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Tyrant
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"Tyranny" redirects here. For other uses, see Tyranny (disambiguation).
This article is about a political ruler. For other uses, see Tyrant (disambiguation).
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A tyrant (Greek τύραννος, tyrannos), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler unrestrained by law or person, or one who has usurped legitimate sovereignty. Often described as a cruel character, a tyrant defends his position by oppressive means, tending to control almost everything in the state.[1][2] The original Greek term, however, merely meant an authoritarian sovereign without reference to character,[3] bearing no pejorative connotation during the Archaic and early Classical periods. However, it was clearly a negative word to Plato, a Greek philosopher, and on account of the decisive influence of philosophy on politics, its negative connotations only increased, continuing into the Hellenistic period.
Plato and Aristotle define a tyrant as a person who rules without law, using extreme and cruel methods against both his own people and others.[4] It is defined further in the Encyclopédie as a usurper of sovereign power who makes his subjects the victims of his passions and unjust desires, which he substitutes for laws.[5] During the seventh and sixth centuries BC, tyranny was often looked upon as an intermediate stage between narrow oligarchy and more democratic forms of polity. However, in the late fifth and fourth centuries BC, a new kind of tyrant, the military dictator, arose, specifically in Sicily.
Tyranny includes a variety of oppressive types of government – by a tyrant (autocracy), by a minority (oligarchy, tyranny of the minority) or by a majority (democracy, tyranny of the majority). The definition is extended to other oppressive leadership and to oppressive policies. For example, a teacher may find the school administration, the textbook or standardized tests to be oppressive, considering each to represent a tyranny.
Contents
[hide]
1 Etymology
2 Definition
3 Early history
4 Historical forms
4.1 Aesymnetes
4.2 Populism
4.3 Archaic tyrants
4.3.1 Corinth
4.3.2 Athens
4.4 Sicilian tyrants
4.5 Later tyrants
4.6 Roman tyrants
5 In the classics
6 Enlightenment
7 Lists of tyrants
8 Methods of obtaining and retaining power
8.1 Obtaining
8.2 Retaining
9 Psychology of tyrants
10 See also
11 References
12 External links
Etymology[edit]
The English noun tyrant appears in Middle English use, via Old French, from the 1290s. The word derives from Latin tyrannus, meaning "illegitimate ruler", and this in turn from the Greek τύραννος tyrannos "monarch, ruler of a polis"; tyrannos in its turn has a Pre-Greek origin, perhaps from Lydian.[6][7] The final -t arises in Old French by association with the present participles in -ant.[8]
Definition[edit]
"The word 'tyranny' is used with many meanings, not only by the Greeks, but throughout the tradition of the great books."[9] The Oxford English Dictionary offers alternative definitions: a ruler, an illegitimate ruler (a usurper), an absolute ruler (despot) or an oppressive, unjust or cruel ruler. The term is usually applied to vicious dictators who achieve bad results for the governed. The definition of a tyrant is cursed by subjectivity. Oppression, injustice and cruelty do not have standardized measurements or thresholds.
The Greeks defined both usurpers and those inheriting rule from usurpers as tyrants.
Old words are defined by their historical usage. It is difficult to determine which characteristics of tyrants were defining rather than descriptive. Biblical quotations do not use the word tyrant, but express opinions very similar to those of the Greek philosophers, citing the wickedness, cruelty and injustice of rulers.
"Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people. A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor; but one who hates unjust gain will enjoy a long life." Proverbs 28:15–16
"By justice a king gives stability to the land, but one who makes heavy extractions ruins it." Proverbs 29:4
The Greek philosophers stressed the (subjective) quality of rule rather than legitimacy or absolutism. "Both Plato and Aristotle speak of the king as a good monarch and the tyrant as a bad one. Both say that monarchy, or rule by a single man, is royal when it is for the welfare of the ruled and tyrannical when it serves only the interest of the ruler. Both make lawlessness – either a violation of existing laws or government by personal fiat without settled laws – a mark of tyranny."[9]
Enlightenment philosophers seemed to define tyranny by its associated characteristics.
"The sovereign is called a tyrant who knows no laws but his caprice." Voltaire in a Philosophical Dictionary
"Where Law ends Tyranny begins." Locke in Two Treatises of Government
The definition is dependent on perspective. A historical example is George III of England. From the British perspective he was a legitimate constitutional monarch. From the colonial perspective he was a tyrant based on a list of grievances enumerated in the United States Declaration of Independence. Colonists were not represented in parliament, so they lacked the rights of the English. Economic exploitation of the colonies was reasonable (perhaps even popular) from the British perspective, tyranny to the Yankees.
Bad results are also relative. Authoritarian rule might be beneficial (like with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk of Turkey) or of limited lasting harm to the country ( like with Francisco Franco of Spain).[10] Those who list or rank tyrants can provide definitions and criteria for comparison or acknowledge subjectivity. Comparative criteria may include checklists or body counts. Accounting for deaths in war is problematic – war can build empires or defend the populace – it also keeps winning tyrants in power. "Ch'in Shih-huang is the first emperor of China. He united seven separate kingdoms into a single nation. He built the Great Wall and was buried with the terra-cotta soldiers. The Chinese have mixed feelings about him. They're proud of the nation he created, but he was a maniacal tyrant." Gene Luen Yang Oppressive dictators have held states together (Alexander the Great, Josip Broz Tito).
A modern tyrant might be objectively defined by proven violation of international criminal law such as crimes against humanity.[11][12][13]
Early history[edit]
The state is the product of civilization. Agriculture allowed greater concentrations of people which lead to more conflict. Political and military leaders arose to manage conflicts. All leaders were once dictators.[14] "[T]he very essence of politics in [agrarian civilizations] was, by our contemporary democratic standards, tyrannical".[15] Eventually alternative forms and methods of government arose which allowed belated definitions and criticism.
