61 articles
Abiye Abebe
Abiye Abebe was an Ethiopian lieutenant general and statesman who served Emperor Haile Selassie as ambassador to France, minister of justice, and first Governor-General of Eritrea.
Álvaro Obregón
Álvaro Obregón (1880–1928), Sonoran general and president of Mexico 1920–1924, defeated Pancho Villa at Celaya in 1915, reformed the Army, and was elected for 1928–1932 before being assassinated by José de León Toral at La Bombilla.
Arnaldo Ochoa
Arnaldo Ochoa Sánchez (1930–1989) was a Cuban division general who commanded troops in Angola and Ethiopia, was convicted of drug trafficking and treason in 1989, and was executed by firing squad in Havana.
Assimi Goïta
Assimi Goïta (born 1983) is Mali's army general and President of the Transition since June 2021, leader of the CNSP junta, author of the August 2020 and May 2021 coups, aligned with Russia's Wagner Group and Africa Corps.
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet Ugarte (1915-2006), Chilean general who led the 11 September 1973 coup against Salvador Allende and ruled Chile's military dictatorship until 1990; DINA/CNI repression, 1980 Constitution, defeated in the 1988 plebiscite, arrested in London 1998.
Bento Gonçalves da Silva
Bento Gonçalves da Silva (1788–1847) was a Brazilian military officer and rancher who led the Farroupilha Revolution in Rio Grande do Sul and became the first president of the Rio-Grandense Republic.
Bernardo O'Higgins
Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (1778-1842), Chilean independence leader and first Supreme Director (1817-1823), victor with San Martín at Chacabuco and Maipú, proclaimed Chilean independence in 1818 and founded its early state institutions.
Desta Damtew
Ras Desta Damtew (ደስታ ዳምጠው) was an Ethiopian aristocrat and general, a son-in-law of Emperor Haile Selassie, who led southern resistance to the Italian invasion and was executed in 1937.
Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka
Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka (1926–1967) was a Ghanaian soldier who led the 1966 coup that overthrew President Kwame Nkrumah and served on the National Liberation Council.
Enrique Loynaz del Castillo
Enrique Loynaz del Castillo was a Cuban general of the Ejército Libertador who fought in the War of Independence of 1895 and wrote the Himno Invasor, later serving as a diplomat.
Esteban Arze
Esteban Arze, or Esteban Mariano Arze Alba y Uriona, was a criollo military leader who commanded forces during the 1810 Cochabamba uprising and subsequently won the battle at Aroma.
Ezequiel Zamora
Ezequiel Zamora (1817–1860) was a Venezuelan popular leader and military strategist who led the 1846 peasant insurrection under the slogan "tierra y hombres libres" and commanded Federal War forces.
Flor Crombet
Flor Crombet, born Francisco Adolfo Crombet Tejera (1851–1895), was a Cuban independence general who fought in all three of Cuba's nineteenth-century wars against Spain and commanded the 1895 expedition that landed Antonio Maceo in Cuba.
Francisco Bolognesi
Francisco Bolognesi Cervantes was a Peruvian army colonel who commanded the defense of Arica in the War of the Pacific and died when Chilean forces stormed the Morro on 7 June 1880.
Francisco de Miranda
Francisco de Miranda (1750-1816), Venezuelan-born Precursor of Spanish American independence; served in Spanish, French, and Venezuelan armies; wrote federal constitutional projects; left the 63-volume Colombeia archive; died in Cádiz prison.
Guillermón Moncada
Guillermón Moncada, full name Guillermo Moncada, was a Cuban general known as the "ebony giant" who fought in all three of Cuba's wars of independence against Spain.
Henry Reeve (soldier)
Henry Reeve, known as "Enrique el Americano", was an American from Brooklyn who fought for Cuban independence in the Ten Years' War, rising to brigadier general.
Hermenegildo Galeana
Hermenegildo Galeana was a Mexican insurgent commander of the War of Independence, one of José María Morelos's principal lieutenants, born in 1762 and killed in 1814.
Ibrahim Babangida
Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), Nigerian Army general born 1941 in Minna, ruled Nigeria as military president 27 August 1985 to 26 August 1993 after ousting Buhari, led the 1986 Structural Adjustment Program, and is chiefly known for annulling the June 12, 1993 election won by MKO Abiola.
Ibrahim Traoré
Ibrahim Traoré (born 1988, Kéra, Bondokuy) is a Burkinabè army captain, President of Faso since the 30 September 2022 coup that ousted Paul-Henri Damiba; he leads MPSR2, extended military rule in 2024, and aligns Burkina Faso with Russia and the Alliance of Sahel States.
Idriss Déby
Idriss Déby Itno (1952–2021), Chadian general and president 1990–2021, overthrew Hissène Habré in 1990, ruled via the MPS through contested elections, channeled oil revenues into patronage, and died fighting rebels in 2021, succeeded by his son Mahamat.
Ignacio Zaragoza
Ignacio Zaragoza was a Mexican general and Secretary of War under President Benito Juárez who defeated French forces at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.
Imru Haile Selassie
Imru Haile Selassie (ዕምሩ ኃይለ ሥላሴ, 1892–1980) was an Ethiopian noble and soldier who commanded armies against Fascist Italy in 1935 and later served as regent and ambassador.
Jean-Jacques Dessalines
Jean-Jacques Dessalines (Janjak Desalin, 1758–1806), Haitian revolutionary general born into slavery, proclaimed Haiti's independence on January 1, 1804, ruled as Emperor Jacques I under the 1805 constitution, and was assassinated at Pont-Rouge in 1806.
Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi
Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi (1924–1966), Nigerian Igbo general, first military head of state, UN Congo commander, GOC 1965, ruled January–July 1966, killed in July countercoup, succeeded by Gowon.
Jorge Rafael Videla
Jorge Rafael Videla (1925–2013), Argentine general and de facto president 1976–1981, led the 1976 junta dictatorship, was convicted in the 1985 Juntas trial and the 2012 stolen-babies case, and died in prison.
José de San Martín
José de San Martín (1778–1850), Argentine general and Liberator with Bolívar of Argentina, Chile, and Peru; led the 1817 Andes crossing, won Chacabuco and Maipú, served as Protector of Peru, resigned after Guayaquil, died in exile in Boulogne-sur-Mer.
José Dolores Estrada
José Dolores Estrada (1792–1869) was a Nicaraguan soldier who rose from private to General of Division and won the 1856 Battle of San Jacinto against William Walker's filibusters.
José Félix Ribas
José Félix Ribas (1775–1815) was a Venezuelan independence general who led a force of students and seminarians to victory at La Victoria in 1814, an action commemorated as Venezuela's Day of Youth.
José Joaquín Puello
José Joaquín Puello was a Dominican general and statesman who helped lead the 27 February 1844 revolt that founded the Dominican Republic and was executed under President Pedro Santana in 1847.