Kim Jong-un Biography

Quick Facts

Name 

Kim Jong-un

Occupation 

Military Leader

 

Birth Date: 

August 1, 1983

Education 

Kim Il-sung Military University

Place of Birth 

Pyongyang North Korea

Full Name 

Kim Jong-un

Kim Jong-un became the leader of North Korea in 2011, having inherited his position from his father Kim Jong-il.

Synopsis

Much of the early life of Kim Jong-un is unknown to Western media. Presumably born in North Korea, Kim Jong-un is the son of Ko Young-hee, an opera singer, and Kim Jong-il, who was the military-oriented leader of the country for over a decade until his death in 2011. Kim Jong-un has continued the country’s nuclear testing and what is believed to be the development of missile technology despite international disapproval. He has pledged to focus on educational and economic reforms and is more mediagenic in his approach to leadership than his father.

Limited Information on Early Life

The birthdate and early childhood of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is shrouded in mystery. It is known that he is the youngest son of Korean military leader Kim Jong Il (also written Jong-il), who, under the communist Worker's Party, had ruled North Korea since 1994; and the grandson of Kim Il-sung, his father's predecessor. Kim Jong Il began to prepare Kim Jong-un for succession to leadership in 2010. Upon his father's death in December 2011, Kim Jong-un assumed power. It is believed that he was in his late 20s at the time. He reportedly counts among his close allies his uncle, Jang Sung-taek, and army political bureau chief Choe Ryong Hae.

Kim Jong-un's mother was opera singer Ko Young-hee, who had two other children and is thought to have campaigned for Kim Jong-un to be his father's successor before her death in 2004. It has been reported that Kim Jong Il indeed took a liking to Kim Jong-un, noting that he saw in the youth a temperament similar to himself. It is also thought that Kim Jong-un may have been educated abroad in Switzerland before attending the Kim Il-sung Military University (named after his grandfather) in the capital of Pyongyang in the mid-2000s.

Suspected Weapons Testing

Under Kim Jong-un's authority, North Korea has continued what are believed to be weapons-testing programs. Though agreeing in February 2012 to halt nuclear testing and to a cessation on long-range missile launching, in April 2012, the country launched a satellite that failed shortly after takeoff. Then, in December of the same year, the government launched a long-range rocket that put a satellite in orbit. The U.S. government believes that these launches are meant to cover up work and testing on ballistic missile technology.

In February 2013, North Korea held its third underground nuclear test. The act has been roundly condemned by the international community, including the United States, Russia, Japan and China. In the face of further sanctions, analysts have stated that Kim's continued focus on armament while calling for U.S. peace talks is a strategy of positioning North Korea as a formidable entity and cementing his standing as a regional leader.

More Mediagenic Manner

In the summer of 2012, it was revealed that Kim had taken a wife, Ri Sol-ju. While the couple's exact wedding date is unknown, one source reported it as 2009. In the months since the marriage was uncovered, the country's first lady has frequently appeared in media—a striking departure from previous protocols. It has also been speculated that the couple have a child.

Kim Jong-un, who is part of the cyber-generation, is seen as having a more mediagenic approach then his father, with the younger Kim having given a New Year's broadcast, taking in musical performances with his wife and being seen as more engaging with soldiers and workers. He has also embraced cultural items that might be seen as more Western in their aesthetic.

Another sign of Jong-un's Western interests surfaced in early 2013. Former professional basketball player Dennis Rodman paid North Korea a two-day visit. During Rodman's stay, Kim accompanied him to watch a basketball game. Rodman has claimed that he wants to help improve relations between the United States and North Korea.

Economic Plight of North Korea

North Korea has been mired in poverty and economic ruin, with a devastating famine in the 1990s and food shortages that have continued for most of the population, affecting its school system as well.

• Jacob Zuma Biography  

The country also reportedly has a concentration camp system with torturous, horrifying conditions for thousands of prisoners. Kim has vowed to focus on educational and economic reforms, including looking at a program that would allow North Koreans to work in China.

Jacob Zuma Biography

 Quick Facts

Name

Jacob Zuma

Occupation

President of South Africa

Birth Date

April 12, 1942

Place of Birth

Nkandla, South Africa

Full Name

Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma

Jacob Zuma was elected president of South Africa in 2009. In 2007, he won the presidency of the African National Congress, the country's leading political party.

Synopsis

Born in Nkandla, South Africa, on April 12, 1942, Jacob Zuma was elected president of South Africa in 2009. In 2007, he won the presidency of the African National Congress, which he joined at an early age in 1959. Zuma served as deputy president of South Africa from 1999 to 2005. He is a controversial politician, involving himself in several legal scandals associated with corruption and racketeering. A polygamist, Zuma has 20 children.