Historical forms[edit]
A sculptural pairing of Harmodius and Aristogeiton. They became known as the tyrannicides after they killed Hipparchus, and were the preeminent symbol of Athenian democracy
History has labeled a set of ancient Greek and Sicilian leaders as tyrants. History remembers the rulers, their rises, methods, and ends and the environment in which they ruled. Ancient political commentators Plato and Aristotle lived late in the period of many tyrants. They had monarchies and democracies for comparison. The historical definition is best understood from their historical perspective.
In ancient Greece, tyrants were influential opportunists that came to power by securing the support of different factions of a deme. The word tyrannos, possibly pre-Greek, Pelasgian or eastern in origin,[16] then carried no ethical censure; it simply referred to anyone, good or bad, who obtained executive power in a polis by unconventional means. Support for the tyrants came from the growing middle class and from the peasants who had no land or were in debt to the wealthy landowners. It is true that they had no legal right to rule, but the people preferred them over kings or the aristocracy.
The Greek tyrants stayed in power by using mercenary soldiers from outside of their respective city-state. To mock tyranny, Thales wrote that the strangest thing to see is "an aged tyrant" meaning that tyrants do not have the public support to survive for long.
Aesymnetes[edit]
An aesymnetes (pl. aesymnetai) had similar scope of power to the tyrant, such as Pittacus of Mytilene (c. 640–568 BC), and was elected for life or for a specified period by a city-state in a time of crisis – the only difference being that the aesymnetes was a constitutional office and were comparable to the Roman dictator. Magistrates in some city-states were also called aesymnetai.
Populism[edit]
Greek tyranny grew out of the struggle of the under classes against the aristocracy, or against priest-kings where archaic traditions and mythology sanctioned hereditary and/or traditional rights to rule. Popular coups generally installed tyrants, who often became or remained popular rulers, at least in the early part of their reigns. For instance, the popular imagination remembered Peisistratus for an episode – related by (pseudonymous) Aristotle, but possibly fictional – in which he exempted a farmer from taxation because of the particular barrenness of his plot.
Peisistratus' sons Hippias and Hipparchus, on the other hand, were not such able rulers, and when the disaffected aristocrats Harmodios and Aristogeiton slew Hipparchus, Hippias' rule quickly became oppressive, resulting in the expulsion of the Peisistratids in 510 BC, who resided henceforth in Persepolis as clients of the Persian Shahanshah (King of kings).
Archaic tyrants[edit]
One of the earliest known uses of the word tyrant (in Greek) was by the poet Archilochus, who lived three centuries before Plato, in reference to king Gyges of Lydia.[17] The king's assumption of power was unconventional.
The heyday of the Archaic period tyrants came in the early 6th century BC, when Cleisthenes ruled Sicyon in the Peloponnesus and Polycrates ruled Samos. During this time, revolts overthrew many governments[18] in the Aegean world. Chilon, the ambitious and capable ephor of Sparta, built a strong alliance amongst neighbouring states by making common cause with these groups seeking to oppose unpopular tyrannical rule. By intervening against the tyrants of Sicyon, Corinth and Athens, Sparta thus came to assume Hellenic leadership prior to the Persian invasions. Simultaneously Persia first started making inroads into Greece, and many tyrants sought Persian help against popular forces seeking to remove them.
Corinth[edit]
Corinth hosted one of the earliest of Greek tyrants.[19] In Corinth, growing wealth from colonial enterprises, and the wider horizons brought about by the export of wine and oil, together with the new experiences of the Eastern Mediterranean brought back by returning mercenary hoplites employed overseas created a new environment. Conditions were right for Cypselus to overthrow the aristocratic power of the dominant but unpopular clan of Bacchiadae. Clan members were killed, executed, driven out or exiled in 657 BC. Corinth prospered economically under his rule, and Cypselus managed to rule without a bodyguard. When he then bequeathed his position to his son, Periander, the tyranny proved less secure, and Periander required a retinue of mercenary soldiers personally loyal to him.
Nevertheless, under Cypselus and Periander, Corinth extended and tightened her control over her colonial enterprises, and exports of Corinthian pottery flourished. However, tyrants seldom succeeded in establishing an untroubled line of succession. Periander threw his pregnant wife downstairs (killing her), burnt his concubines alive, exiled his son, warred with his father-in-law and attempted to castrate 300 sons of his perceived enemies.[20] He retained his position. Periander's successor was less fortunate and was expelled. Afterward, Corinth was ruled by a lackluster oligarchy, and was eventually eclipsed by the rising fortunes of Athens and Sparta.
Athens[edit]
Athens hosted its tyrants late in the Archaic period.[21] In Athens, the inhabitants first gave the title of tyrant to Peisistratos (a relative of Solon, the Athenian lawgiver) who succeeded in 546 BC, after two failed attempts, to install himself as tyrant. Supported by the prosperity of the peasantry and landowning interests of the plain, which was prospering from the rise of olive oil exports, as well as his clients from Marathon, he managed to achieve authoritarian power. Through an ambitious program of public works, which included fostering the state cult of Athena; encouraging the creation of festivals; supporting the Panathenaic Games in which prizes were jars of olive oil; and supporting the Dionysia (ultimately leading to the development of Athenian drama), Peisistratus managed to maintain his personal popularity.
He was followed by his sons, and with the subsequent growth of Athenian democracy, the title "tyrant" took on its familiar negative connotations. The murder of Peisistratus' son, the tyrant Hipparchus by Aristogeiton and Harmodios in Athens in 514 BC marked the beginning of the so-called "cult of the tyrannicides" (i.e., of killers of tyrants). Contempt for tyranny characterised this cult movement. Despite financial help from Persia, in 510 the Peisistratids were expelled by a combination of intrigue, exile and Spartan arms. The anti-tyrannical attitude became especially prevalent in Athens after 508 BC, when Cleisthenes reformed the political system so that it resembled demokratia (ancient participant democracy as opposed to the modern representative democracy). Hippias (Peisistratus' other son) offered to rule the Greeks on behalf of the Persians and provided military advice to the Persians against the Greeks.[22]
The Thirty Tyrants whom the Spartans imposed on a defeated Attica in 404 BC would not be classified as tyrants in the usual sense and were in effect an oligarchy.
