Everyone who reads history has come across people who were identified by an epithet for some outstanding characteristic good or bad - like “Alfred the Great” or “Ivan the Terrible”.
Who is the most recent statesman to have earned a widespread and identifiable nick of that sort?
Cedric the Entertainer?
What, too soon?
Jesse the Body?
Catherine the Great maybe? She died in 1796.
Found a later one. Ludwig the Mad (aka Ludwig II of Bavaria) died in 1886.
Not exactly a statesman- he never held elected office- but Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in 1948. I presume you don’t feel that “the” is a necessary portion of the epithet.
It doesn’t sound like an epithet to English-speaking ears, but I’d argue for Mahatma Gandhi. His given name in Hindi(?) was “Mohandas”; “Mahatma” means “Great Soul”.
Anyway, that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. 
And I can’t think of anyone more recent than him.
Cheers,
bcg
It would be more accurate to say, “his given name”; Mohandas was his name in any language.
GMTA on “Gandhi” RNATB. But does one have to hold elected office in order to be a statesman? That sounds a bit odd to me.
Cheers,
bcg
Point taken.
Cheers,
bcg
Barring Gandhi, I’d offer Mustafa Kemal “Atatürk”, or Father of the Turks.
What about “Der Fuhrer”?
Or “Il Duce”?
There are efforts to refer to the late Pope John Paul II as John Paul the Great.
Apparently not. I suppose I should have said public office, but he never held one of those either. From the OED:
Or J2P2.
“Tricky” Dick Nixon?
Does Stalin (“Man of Steel”) count ?
What about the Dalai Lama?
King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand is always referred to by a (very long) epithet in written documents: ‘His excellency, the great and majestic Lord, strength of the land, incomparable power, son of Mahidol, Rama the avatar of God Vishnu to become the great ruler, leader of the People who is from the House of Chakri, the Great King of Siam, the Royalty who is the Great Shelter.’ That may not be a great translation but it’s along those lines.
I’m not sure how Thai people refer to him on a day-to-day basis, and here in the west I think we just refer to him as King Bhumibol.
No, seriously? That sounds more like a version number. “Critical Bug Fix: Networking: J2P2v3.exe must be installed or your prayers will not route correctly”