Kim Jong-Il

The sole, lifelong ruler of North Korea, having inherited control of the country from his late father, Kim Il-Sung. Also chairman of the National Defense Commission, supreme commander of the Korean People's Army and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea. Died of a heart attack, according to North Korean authorities, while traveling on a train on Dec. 17, 2011.

Feb. 16 -- 1941, according to Soviet records, or 1942, according to North Korean records. Because the official North Korean version of his birth includes mythological elements such as a double rainbow and star appearing over Baekdu Mountain, the Soviet version -- which has Kim being born in Vyatskoye while his father commanded a Soviet brigade -- is more realistic.

Father was first ruler of the Stalinist state of North Korea; his mother, also a guerrilla, died in 1949. Kim is believed to have had three wives, or one official wife and three longtime mistresses including his current consort, personal secretary and de facto first lady Kim Ok. He has at least three sons and a daughter. He is said to have a fondness for movies and fast cars, as well as other lush accoutrements that few other North Koreans could even dream of.

Korean Workers' Party, nominally.

Kim Jong-Il took over state affairs from his father, Kim Il-Sung, in 1980, and became head of the country after the elder Kim's death in 1994. No one may take the title of president since Kim Il-Sung, so Kim Jong-Il was known as the general secretary.

Kim had been plagued by health woes and even rumors about whether he was alive or dead. It was believed that his consort, Kim Ok, handles many political matters for him. In 2010, he announced that his third and youngest son, Kim Jong Un, was being groomed to succeed him. Two days after Kim's death, when his passing was finally confirmed to the public, national TV confirmed allegiance to Kim's son.

"The liquidation of colonialism is a trend of the times which no force can hold back."