Dead Despot of the Week

Congratulations to Saparmyrat Niyazov, you are the "Swamp Wisdom's Dead Despot of the Week." As the first official winner, you are the the yardstick by which all other X-presidents for life will be judged. This award was inspired by the lifeless corpse of Augusto Pinochet. So Saparmyrat Niyazov, you deceased douchebag, this is your life. Enjoy the award in hell. Lets hope we can award this every week.

"The death by heart failure of Saparmyrat Niyazov, after more than 20 years in power, was announced on 21 December 2006. The late leader styled himself Turkmenbashi, or Father of the Turkmen. A cult of personality is everywhere in evidence. Turkmens are expected to take spiritual guidance from his book, Ruhnama, a collection of thoughts on Turkmen culture and history.
Born in 1940, he became Turkmen Communist Party chief in 1985. In 1991 he was elected the first president of independent Turkmenistan, and in 1999 the Mejlis - the supreme legislative body - made him president-for-life.
The president sought to influence even mundane aspects of people's lives. When he quit smoking after major heart surgery in 1997, he ordered all his ministers to do likewise and banned smoking in public places. He later declared a ban on young men wearing beards and long hair. He also banned opera and ballet and the playing of recorded music on television and at public events and weddings.
Mr Niyazov was intolerant of criticism and in effect there was no domestic opposition under his rule. "