The Problem with Long-Term Leaders

 

Many countries place limits on the amount of time a leader can serve in office.

The need to change leaders after a limited number of terms in office is written into the laws of a number of countries.

This is often because many people believe that leaders with too much power for too long become corrupt¹. Limiting a person’s time in office is seen by many as a way to improve governance.

Some leaders, however, do not agree. There are leaders who go so far as to change their country’s constitution to remain in power.

A wealthy Sudanese businessman, Mohamed Ibrahim, thought of a way to influence leaders to willingly give up power. He promised a reward of $5 million for any African leader who led his country well and who observed term limits in the interest of democracy.

Since 2007, only four presidents have received what is known as the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership.

A number of leaders of African countries have been in power for generations.

Paul Biya of Cameroon is the longest-serving leader in the world. His 42 years as either prime minister or president have been marked with election fraud and human rights abuses.

Biya spends a lot of time in Switzerland at the Hotel InterContinental in Geneva. He has been criticized as one of the world’s worst dictators. He also convinced the National Assembly to change the Constitution to remove term limits.

The BBC reported in 2012 that Biya spent a vacation in France three years earlier in which he spent $40,000 a day on 43 hotel rooms.

Teodoro Obiang Nguema became the president of Equatorial Guinea in 1979, after deposing² his uncle. At every election, with or without an opponent, Obiang wins over 90 percent of the vote. Last year, he appointed his son, Teodorin Obiang, as the vice³ president.

In February 2012, French police raided a mansion⁴ in Paris belonging to Obiang and they discovered luxury goods inside worth millions of dollars. In July 2012, the French issued an arrest warrant for Obiang. Police seized the mansion, and Obiang was found guilty of money laundering⁵, although he was not present for the trial.

Long-serving leaders are not only in Africa, however.

Nursultan Nazarbayev has been the president of Kazakhstan for 33 years. In May 2007, the Parliament of Kazakhstan approved a constitutional amendment⁶. The law permits Nazarbayev to seek re-election as many times as he wishes.

This amendment applies only to Nazarbayev. It states that the first president will have no limits on how many times he can run for office.

Subsequent presidents, however, will be limited to a five-year term. Opposition⁷ members often claim he has hidden more than $1 billion in a Swiss bank.

Kim Il-sung was the leader of North Korea from 1948 until 1994, serving as either a prime minister or president. He passed power to his son, Kim Jong-il and then to his grandson, Kim Jong Un.

These three generations are considered responsible for creating a “cult⁸ of personality” in the country. However, North Korea’s economy has declined in the last 50 years. United Nations experts on North Korea say this economic weakness led to a four-year famine in the mid-1990s that caused the deaths of up to 3 million people.

Leaders who serve without limits are often called dictators. They often attack opposition members.

Another result of having an unlimited⁹ leader is that often economic and technological¹⁰ development slows. For this reason, many western democracies have put limitations on their leaders, including the United States.

America’s 32nd president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, was elected to four presidential terms, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. After the death of the only American president to serve more than two terms, the U.S. Congress approved the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution. The amendment says “no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

depose¹¹ - v. to remove (someone) from a powerful position

mansion - n. a large and impressive house : the large house of a wealthy person

luxury - n. a condition or situation of great comfort, ease, and wealth

money-laundering - v. to make money acquired through corruption¹² appear to be honest

subsequent - adj. happening or coming after something else

cult –n. a situation in which people admire and care about something or someone very much or too much

1 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

2 deposing   

v.罢免( depose的现在分词 )；（在法庭上）宣誓作证

参考例句：

• Russia's offensive could be aimed at threatening Mr Lukashenka rather than deposing him. 俄罗斯的进攻其目的不在于废黜他的政权，而在于威慑他。 来自互联网
• Jon Arne Riise has stepped back in there, with Arbeloa deposing Finnan on the opposite side. 约翰．阿尔内．里瑟补上了这个位置，还有艾比路亚在另一边取代了芬南。 来自互联网

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

5 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

9 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

10 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

11 depose   

vt.免职；宣誓作证

参考例句：

• The witness is going to depose.证人即将宣誓做证。
• The emperor attempted to depose the Pope.皇帝企图废黜教皇。

12 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。