Paul Biya has been President of Cameroon for 42 years. Ali Khamenei has been Supreme Leader of Iran for 36 years. Denis Sassou Nguesso has ruled the Republic of the Congo for 33 years.
That makes Emomali Rahmon something of a youngster. He has been in charge of post-Communist Tajikistan for a mere 27 years, though he has made up for lack of time on the job with exceptional dedication to it. No one doubts who is in charge of Tajikistan — the smallest, poorest and most mountainous of the five republics of Central Asia, once part of the Soviet Union, now on their own. Continue reading “From Tajikistan to Mexico”