10 Maddest People Ever To Be In Charge Of A Country

Power corrupts. It also seems to drive hopelessly, hysterically insane.

Mad King
New Line

Crazy people ruling an entire country, or even an entire empire, has a long and lamentable history dating back to the beginning of recorded time. Since human beings first gathered together to shelter from the elements it has been the most psychotic, paranoid or sadistic among them that seems to have an advantage in deciding who gets to be in charge.

Every era from the dawn of history to the present day has its share of maniacal despots who should be too wayward to hold down a job serving Slurpees, yet somehow rose to direct the lives of millions.

It could be that the characteristics that we find anti-social or terrifying in everyday life are advantages when it comes to being king, emperor or president. Or maybe the sociopaths in charge started out everyday Joes and were driven to the depths of bonkersness by the deeds required to achieve power. Perhaps acts of egregious insanity are sometimes the only way to retain power once it has been achieved.

Whatever the reasons, a dismayingly large proportion of the Earth's most powerful people have been hopelessly and destructively mad, with horrible consequences for everyone else who had to share the globe with them.

10. Erik XIV Of Sweden Killed People At Random

Mad King
Steven van der Meulen [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Erik XIV was at one point considered a potential suitor for Elizabeth I, so Lizzie dodged a bit of a bullet there. He started out intelligent and artistic but descended into a depth of madness rarely reached in the annals of monarchical insanity.

An early sign of Erik's madness came when he murdered five nobles accused of conspiring against him, mainly because an astrologer had told him they were up to something. Erik stabbed one of them to death in person and ordered everyone else executed, including his personal tutor who tried to calm Erik down.

It only got worse from there. Erik would wander the castle with a sword looking for people to stab, and would kill particularly good-looking courtiers on the grounds they must be trying to seduce the ladies of the court.

A violent, murderous and insatiable psychopath, Erik's rage was such that he was eventually brought to trial and deposed by the nobles who both opposed him politically, and were terrified of him because he wanted to kill them all.

Erik was kept prisoner in a series of castles and almost certainly killed by arsenic poisoning to eliminate any chance he might return to the throne.

 
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Ben Counter is a fantasy and science fiction writer, gaming enthusiast, wrestling fan and miniature painting guru. He was raised on Warhammer, Star Wars and 1980s cartoons that, in retrospect, were't that good. Whoever you are, he is nerdier than you.