Early Life and Background

Born on April 12, 1942, in Nkandla, South Africa, Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is a controversial figure in South-African politics. In late 2007, he was elected president of the African National Congress, the country's leading political party, defeating Thabo Mbeki. In 2009, Zuma was elected president of South Africa, defeating Kgalema Motlanthe, who currently serves as his deputy president.

Early Influences

The road to the ANC presidency started long ago for Zuma. He was born in a part of South Africa now known as KwaZulu Natal (once Zululand) and became politically active at a young age. Influenced by a trade unionist family member, Zuma joined the ANC, a political party that stood against the country’s practice of apartheid—or racial segregation—and other discriminatory policies in the late 1950s. Also around this time, the ANC and other opposition groups were banned by the government so Zuma had to keep his membership secret.

Entry Into Politics

Forced to go underground, the ANC, which had long been a nonviolent group, developed a militant wing in the early 1960s. Known as Umkhonto we Sizwe, the new militant group undertook acts of sabotage against the government. Zuma joined the group in 1962 and was arrested the next year with 45 other members and soon was convicted of conspiracy. Sentenced to 10 years in prison, he served his time in the infamous Robben Island prison where Nelson Mandela, the country’s future president, was also imprisoned for many years.

After his release in 1973, Zuma continued working for the ANC and played an essential role in building the underground organization’s infrastructure in KwaZulu Natal. Two years later, he went into exile living in several different African nations. Zuma remained dedicated to the ANC and joined the organization’s National Executive Committee in 1977. Holding a number of ANC posts over the next decade, he established a reputation as loyal and hard working.

After the ban on the ANC was lifted in 1990, Zuma returned to South Africa. He helped the party negotiate with the existing government led by F. W. de Klerk about political prisoners and the return of exiles. In his native KwaZulu Natal, Zuma also worked to end the violence there. While he failed in his 1994 campaign to become premier of that province, Zuma is credited with establishing lasting peace in the region and became a member of the province's Executive Committee of Economic Affairs and Tourism that year. Within his own political party, he won the position of national chairperson of ANC as well as the party’s chairperson position for the KwaZulu Natal.

Rape and Corruption Charges

Continuing with his political ascent, Zuma was appointed executive deputy president of South Africa by Thabo Mbeki in 1999, after Mbeki won the presidency. As part of his vision for the country, Mbeki created a special unit—known informally as "the Scorpions"—to investigate corruption. Later that year, the South-African government announced that it had reached a deal to buy 29 million rand worth of strategic arms—planes, boats, helicopters and submarines. This deal has haunted Zuma for years. He and other members of the government were investigated when financial irregularities were discovered. Initially cleared in a 2001 report on the matter, Zuma ended up facing corruption charges, but those charges were dropped in 2003.

Zuma's legal woes resurfaced in 2005 after his financial advisor, Shabir Shaik, was convicted of corruption and fraud. Zuma was again charged with corruption for taking a bribe in connection with 1999 arms deal. As a result, he was fired by President Mbeki.

In December 2005, Zuma was charged with raping a woman in his home. Pleading not guilty, Zuma stood on trial in Johannesburg for several months in early 2006. During the trial, Zuma was criticized for his ignorance about the transmission of HIV/AIDS. His accuser was HIV positive and Zuma said that they had sex without protection and that he showered after having sex to avoid getting the virus. This was big news for a country has been battling a HIV/AIDS epidemic. After the judge ruled that the sex was consensual, Zuma was acquitted of the charge in May.

In the fall of 2006, the corruption charges against Zuma were thrown out by a judge. However, the door was left open for charges to be filed against him in the future. Free of legal challenges, Zuma was soon running for the presidency of the ANC. He took on former friend and president Mbeki for control of their political party. Mbeki has been viewed a moderate politician who had helped steadily grow the country’s economy, which is one of the strongest in Africa. But some see him as aloof and removed from the people.

South African Leadership

In direct contrast, Jacob Zuma has positioned himself as a man of the people. He came from very humble beginnings and lost his police officer father when he was only 4 years old. To help his family after his father's death, Zuma did odd jobs to bring in money while his mother was employed as a domestic worker. With no time for school, he taught himself how to read and write. His triumph over his early struggles makes Zuma an appealing figure to many South Africans. He also capitalized his history as a guerilla fighter to show himself to be a man of action and has used the song, "Bring Me My Machine Gun," as his anthem.

When Zuma defeated Mbeki in December 2007, it was seen as a sign of impending change for South Africa. Strongly supported by the unions and some communist party officials, he is seen a likely move to the left from the centrist positions of Mbeki, according to a report from the Pretoria News. This has created some concern over the country's economic future.

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In 2009, Zuma was elected president of South Africa, defeating Kgalema Motlanthe, who currently serves as his deputy president. As the leader of the ANC, Zuma is the party's prime candidate for the presidency in South Africa's 2014 elections. Zuma's re-election, however, could prove to be less than seamless due to mounting criticism that his administration has failed to improve the nation's economy or effectively battle corruption, as well as his less-than-perfect criminal record.