Passion or Profession: President

Period: 1944–

Museveni’s rise to power has been filled with conflict and warfare. He first began working with the Ugandan government in 1970. But when the president for whom he worked was overthrown, Museveni went to Tanzania and began plotting a comeback. After organizing a guerilla force and attempting several coups, he came to power as president in 1986. Despite his one-party government and strict controls, he has fairly wide support both inside his country and from Western governments because of the stability he has brought to Uganda.