Sicilian tyrants[edit]
The best known Sicilian tyrants appeared long after the Archaic period.[23] The tyrannies of Sicily came about due to similar causes, but here the threat of Carthaginian attack prolonged tyranny, facilitating the rise of military leaders with the people united behind them. Such Sicilian tyrants as Gelo, Hiero I, Hiero II, Dionysius the Elder, Dionysius the Younger, and Agathocles maintained lavish courts and became patrons of culture. The dangers threatening the lives of the Sicilian tyrants are highlighted in the morale tale of the "Sword of Damocles".
Later tyrants[edit]
Under the Macedonian hegemony in the 4th and 3rd century BC a new generation of tyrants rose in Greece, especially under the rule of king Antigonus II Gonatas, who installed his puppets in many cities of the Peloponnese. Examples were Cleon of Sicyon, Aristodemus of Megalopolis, Aristomachus I of Argos, Abantidas of Sicyon, Aristippus of Argos, Lydiadas of Megalopolis, Aristomachus II of Argos, and Xenon of Hermione.
Against these rulers, in 280 BC the democratic cities started to join forces in the Achaean League which was able to expand its influence even into Corinthia, Megaris, Argolis and Arcadia. From 251 BC under the leadership of Aratus of Sicyon, the Achaeans liberated many cities, in several cases by convincing the tyrants to step down, and when Aratus died in 213 BC, Hellas had been free of tyrants for more than 15 years. The last tyrant on the Greek mainland, Nabis of Sparta, was assassinated in 192 BC and after his death the Peloponnese was united as a confederation of stable democracies in the Achaean League.
See also: List of ancient Greek tyrants
Roman tyrants[edit]
Roman historians like Suetonius, Tacitus, Plutarch, and Josephus often spoke of "tyranny" in opposition to "liberty".[citation needed] Tyranny was associated with imperial rule and those rulers who usurped too much authority from the Roman Senate. Those who were advocates of "liberty" tended to be pro-Republic and pro-Senate. For instance, regarding Julius Caesar and his assassins, Suetonius wrote:
Therefore the plots which had previously been formed separately, often by groups of two or three, were united in a general conspiracy, since even the populace no longer were pleased with present conditions, but both secretly and openly rebelled at his tyranny and cried out for defenders of their liberty.[24]
Citizens of the empire were circumspect in identifying tyrants. "...Cicero's head and hands [were] cut off and nailed to the rostrum of the Senate to remind everyone of the perils of speaking out against tyranny."[25] There has since been a tendency to discuss tyranny in the abstract while limiting examples of tyrants to ancient Greek rulers. Philosophers have been more expressive than historians.
Josephus identified tyrants in Biblical history (in Antiquities of the Jews) including Nimrod, Moses, the Maccabees and Herod the Great. He also identified some later tyrants.
In the classics[edit]
Tyranny is considered an important subject, one of the "Great Ideas" of Western thought. The classics contain many references to tyranny and its causes, effects, methods, practitioners, alternatives... They consider tyranny from historical, religious, ethical, political and fictional perspectives. "If any point in political theory is indisputable, it would seem to be that tyranny is the worst corruption of government - a vicious misuse of power and a violent abuse of human beings who are subject to it."[9] While this may represent a consensus position among the classics, it is not unanimous - Hobbes (for example) dissented, claiming no objective distinction (vicious vs virtuous) existed among dictators. "They that are discontented under monarchy, call it tyranny; and they that are displeased with aristocracy, call it oligarchy: so also, they which find themselves grieved under a democracy, call it anarchy..." (in Leviathan)
Dante mentioned tyrants ("who laid hold on blood and plunder") in the seventh level of Hell (Divine Comedy) where they are submerged in boiling blood. These included Alexander the Great and Attila the Hun who shared the region with highway robbers.
Niccolò Machiavelli conflates all rule by a single person (whom he generally refers to as a "prince") with "tyranny," regardless of the legitimacy of that rule, in his Discourses on Livy. He also identifies liberty with republican regimes; whether he would include so-called "crowned republics" (such as modern constitutional monarchies) is somewhat unclear from the text.
Ancient Greeks, as well as the Roman Republicans, became generally quite wary of many people seeking to implement a popular coup. Shakespeare portrays the struggle of one such anti-tyrannical Roman, Marcus Junius Brutus, in his play Julius Caesar.
In Gibbons' Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume I, Chapter III, Augustus was shown to assume the power of a tyrant while sharing power with the reformed senate. "After a decent resistance, the crafty tyrant submitted to the orders of the senate; and consented to receive the government of the provinces, and the general command of the Roman armies..." Emperors "humbly professed themselves the accountable ministers of the senate, whose supreme decrees they dictated and obeyed." The Roman Empire "may be defined as an absolute monarchy disguised by the forms of a commonwealth." Roman emperors were deified. Gibbons called emperors tyrants and their rule tyranny. His definitions in the chapter were related to the absolutism of power alone - not oppression, injustice or cruelty. He ignored the appearance of shared rule.
Enlightenment[edit]
François Gérard, The French people demanding destitution of the Tyran on 10 August 1792
In the Enlightenment, thinkers applied the word tyranny to the system of governance that had developed around aristocracy and monarchy. Specifically, John Locke as part of his argument against the "Divine Right of Kings" in his book Two Treatises of Government defines it this way: "Tyranny is the exercise of power beyond right, which nobody can have a right to; and this is making use of the power any one has in his hands, not for the good of those who are under it, but for his own private, separate advantage."[26] Locke's concept of tyranny influenced the writers of subsequent generations who developed the concept of tyranny as counterpoint to ideas of human rights and democracy. Thomas Jefferson referred to the tyranny of King George III of Great Britain in the Declaration of Independence, and the concept was refined in turn to refer to the Kings of France, the tyrants of the Terror, and to Napoleon I in turn during the French Revolution and subsequent regimes.[citation needed]
Lists of tyrants[edit]
Lists include:
List of ancient Greek tyrants numbering several hundred plus those of Syracuse.
