<nitpick>Oman is a sultanate, not an emirate<nitpick>
Look, leaders who move from autocracy toward democracy generally DO NOT LAST VERY LONG afterward. Take Gorbachev, for example; gave an inch, and they took a mile.
In a “powder keg” situation like the one currently existing in the ME, there is something to be said for a gradual and orderly shift in power rather than a revolution.
Besides, Qaboos single-handedly led a country through 1200 years of economic development in about 14 real years. He didn’t (and doesn’t) even have that much oil to do it with. He’s also led the Gulf states in the move to more diversified economies, and Oman has become the industrial powerhouse (such things are, of course, relative) of the Arabian Peninsula.
Yea, that leader is a great person. He/she has done great things, like that one time. People just don’t understand his/her beliefs. Leadership that has been done in that one country over there has been superb, and worthy of note, especially that other year when that stuff happened.
I’d like to nominate pres. Museveni of Uganda. He has led the way in combating AID’s in a country here talking about sex was a taboo and already had a very high infection-rate. He’s been making life better for most Ugandans while fighting two rebel factions, both of whom he’s been appeasing for some time now.
Milan Kucan of Slovenia also deserves special mention for turning his country into a western democracy. Yougoslavia was’nt to bad though to begin with though.
They aren’t the same thing. In fact, I would think in many cases they are mutually exclusive.
Bill Clinton focused his administration on gaining approval ratings. Because of this he was very well liked both at home and abroad. He was very successful at “earning respect”.
However, I don’t think he actually did much to make the world a better place. In order to do that, he would actually have had to cash in some of his popularity to accomplish things. He wasn’t willing.
Looks like there is a tie between the leader of Oman and Qatar. Qatar is doing right now, what Oman was doing since long ago. Also, I may point out, both there countries have excellent religious freedoms. There is a Church in Qatar, and rumors are that a Hindu temple will be built here in a few years. Oman has had both for quite some time. Given that these nations are Islamic states, they dont just pay lip service to ‘freedom of religion’.
Also, I wonder, if Pakistani Prez Parvez Musharraf can be considered. Agreed that he is usurped power, granted himself huge amounts of power, has been a close confidant of the Taliban, but he did manage to drag Pakistan out of the pariah state status that it had after the nuclear tests. Not only that, he has managed to get a “Important Non-NATO Ally” status for Pakistan, a $ 1 bn loan written off, and assured of $3 bn in the next five years, inspite of all the nuclear proliferation accusations, the support to Al Qaeda and Taliban.
He may not have done much for his countrymen, but the decisions that he made will be beneficial for Pakistan in the long run.
A true leader is someone who can accomplish something without a lot of fanfare.
Hat’s off to the leader of Palau, whoever that is. Not only is the country part of the “Coalition of the Willing”, it remains part of the “Coalition of the Invisible.”
(I still can’t find it on the my map.)
Handed a dictatorship, Chiang legalized opposition parties and appointed a Taiwanese successor. Handed an autocracy, Lee made it into a democracy and offered himself up for election. He then brought down the richest political party in the world from the inside. Chen is a human rights activist who ascended to the presidency and was just reelected.