Suse,
I agreee, the men who have followed her have been the worst of a bad bunch because they're not as intelligent as she was, Liberal democracy has run it's course, the nation state and therefore politics are finished as a force for change. It wouldn't matter if you had a Gay, Black or disabled premier, they have no people and no nations left to rally to their standard. There are no Western leaders because there's nobody to follow them, that's why we have people like you and Belly living in the past on a diet of mythology and hero worship.

There is no doubt in my mind that Adolf Hitler was the most influential person of the 20th century. His rise to power seen the destruction of 60 million people. He, more than anyone else was responsible for WWII, which as a positive seen the rise of good technology for mankind, and bad, atomic bombs. It seen the destruction of the worlds most powerful empire, the British Empire, and its subsequent impact on millions of people. The complete redesign of Europe was the result of Hitlers efforts. The UN, love it or hate it, partly a result of Hitler. The emergence of the worlds new super powers, USA and USSR and the resultant cold war has its roots in Hitler. You could even say man would never have landed on the Moon if it wasn't for Hitler and German war, rocket technology. His personal hatred seen the destruction of 6 million Jews, this resulted in the acceleration of the formation of the state of Israel and in part the 70 years of Mid East conflicts. There is very little in the world today that can't be traced back to Adolf and his obsession with war and world domination, starting about 95 years ago after his involvement in WWI.
I think WWI was the most significant event to take place in the 20th century. I say that as I think WWII, and Hitler, were a result of WWI and not independent of it, more an extension of it.
The most influential person of all times, in my view, was Jesus Christ, a man who has influenced billions of lives over 2 millennium. The most significant event of all times, in my view, is the Big Bang, for without it none of the above would have happened. Unless you want to accept the existence of God then he/she/it has to be accepted as the most significant person/event of all times.

I agree it's probably Gorbachev for the global physical changes he instigated.

As for Gandhi and Mandela, they were admirable figureheads with Gandhi achieving great change through non-violent means.

On a personal level however, Gandhi was still a child-abusing wife beater who was cruel to his own children and Mandela was on Clinton's terrorist watch-list and refused to repudiate violence as a political tool - so they all have "feet of clay".

Thatcher's legacy (like Reagan's) is well recorded by those who suffered under her regime.

Dear wobbles,

The following link might be of interest to you:

http://www.rferl.org/content/Gorbachevs_Legacy_Examined_25_Years_After_His_Rise_To_Power/1980816.html

No one has nominated Johnny "Tacky Dacks" Howard or The Mad Monk for that matter......I need one of those funny faces to tack on the end of that. LOL etc etc and of course etc.

Dear Paul,

Perhaps posters prefer leaders who successfully pursue
generally commendable elements of nation building
which at their best are outward looking and
compassionate, not inward-looking and narrow.