# Has there ever been a Protestant dictator? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 16, 2013, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-protestant-dictator/653073 "2013-03-16T03:56:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-protestant-dictator/653073/1 "2013-03-16T03:56:17Z")
The only one I can think of is Quisling, and he’s a very borderline example since he was a short-lived puppet figure. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-protestant-dictator/653073/2 "2013-03-16T04:01:02Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > The only one I can think of is Quisling, and he’s a very borderline example since he was a short-lived puppet figure. Cromwell is the first name to leap to my mind, though I know that there’s a lot of debate about his actions. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-protestant-dictator/653073/3 "2013-03-16T04:03:39Z")
Depends how you define dictator. Henry VIII could qualify by some definitions, and some others after him. ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-protestant-dictator/653073/4 "2013-03-16T04:12:25Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Cromwell is the first name to leap to my mind, though I know that there’s a lot of debate about his actions. Hmm… he was certainly nasty to both the Catholic Church and the monarchy and has a very complicated reputation, but I am not sure he qualifies as a dictator for the key fact that that he supported the Parliamentary system against those other powers. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-protestant-dictator/653073/5 "2013-03-16T04:26:44Z")
Arguably and temporarily Abraham Lincoln. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-protestant-dictator/653073/6 "2013-03-16T04:46:14Z")
How about someone we don’t have to preface with “arguably” or “by some definitions?” ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-protestant-dictator/653073/7 "2013-03-16T04:51:45Z")
Hitler was raised Catholic but became Protestant (Deutsche Christen) [François Bozizé](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Boziz%C3%A9), Pentecostal [Daniel arap Moi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_arap_Moi), Christian [Kārlis Ulmanis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C4%81rlis_Ulmanis), Lutheran ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-protestant-dictator/653073/8 "2013-03-16T04:53:29Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Arguably and temporarily Abraham Lincoln. Yeah, remember when he disbanded Congress and the Supreme Court and didn’t allow a vote for a second term? :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-protestant-dictator/653073/9 "2013-03-16T04:57:08Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Depends how you define dictator. Henry VIII could qualify by some definitions, and some others after him. Yeah… there aren’t many “Protestant countries” and the ones there are flirted with monarchy, a form of dictatorship, moreso than traditional coup/military dictatorships. So, basically, any Protestant King/Queen that wasn’t constrained by a significantly powerful Parliament or some other governing body would qualify for the OP. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-protestant-dictator/653073/10 "2013-03-16T05:04:19Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > How about someone we don’t have to preface with “arguably” or “by some definitions?” Ok fine. Henry VIII was the first Protestant dictator. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-protestant-dictator/653073/11 "2013-03-16T05:17:53Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > Hmm… he was certainly nasty to both the Catholic Church and the monarchy and has a very complicated reputation, but I am not sure he qualifies as a dictator for the key fact that that he supported the Parliamentary system against those other powers. Until he didn’t support it any longer. As far as Henry 8 goes, he was a monarch under a monarchical system. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-protestant-dictator/653073/12 "2013-03-16T05:20:16Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Depends how you define dictator. Henry VIII could qualify by some definitions, and some others after him. Henry VIII wasn’t really a Protestant; he was a Catholic who fell out of communion with Rome (or in his view Rome fell out of communion with him). ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-protestant-dictator/653073/13 "2013-03-16T05:22:25Z")
[Efraín Ríos Montt](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efra%C3%ADn_R%C3%ADos_Montt) of Guatemala. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-protestant-dictator/653073/14 "2013-03-16T05:25:56Z")
Yeah, basically Cromwell told the parliament to get lost. I’m sure any number of dictators in Africa qualify, depending on what they claimed. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-protestant-dictator/653073/15 "2013-03-16T05:28:22Z")
Chaing Kai-shek ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-protestant-dictator/653073/16 "2013-03-16T05:41:47Z")
> [@moriah](#): > > Yeah, remember when he disbanded Congress and the Supreme Court and didn’t allow a vote for a second term? > > :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: Or when he suspended habeus corpus and ignored the Supreme Court. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-protestant-dictator/653073/17 "2013-03-16T05:56:23Z")
Samuel Doe of Liberia was a Baptist. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-protestant-dictator/653073/18 "2013-03-16T06:12:36Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Henry VIII was the first Protestant dictator. A hereditary monarch isn’t usually considered a dictator (even if absolute), and as has been said Henry VIII wasn’t really Protestant. So the best you can do is “by some definitions,” and not widely accepted ones at that. [Miklos Horthy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikl%C3%B3s_Horthy) of Hungary was Calvinist. [Desi Bouterse](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A9si_Bouterse) of Suriname is Pentecostal. [Valentine Strasser](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine_Strasser) of Sierra Leone and [Charles Taylor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Taylor_(Liberian_politician))of Liberia are listed only as “Christian.” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-protestant-dictator/653073/19 "2013-03-16T06:15:41Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Or when he suspended habeus corpus and ignored the Supreme Court. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: That doesn’t make him a dictator. Lincoln was neither an absolute ruler, nor did he come to power through non-constitutional means. Your suggestion is an absurd stretch. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-protestant-dictator/653073/20 "2013-03-16T06:22:39Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > That doesn’t make him a dictator. Lincoln was neither an absolute ruler, nor did he come to power through non-constitutional means. Your suggestion is an absurd stretch. But he ruled through occasionally non constitutional means; to suggest he slipped into the role of dictator from time to time is anything but a stretch. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-protestant-dictator/653073.md?page=2)