Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Turkey's president since 2014 (prime minister since 2003) transformed the country from a secular democracy into an increasingly authoritarian state with Islamist characteristics. After surviving a 2016 coup attempt, Erdogan imprisoned over 150,000 people, gutted the judiciary, and concentrated power in the presidency. He has positioned Turkey as an independent power broker between NATO and Russia while overseeing the imprisonment of more journalists than any other country in the world.