Take a look at the below list of Top 10 Best And Most Influential Leaders of Europe of All Time till 2017. Leaders influence their people in various ways. History ranks some leaders in an excellent way while portraying others in the worst way possible. The silent war between Barrack Obama and Vladimir Putin for their place as the most influential persons is a sensation for the modern world. Technology is a determinant of the influence level enjoyed by several leaders. Below are some of the best and most influential leaders in European History. Some are known for their courage and bravery, while some are known for their dictatorship.
List of Top 10 Best And Most Influential Leaders of Europe of All Time till 2017
10. Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin is a Russian theorist and a Revolutionary Communist politician. He served as the head of Russian Soviet Federative Republic and also as leader of the Soviet Union from 1921 until his demise. Under his administration, reorganizing the Russian empire as the Soviet Union. He is a strong believer in Marxism and nationalized wealth belonging to the Soviet Union including businesses, industries, and lands. Leninism is his personal contribution to Marxism. He eliminated the idea of having Provincial Governments in 1917 and established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. He accepted and signed a treaty to establish instant peace with Central powers, starting the new world revolution. Time magazine named Vladimir Lenin as one of the top 100 most prominent persons of the 20th century.
9. Queen Elizabeth I
The fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty is Queen Elizabeth I, Queen of Ireland and England. Due to her contributions to the establishment of modern Europe, Queen Elizabeth I is considered to be one of the most famous Queens of Europe. The Elizabeth Era is the name of her reign coupled with the most modern persons in history including Francis Drake the English adventurer, Christopher Marlowe and Shakespeare William. She ruled her vast territory assisted by her most reliable advisors: Baron Burghley and Cecil William. She was confirmed supreme governor of the Church of England by the Elizabethan Religious Settlement, allowing marriage by priests and banning images from churches. Elizabeth led a great military victory in the history of England in 1988, against the Armada of Spain.
8. Karl Marx
One of the principal architects of modern science is Karl Marx: a German historian, journalist, philosopher, sociologist, economist, and revolutionary socialist. Marxism is a common word used to describe his views on economics, politics, and society. Marx is honored for some his genius books, among them the Das Kapital and the Communist Manifesto. Due to his belief that socialism produces tension that leads to self-destruction, he constructed the basic ideas of capitalism. After working in Cologne, London, and Paris as a journalist, he started campaigns on socialism as a leader of the International Workingmen’s Association. A majority of governments that stuck to his Marxism principles took control of their countries in the 20th century, including the People’s Republic of China and the Soviet Union.
7. Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill is one of the most powerful and influential wartime leaders in European history. The British politician served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from the early 1940s to late 1945 and served in the same position again starting 1951 until 1955. Neville Chamberlain resigned in 1940, paving the way for Churchill to be the prime minister. Winston is a politician, artist, historian, writer and a former British Army officer. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for literature in 1953, becoming the first ever British Prime Minister to win the prestigious award. Churchill is also the first person to be awarded an honorary citizenship of the United States. During his term as Prime Minister, he led Britons to the victory of the Nazi of Germany. He is one of the best Prime Ministers that Britain has ever had and the Greatest Briton of all times, according to a poll carried out in 2002.
6. Henry VIII
Henry VIII served as king of England and ruled France and Ireland. Henry was the second monarch of the Tudor dynasty and succeeded his father, Henry VII. He played a significant role in the separation of the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. After Henry had achieved the dissolution of Monasteries, the leader declared himself the Supreme Head of the England Church in 1536. He granted the laws in the Acts of Wales in 1535 and controlled the legal union between Wales and England. Henry is famous for having over six marriages and the individual rivalry between him and two other rulers: Francis I from France and Emperor Charles V. The Tudors describe him as ‘one of the most charismatic leaders to sit on the English throne.’
5. Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini is the founder and Leader of the National Fascist Party. He served as Italy’s prime minister from 1922 up to 1943, terminating his term in an expulsion. Benito ruled constitutionally until 1925, when he set up a hereditary dictatorship, dropping all forms of democracy in his country. Mussolini used his fascist followers to achieve a one party dictatorship in the country by use of a series of laws and secret police forces. The leader then destroyed all the political opponents. After the invasion of Poland by Germany in 1939 starting the First World War, Benito quickly supported the Fuhrer, believing that Italy would gain the territorial access to France, allowing his military forces to launch an offensive on Egypt. The vote on Grand Council of Fascism led to the defeat of Mussolini after the Allies invaded Italy, and the leader got arrested on 12th September 1943 by Victor Emmanuel II, who was also a king.
4. Peter the Great
Peter the Great is a Russian emperor and ruler coming after old political and social systems with the scientific and modern system based on the enlightenment of the 17th century. He expanded the Tsardom Empire in Russia into a larger empire through successful wars, establishing his territory as the central European power. Peter ordered all military personnel, state officials and courtiers to shave all beards and adopt a modern clothing style as part of his reforms. Great founded the first Navy base in Russia in September 1698, located in Taganrog. Peter got victorious in the Battle of Narva, capturing Livonia, a Swedish province. A vast territory of Finland got occupied by Great after he won the Battle of Gangut, later in 1714.Peter surrendered Finland and paid two million currencies after the Great Northern War. He became the Emperor of the entire Russia on October 1721.
3. Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin served as leader of the Soviet Union and dictated socialism as a concept, replacing the New Economic Policy established by Lenin in 1920.While he developed Russia as an Industrial power, he imprisoned millions of people opposed to his policy in labor camps and deported others to remote areas. In 1941, Stalin agreed to sign a non-congressional agreement with Germany’s Nazi, causing a division of influence and territory between him and Fuhrer. After destructive wars in Moscow and Stalingrad, Soviet forces led by Stalin halted the incursion of Nazi, facing massive human and territorial losses. Stalin’s Red Army captured Berlin after overpowering the Axis forces on the Eastern side in 1945. He was the most Influential Leaders of Europe of All Time till 2017.
2. Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler is the founding father of the Nazi Party. He served as Germany’s Chancellor between 1933 and 1945, becoming the dictator of Nazi Germany in 1934. Hitler is famous for his role in the Second World War as well as the Holocaust. Hitler served as a veteran of the First World War, after which he joined German Workers’ Party around 1919, becoming the sole leader of the party three years later. Hitler failed in his own Beer Hall Putsch, after which served five years in prison, where he wrote the Mein Kampf. After his release in 1924, Adolf got a political opportunity, at a time when Germany suffered Great Depression. Hitler became the single ruler of Germany and declared Britons as the main enemies, triggering the Second World War in 1939. Adolf Hitler was defeated by the Western Allies and the Red Army during the Second World War in 1945.
1. Napoleon Bonaparte
French’s Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte accomplished some liberal reforms throughout Europe, including the termination of Feudalism and the spreading of religious tolerance. His Napoleonic Code influenced some jurisdictions in civil law in different countries. Napoleon’s war campaigns are a topic of study by students of military science all over the world. He pioneered the French Revolution and won most of his wars, gaining control of continental Europe. He became the emperor of France by establishing himself as a Consul in 1799 through a coup d’état. Napoleon won some military expeditions throughout the world but got defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815.
All the leaders listed above gained their positions as the best and most influential leaders of all time till 2017 of their era, from the fifteenth Century until today. Their influence on the people had an impact on the modern societies. However, if we were to consider the dynastic era, then Julius Caesar and Alexander the great would be the most influential leaders.