallo, a village dentist who bore an uncanny resemblance to Albanian leader Enver Hoxha. Shapallo was discovered by the government and coerced into working as Hoxha’s double, in which role he supposedly appeared and acted as Hoxha at many public events.
Well, Berdimuhamedow and Perpich are both listed there, so that’s two.
Sadly, there are no reports of his dental exploits on the Korean Central News Agency website. However, there is one report about the dental and medical system in the DPRK generally, which one South Korean defector praised as being “the best socialist health system” with “advanced technology… beyond imagination in south Korea”. I’m sure he knows who’s to thank for that. 