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How Obama and other world leaders changed the world with charisma

Even before he becomes president, Barack Obama has developed quite a following. The crowds he attracted on the campaign trail and the interest in his inaugural signal that Obama has a rare gift, but one seen often in other world leaders: charisma -- the natural ability to attract people. The following is NEWSWEEK's list of the world's most charismatic people, all who rose to great fame by how they attracted people to push for societal change. The list contains some, but not all, of those people. Tell us who we missed in the comments section below.

 
 
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Member Comments

  • Posted By: BeijingBob1 @ 02/13/2009 9:26:36 PM

    Obviously Hitler, Stalin and Mao were the most distructive charismatic leaders for their countries. Will Obama join this club?

  • Posted By: aquadiver @ 01/30/2009 11:31:06 AM

    Charisma is not always a force for good, as evidenced by Adolf Hitler, who certainly had the ability to stir the masses. On the more positive side, though, you could have included Frederick Douglass and Anwar Sadat.

  • Posted By: Iam3rd @ 01/29/2009 3:05:54 PM

    Continuing with the infamous mentions that were charismatic nonetheless: Saddam Hussein. Joseph Stalin. Mao Zedong. David Koresh. Julius Caesar and Alexander of Macedonia were supposedly very charismatic, to include figures from the way back.

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