List of tyrants of Syracuse numbering about 20.
100 throughout history, including 40 from the 20th century[27]
13 20th century tyrants[28]
30 tyrants of the late 20th century[29]
20 tyrants of the early 21st century[29]
100 historical "thugs" including tyrants. Many ruled in the 20th century.[30]
There are also numerous book titles which identify tyrants by name or circumstances.[31][32]
Among English rulers, several have been identified as tyrants by book title: John, King of England[33] (who signed the Magna Carta), Henry VIII of England[34][35] and Oliver Cromwell.[36]
Methods of obtaining and retaining power[edit]
The path of a tyrant can appear easy and pleasant (for all but the aristocracy). A twentieth-century historian said,
"Hence the road to power in Greece commercial cities was simple: to attack the aristocracy, defend the poor, and come to an understanding with the middle classes. Arrived at power, the dictator abolished debts, or confiscated large estates, taxed the rich to finance public works, or otherwise redistributed the overconcentrated wealth; and while attaching the masses to himself through such measures, he secured the support of the business community by promoting trade with state coinage and commercial treaties, and by raising the social prestige of the bourgeoisie. Forced to depend upon popularity instead of hereditary power, the dictatorships for the most part kept out of war, supported religion, maintained order, promoted morality, favored the higher status of women, encouraged the arts, and lavished revenues upon the beautification of their cities. And they did all these things, in many cases, while preserving the forms of popular government, so that even under despotism the people learned the ways of liberty. When the dictatorship [of the tyrant] had served to destroy the aristocracy the people destroyed the dictatorship; and only a few changes were needed to make democracy of freemen a reality as well as a form."[37]
Ancient Greek philosophers (who were aristocrats) were far more critical in reporting the methods of tyrants. The justification for ousting a tyrant was absent from the historian's description but was central to the philosophers.
Obtaining[edit]
"The people have always some champion whom they set over them and nurse into greatness.... This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector." Plato in The Republic
Dictators inherit the position, rise as company men in the military/party or seize power as entrepreneurs.[38] Early texts called only the entrepreneurs tyrants, distinguishing them from "bad kings". Such tyrants may act as renters, rather than owners, of the state.
The political methods of obtaining power were occasionally supplemented by theater or force. Peisistratus of Athens blamed self-inflicted wounds on enemies to justify a bodyguard which he used to seize power. He later appeared with a woman dressed as a goddess to suggest divine sanction of his rule.[39] The third time he used mercenaries to seize and retain power.[40]
Retaining[edit]
Lengthy recommendations of methods were made to tyrants by Aristotle (in Politics for example) and Niccolò Machiavelli (in The Prince).[9] These are, in general, force and fraud. They include hiring bodyguards, stirring up wars to smother dissent, purges, assassinations, unwarranted searches and seizures... Aristotle suggested an alternative means of retaining power - ruling justly.
The methods of tyrants to retain power have changed little in over two thousand years.
They placate world opinion by staging rigged elections.[14]
They use or threaten violence.[38]
They seek popular support by appeals to patriotism and claims that conditions have improved.[38]
"The tyrant binds his followers to him by making them accomplices to his crimes." Anonymous[41]
"The tyrant confuses those he can't convince, corrupts those he can't confuse, and crushes those he can't corrupt." Anonymous[41]
Psychology of tyrants[edit]
The classics note that tyrants are often unhappy.[9] "In every tyrant's heart there springs in the end this poison, that he cannot trust a friend." (Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound). Tyrants appear to suffer psychological pathologies that result in self-destructive behavior. "His grandiosity and his skills in deception, manipulation, and intimidation are an advantage to him in securing power. But as he moves toward absolute power, he is also apt to cross moral and geographic boundaries in ways that place him in a vulnerable position. Thus, he may engage in cruelties that serve no political purpose, challenge the conventional morality in ways that undermine his base, engage in faulty reality testing, and overreach himself in foreign engagements in ways that invite new challenges to his rule."[42] These pathologies are not evident earlier in life although those without a certain level of brutal self-assurance do not become dictators. The ruled also exhibit pathologies. An attempt on Hitler's life outraged Germans. "When Stalin died many wept, even in the concentration camps!"[43] There is no simple relationship between popularity and tyranny.
See also[edit]
Outposts of tyranny
Tyranny of the majority
Tyrannicide
Despotism
Dictator
Dictatorship
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "Tyrant (entry)". 1911 Encyclopediam Britannica. Archived from the original on 2013-01-23.
Jump up ^ "Tyrant". The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project. Translated by Thomas Zemanek. Ann Arbor: Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library, 2009 (Trans. of "Tyran," Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, vol. 16. Paris, 1765). Retrieved 1 April 2015.
Jump up ^ "Tyrant (entry)". Merriam-Webster online dictionary. Merriam-Webster.
Jump up ^ Glad, B. (2002, March) .[better source needed] Why Tyrants Go Too Far: Malignant Narcissism and Absolute Power. Political Psychology, 33. Retrieved May 15, 2010, from JSTOR database.
Jump up ^ "Tyrant". The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project. Translated by Thomas Zemanek. Ann Arbor: Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library, 2009 (Trans. of "Tyran," Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, vol. 16. Paris, 1765). Retrieved 18 April 2009.
Jump up ^ "Online Etymology Dictionary".
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Jump up ^ tyrant, Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Adler, Mortimer J., ed. (1952). "95: Tyranny". Great Books of the Western World. 3: The Great Ideas: II. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.
