A dictatorship is a form of government, where one person effectively has all the power to run a country. This person is called a dictator. In very few cases, a small group of people holds this power, which is called an oligarchy. A dictatorship that is ruled by soldiers is called a military dictatorship or junta. An absolute monarchy (the system where there are Kings and Queens who have full power over their country) can be considered to be a dictatorship, but the people are usually not called dictators.

Photos of Adolf Hitler, Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin, Kim Il-Sung, and Benito Mussolini, all of whom were dictators in their respective countries