Augusto Pinochet was a Chilean military dictator who ruled Chile from September 1973 to March 1990

1. Augusto Pinochet, was a Chilean general who took over the country in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973 and ruled until transferring power to a democratically elected president in 1990. During his regime, Pinochet's government was tough on opposition movements, killing over a 1,000+, imprisoning another 80,000+, and torturing another 30,000+. Interestingly, Pinochet's implemented many progressive economic policies such as privatization of state owned companies, implementation of free-trade, and overall stabilization of inflation. Policies implemented under Pinoche from 1973-1990 lead to a 50% jump in Chilean GDP (picture below). Pinochet was put on trial in 2004 for over 300 charges of human rights violation, tax evasion, and embezzlement. He died on December 10, 2006 while under house arrest and still on trial.