Jump up ^ Chirot, Daniel (1994). Modern tyrants : the power and prevalence of evil in our age. New York Toronto New York: Free Press Maxwell Macmillan Canada Maxwell Macmillan International. pp. 169, 418–19. ISBN 9780029054772.
Jump up ^ Robertson, Geoffrey (2005). "Ending Impunity: How International Criminal Law Can Put Tyrants on Trial". Cornell International Law Journal. 38 (3): 649–71.
Jump up ^ Liolos, John J. (2012-05-01). "Justice for Tyrants: International Criminal Court Warrants for Gaddafi Regime Crimes". Boston College International and Comparative Law Review. 35 (2): 589–602.
Jump up ^ Thorp, Jodi. "Welcome Ex-Dictators, Torturers and Tyrants: Comparative Approaches to Handling Ex-Dictators and Past Human Rights Abuses". Gonzaga Law Review. 37 (1): 167–99.
^ Jump up to: a b Wallechinsky, David (2006). Tyrants : the world's 20 worst living dictators. New York: Regan. p. 2. ISBN 978-0060590048.
Jump up ^ Chirot, Daniel (1994). Modern tyrants : the power and prevalence of evil in our age. New York Toronto New York: Free Press Maxwell Macmillan Canada Maxwell Macmillan International. p. 6. ISBN 9780029054772.
Jump up ^ Forrest, George "Greece, the history of the Archaic period" in Boardman, John et al. (1986), The Oxford History of the Classical World (OUP)
Jump up ^ Roberts, J. W., ed. (2005). "tyranny". The Oxford dictionary of the classical world. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-280146-3. Based on Herodotus, The History 1.7-14
Jump up ^ Langer, William L., ed. (1948). An Encyclopedia of World History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. 48.
Jump up ^ Freeman, Charles (1999). The Greek achievement : the foundation of the Western world. New York: Viking. pp. 72–73, 99–100. ISBN 978-0670-885152.
Jump up ^ Durant, Will (1939). The Life of Greece. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 90–91.
Jump up ^ Langer, William L., ed. (1948). An Encyclopedia of World History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 50–52.
Jump up ^ Durant, Will (1939). The Life of Greece. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 235.
Jump up ^ Langer, William L., ed. (1948). An Encyclopedia of World History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 57, 66.
Jump up ^ Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Julius Caesar 80
Jump up ^ Ryan, Alan (2012). On politics : a history of political thought from Herodotus to the present. New York: Liveright Pub. Corp. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-87140-465-7.
Jump up ^ Two Treatises of Government (199)
Jump up ^ Cawthorne, Nigel (2004). Tyrants : history's 100 most evil despots & dictators. London: Arcturus. ISBN 978-0572030254.
Jump up ^ Chirot, Daniel (1994). Modern tyrants : the power and prevalence of evil in our age. New York Toronto New York: Free Press Maxwell Macmillan Canada Maxwell Macmillan International. ISBN 9780029054772.
^ Jump up to: a b Wallechinsky, David (2006). Tyrants : the world's 20 worst living dictators. New York: Regan. ISBN 978-0060590048.
Jump up ^ Halpern, Micah (2007). Thugs : how history's most notorious despots transformed the world through terror, tyranny, and mass murder. Nashville, Tenn: Thomas Nelson. ISBN 978-1-5955-5073-6.
Jump up ^ Harden, Blaine (2015). The great leader and the fighter pilot : the true story of the tyrant who created North Korea and the young lieutenant who stole his way to freedom. New York, New York: Viking. ISBN 9780670016570.
Jump up ^ Fuegner, Richard (2003). Beneath the tyrant's yoke : Norwegian resistance to the German occupation of Norway, 1940-1945. Edina, Minn: Beaver's Pond Press. ISBN 9781931646864.
Jump up ^ Church, Stephen (2015). King John : England, Magna Carta and the Making of a Tyrant. London, UK: Pan Macmillan. ISBN 9780230772458.
Jump up ^ Rex, Richard (2009). Henry VIII : The Tudor Tyrant. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Amberley Pub. ISBN 9781848680982.
Jump up ^ Hutchinson, Robert (2005). The last days of Henry VIII : conspiracies, treason, and heresy at the court of the dying tyrant. New York: William Morrow. ISBN 9780060837334.
Jump up ^ "Killing No Murder, Originally Applied to Oliver Cromwell - A Discourse Proving it Lawful to Kill a Tyrant According to the Opinion of the Most Celebrated Ancient Authors." by Col. Titus, Alias William Allen
Jump up ^ Durant, Will (1939). The Life of Greece. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 122–123.
^ Jump up to: a b c Wallechinsky, David (2006). Tyrants : the world's 20 worst living dictators. New York: Regan. p. 7. ISBN 978-0060590048.
Jump up ^ Lane, Melissa S. (2014). The birth of politics : eight Greek and Roman political ideas and why they matter. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 77–78. ISBN 978-0-691-16647-6. Based on Herodotus, The History 1.59-60
Jump up ^ Herodotus, The History 1.61-64
^ Jump up to: a b Frank, Leonard (1999). Random House Webster's quotationary. New York: Random House. p. 889. ISBN 9780679448501.
Jump up ^ Glad, Betty (March 2002). "Why Tyrants Go Too Far: Malignant Narcissism and Absolute Power". Political Psychology. International Society of Political Psychology. 23 (1): 1–37.
Jump up ^ Chirot, Daniel (1994). Modern tyrants : the power and prevalence of evil in our age. New York Toronto New York: Free Press Maxwell Macmillan Canada Maxwell Macmillan International. p. 162. ISBN 9780029054772.
External links[edit]
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Tyranny
Tyrant by Jona Lendering at livius.org.
Bryn Mawr Classical Review
Victor Parker, A History of Greece, 1300 to 30 BC (chapter 7)
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text:
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Flag of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Incumbent
Christopher A. Wray
since August 2, 2017
U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Reports to
Attorney General
Director of National Intelligence
Seat
J. Edgar Hoover Building, District of Columbia, U.S.
Appointer
The President
with Senate advice and consent
Term length
10 years
Inaugural holder
Stanley Finch (BOI)
J. Edgar Hoover (FBI)
Formation
1908 (as Chief of the BOI)
Deputy
Deputy Director
Website
www.fbi.gov
The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is the head of the FBI, the United States' primary federal law enforcement agency, and is responsible for its day-to-day operations. The FBI Director is appointed for a single 10-year term by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate.[1][2][3] The FBI is an agency of the Department of Justice.[4] Since the 1920s, the FBI has been supervised by the Department of Justice and the FBI Director has answered to the Attorney General. The Director briefed the President on any issues that arose from within the FBI until the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 was enacted following the September 11 attacks. Since then, the Director reports to the Director of National Intelligence, who in turn reports to the President.[5]
The current Director is Christopher A. Wray, who assumed the role on August 2, 2017 after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate, taking over from acting Director Andrew McCabe after the dismissal of former Director James Comey by President Donald Trump.[6]
Contents
[hide]
1 Term of office
2 Responsibilities
3 Lists of officeholders
3.1 Bureau of Investigation chiefs and directors (1908 to 1935)
3.2 Federal Bureau of Investigation directors (1935 to present)
4 Line of succession
5 Dismissals
5.1 William S. Sessions
5.2 James Comey
6 References
7 External links
Term of office[edit]
The FBI Director is appointed by the President and, since 1972, subject to confirmation by the Senate.[2][3] J. Edgar Hoover, appointed by President Calvin Coolidge to the predecessor office of Director of the Bureau of Investigation in 1924, was by far the longest-serving Director, holding the position from its establishment under the current title in 1935 until his death in 1972. In 1976, in response to Hoover's lengthy tenure and during the Watergate era, by an amendment to the 1968 Omnibus Crime Control Act,[7][8] Congress limited the term of future FBI directors to ten years, "an unusually long tenure that Congress established to insulate the director from political pressure."[9] This rule was waived by the Senate for Robert Mueller on July 27, 2011 due to serious security concerns at that time.[10] Since 1976, Directors serve a ten-year term unless they resign, die, or are removed, but in practice, since Hoover, none have served a full ten years, except Mueller who served twelve years with the leave of Congress.
The Director can be removed from office by the President.[6] Since the Director serves "at the pleasure of the President", the removal from office can be either with or without cause.[citation needed] After removal until a replacement is confirmed by the Senate, the Deputy Director automatically acts in the role. The appointment of the Deputy Director is not a presidential appointment and does not require Senate confirmation. The President can appoint an Interim Director pending Senate confirmation[11] or nomination of permanent Director.[12]
Responsibilities[edit]
Along with the Deputy Director, the Director is responsible for ensuring that cases and operations are handled correctly. The Director also is in charge of staffing the leadership in any one of the FBI field offices with qualified agents.
Lists of officeholders[edit]
Bureau of Investigation chiefs and directors (1908 to 1935)[edit]
When the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) was established in 1908, its head was called the Chief of the Bureau of Investigation.[13] It was changed to the Director of the Bureau of Investigation in the term of William J. Flynn (1919–1921), and to its current name when the BOI was renamed FBI in 1935.
N°
Picture
Name
Term[13]
Length
Notes
President(s)*
1
Finch, StanleyStanley Finch 000000001908-07-26-0000July 26, 1908 – April 30, 1912 3 years, 279 days Theodore Roosevelt; William H. Taft
2
Bielaski, A. BruceA. Bruce Bielaski 000000001912-04-30-0000April 30, 1912 – February 10, 1919 6 years, 286 days William H. Taft; Woodrow Wilson
—
Allen, William E.William E. Allen 000000001919-02-10-0000February 10, 1919 – June 30, 1919 140 days Acting Director Woodrow Wilson
3
Flynn, William J.William J. Flynn 000000001919-07-01-0000July 1, 1919 – August 21, 1921 2 years, 51 days Woodrow Wilson; Warren Harding
4
Burns, William J.William J. Burns 000000001921-08-22-0000August 22, 1921 – May 10, 1924 2 years, 262 days Resigned Warren Harding; Calvin Coolidge
5
Hoover, J. EdgarJ. Edgar Hoover 000000001924-05-10-0000May 10, 1924 – June 30, 1935 11 years, 51 days Director of the BOI Calvin Coolidge; Herbert Hoover; Franklin D. Roosevelt
Federal Bureau of Investigation directors (1935 to present)[edit]
The FBI became an independent service within the Department of Justice in 1935.[14] In the same year, its name was officially changed to the present-day Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI, with J. Edgar Hoover receiving the current title of Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Since 1972, Senate confirmation of nominee has been required.
N°
Picture
Name
Term[13]
Length
Notes
President(s)*
1
Hoover, J. EdgarJ. Edgar Hoover 000000001935-07-01-0000July 1, 1935 – May 2, 1972 36 years, 306 days Director of the FBI; died from a heart attack at his Washington, D.C., home on May 2, 1972; Only FBI director to have died in office Franklin D. Roosevelt; Harry Truman; Dwight Eisenhower; John F. Kennedy; Lyndon Johnson; Richard Nixon
—
Tolson, ClydeClyde Tolson
(Acting) 000000001972-05-02-0000May 2, 1972 – May 3, 1972 1 day Acting Director of the FBI Richard Nixon
—
Gray, L. PatrickL. Patrick Gray
(Acting) 000000001972-05-03-0000May 3, 1972 – April 27, 1973 359 days
—
Ruckelshaus, WilliamWilliam Ruckelshaus
(Acting) 000000001973-04-30-0000April 30, 1973 – July 9, 1973 70 days
2
Kelley, Clarence M.Clarence M. Kelley 000000001973-07-09-0000July 9, 1973 – February 15, 1978 4 years, 221 days Retired Richard Nixon; Gerald Ford; Jimmy Carter
—
Adams, James B.James B. Adams
(Acting) 000000001978-02-15-0000February 15, 1978 – February 23, 1978 8 days Associate Director of the FBI; Acting Director Jimmy Carter
3
Webster, William H.William H. Webster 000000001978-02-23-0000February 23, 1978 – May 25, 1987 9 years, 91 days Left FBI to become Director of Central Intelligence; only person to have held both positions Jimmy Carter; Ronald Reagan
—
Otto, John E.John E. Otto
(Acting) 000000001987-05-26-0000May 26, 1987 – November 2, 1987 160 days Deputy Director of the FBI; Acting Director Ronald Reagan
4
Sessions, William S.William S. Sessions 000000001987-11-02-0000November 2, 1987 – July 19, 1993 5 years, 259 days Dismissed by President Bill Clinton Ronald Reagan; George H.W. Bush; Bill Clinton
—
Clarke, Floyd I.Floyd I. Clarke
(Acting) 000000001993-07-19-0000July 19, 1993 – September 1, 1993 44 days Deputy Director of the FBI; Acting Director Bill Clinton
5
Freeh, LouisLouis Freeh 000000001993-09-01-0000September 1, 1993 – June 25, 2001 7 years, 297 days Resigned Bill Clinton; George W. Bush
—
Pickard, Thomas J.Thomas J. Pickard
(Acting) 000000002001-06-25-0000June 25, 2001 – September 4, 2001 71 days Deputy Director of the FBI; Acting Director George W. Bush
6
Mueller, RobertRobert Mueller 000000002001-09-04-0000September 4, 2001 – September 4, 2013 12 years, 0 days George W. Bush; Barack Obama
7
Comey, JamesJames Comey 000000002013-09-04-0000September 4, 2013 – May 9, 2017 3 years, 247 days Dismissed by President Donald Trump Barack Obama; Donald Trump
—
Andrew McCabe
(Acting) 000000002017-05-09-0000May 9, 2017 – August 2, 2017 85 days Deputy Director of the FBI; Acting Director Donald Trump
8
Christopher A. Wray 000000002017-08-02-0000August 2, 2017 – present 266 days
Line of succession[edit]
The line of succession for the Director of the FBI is as follows:[15]
Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Associate Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Executive Assistant Director of the National Security Branch
Executive Assistant Director for Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services
Assistant Director of Counterterrorism Division
Assistant Director of Criminal Investigative Division
Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Division
Assistant Director, Washington Field Office
Assistant Director, New York Field Office
Assistant Director, Los Angeles Field Office
Dismissals[edit]
Since the office's inception, only two Directors have been dismissed: William S. Sessions by President Bill Clinton in 1993, and James Comey by President Donald Trump in 2017. It is accepted that the holder of this post serves at the pleasure of the President.[16]
William S. Sessions[edit]
Just before Bill Clinton was inaugurated as the 42nd President of the United States on January 20, 1993, allegations of ethical improprieties were made against Sessions. A report by outgoing Attorney General William P. Barr presented to the Justice Department that month by the Office of Professional Responsibility included criticisms that he had used an FBI plane to travel to visit his daughter on several occasions, and had a security system installed in his home at government expense.[17] Janet Reno, the 78th Attorney General of the United States, announced that Sessions had exhibited "serious deficiencies in judgment."[18]
Although Sessions denied that he had acted improperly, he was pressured to resign in early July, with some suggesting that President Clinton was giving Sessions the chance to step down in a dignified manner. Sessions refused, saying that he had done nothing wrong, and insisted on staying in office until his successor was confirmed. As a result, President Clinton dismissed Sessions on July 19, 1993, five and a half years into a ten-year term. Clinton’s public explanation was that there had been a loss of confidence in Sessions’ leadership, and then-Attorney General Reno recommended the dismissal.[19]
Ronald Kessler's book, The FBI: Inside the World's Most Powerful Law Enforcement Agency, led to the dismissal by President Clinton of Sessions as FBI director over his abuses. According to the Washington Post, "A Justice Department official...noted that the original charges against Sessions came not from FBI agents but from a journalist, Ronald Kessler [who uncovered the abuses while writing a book about the FBI, leading to Sessions' dismissal by President Clinton]..."[20] The New York Times said Kessler's FBI book "did indeed trigger bureau and Justice Department investigations into alleged travel and expense abuses [by FBI Director William Sessions, leading to his departure]...[21]
Clinton nominated Louis Freeh to be FBI Director on July 20. Then–FBI Deputy Director, Floyd I. Clarke, who Sessions suggested had led a coup to force his removal, served as Acting Director until September 1, 1993, when Freeh was sworn in.[22]
James Comey[edit]
Main article: Dismissal of James Comey
On May 9, 2017, President Trump dismissed Comey after the recommendation of United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.[23] Rosenstein's memorandum to Sessions objected to Comey's conduct in the investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails.[24] This was contradicted by multiple unnamed sources to news outlets, who said that Trump and high-level officials personally asked for Comey to be fired.[25][26] Comey was fired after he asked for more money for the investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.[27] Many members of Congress, mostly Democrats, expressed concern over the firing and argued that it would put the integrity of the investigation into jeopardy.[28]
Comey's termination was immediately controversial, even being characterized as corrupt by news commentators. It was compared, by the aforementioned news outlets, to the Saturday Night Massacre, President Richard Nixon's termination of special prosecutor Archibald Cox, who had been investigating the Watergate scandal,[29][30] and to the firing of Acting Attorney General Sally Yates in January 2017.
In the dismissal letter Trump stated that Comey had asserted “on three separate occasions that I am not under investigation" which was later confirmed by Comey to the Senate while under oath.[31] This is disputed by reporting from multiple news agencies with multiple sources. According to the reporting, Trump had been openly talking about firing Mr. Comey for at least a week before his dismissal. Trump and democrat leaders had long questioned Comey’s loyalty and judgment. Moreover, Trump was angry that Comey would not support his claim that President Barack Obama had his campaign offices wiretapped, frustrated when Comey revealed in Senate testimony the breadth of the counterintelligence investigation into Russia’s effort to sway the 2016 U.S. presidential election and that Comey was giving too much attention to the Russia probe and not to internal leaks within the government. On May 8, 2017, he gave Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein a directive to explain in writing a case against Comey. That directive was forwarded to Trump as a recommendation to dismiss Comey the following day, which Trump did.[32][33][34]
Comey first learned of his termination from television news reports that flashed on screen while he was delivering a speech to agents at the Los Angeles Field Office.[35] Sources said he was surprised and caught off guard by the termination. Comey immediately departed for Washington, D.C., and was forced to cancel his scheduled speech that night at an FBI recruitment event at the Directors Guild of America in Hollywood, California.[36]
In the absence of a Senate-confirmed FBI Director, Deputy Director Andrew McCabe automatically became the Acting Director.[37]
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "Directors, Then and Now". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 21 March 2017. On October 15, 1976, in reaction to the extraordinary 48-year term of J. Edgar Hoover, Congress passed Public Law 94-503, limiting the FBI Director to a single term of no longer than 10 years.
^ Jump up to: a b 28 U.S.C. §532 note. Confirmation and Compensation of Director; Term of Service Legal Information Institute
^ Jump up to: a b FBI Director: Appointment and Tenure Congressional Research Service
Jump up ^ https://www.justice.gov/jmd/organization-mission-and-functions-manual-attorney-general#ag
Jump up ^ FBI Intelligence Reform Since September 11, 2001: Issues and Options for Congress
^ Jump up to: a b New York Times, May 9, 2017, F.B.I. Director James Comey Is Fired by Trump
Jump up ^ Kutner, Max (May 4, 2017). "Can President Donald Trump Fire FBI Director James Comey". Newsweek.
Jump up ^ Chesney, Robert (May 10, 2017). "Backgrounder: The Power to Appoint & Remove the FBI Director". Lawfare Blog.
Jump up ^ Shear, Michael D.; Apuzzo, Matt (May 9, 2017). "F.B.I. Director James Comey Is Fired by Trump". The New York Times.
Jump up ^ "Senate Extends Term of F.B.I. Director". New York Times. 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
Jump up ^ Top Officials Being Interviewed for Interim FBI Director After James Comey’s Ouster
Jump up ^ Interim FBI director likely to be named as soon as Wednesday
^ Jump up to: a b c "The FBI Director: Background on the Position". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 2011-02-07.
Jump up ^ "Timeline of FBI History". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
Jump up ^ "Designation of Officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation". Federal Register. 2007-02-14. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
Jump up ^ Ostrow, Ronald J.; Jackson, Robert L. (1993-07-20). "Defiant FBI Chief Is Fired by President : Law enforcement: Alleged ethical abuses by Sessions are cited as reason for dismissal. He refused to resign". Los Angeles Times.
Jump up ^ Johnston, David (1993-01-19). "F.B.I. Chief Plans to Fight for Job". The New York Times.
Jump up ^ "Time's Up for William Sessions". The New York Times. 1993-01-22.
Jump up ^ How independent is the FBI’s director?
Jump up ^ Washington Post, June 19, 1993, p. A1; Washington Post, July 20, 1993, p. A1.
Jump up ^ MacKenzie, John (September 12, 1993). "How the G-Men Measure Up Now". New York Times.
Jump up ^ Johnston, David (1993-07-20) "Defiant FBI chief removed from job by the President", New York Times.
Jump up ^ Michael D. Shear; Matt Apuzzo (May 10, 2017). "Trump Fires Comey Amid Russia Inquiry – Clinton Email Investigation Cited – Democrats Seek Special Counsel". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
Jump up ^ Smith, David (2017-05-09). "Donald Trump fires FBI director Comey over handling of Clinton investigation". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-05-09.
Jump up ^ Sommer, Will (2017-05-09). "Sessions was told to find reasons to fire Comey: reports". TheHill. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
Jump up ^ Pramuk, Jacob (2017-05-09). "Justice Department was told to come up with reasons to fire Comey, reports say". CNBC. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
Jump up ^ Rosenberg, Matthew; Apuzzo, Matt (May 10, 2017). "Days Before He Was Fired, Comey Asked for Money for Russia Investigation". The New York Times. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
Jump up ^ "Comey firing: Reaction from members of Congress on FBI director's dismissal". Washington Post.
Jump up ^ Wilstein, Matt (May 9, 2017). "CNN's Jeffrey Toobin Goes Off on Trump for Firing Comey: 'What Kind of Country Is This?'". The Daily Beast.
Jump up ^ Abbruzzese, Jason (May 9, 2017). "Everyone is comparing Donald Trump to Richard Nixon". The Silicon Times.
Jump up ^ Associated Press (May 9, 2017). "FBI Director James Comey fired by President Trump". Fox59.
Jump up ^ Haberman, Maggie; Thrush, Glenn (May 10, 2017). "'Enough Was Enough': How Festering Anger at Comey Ended in His Firing". The New York Times. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
Jump up ^ Dawsey, Josh. "'He got tired of him'". POLITICO. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
Jump up ^ Rucker, Philip; Parker, Ashley; Barrett, Devlin; Costa, Robert. "Inside Trump's anger and impatience – and his sudden decision to fire Comey". Washington Post.
Jump up ^ The Associated Press (2017-05-09). "The Latest: Comey Learned of Ouster as He Spoke at FBI in LA". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
Jump up ^ Winton, Richard; Queally, James (2017-05-09). "Comey was 'caught flat-footed' and learned of firing from TV while talking to FBI agents in L.A., source says". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
Jump up ^ "Trump fires Comey: McCabe takes over as FBI's acting director". Fox News. 2017-05-09. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
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