The most recent United States of America election has caused many different questions to arise. For example, what qualities make a good world leader? Some of the world’s most famous leaders in different cultures all handled their reigns differently. During their times, they showcased favorable qualities in a leader. However, they had not shown said characteristics in a positive way. Adolf Hitler from Germany, Donald Trump from the USA, and Wu Zetian from China all showed ambition and decisiveness. These traits are not all that are needed. World leaders need to be calm, peaceful, and should know when to stop not only themselves, but their plans as well.
The first example of a world leader who did not have these traits is Adolf Hitler. He was well-liked among most of the German population due to his qualities. The website spiegel.de further shows this when it states, “...[Hitler] reaped extensive approval for appearing to have acted ruthlessly to eradicate the evils and misdeeds that endangered the nation.” Germany’s citizens, after the first world war, were so desperate to be lifted out of poverty and to be united. The nation had united, but simply against the wrong groups of people. Due to Adolf Hitler’s lack of calmness, he had created a calamity for many different types of citizens in his country. Had he known enough peacefulness to stop his plans, he could have been a leader that lifted his country out of poverty and unite them, but in a way where they would not be doing so while going against other humans.

A lesser known example of a leader with questionable qualities is Wu Zetian. She was an empress of China during the Tang Dynasty and, similar to Adolf Hitler, was also known as being merciless towards enemies. To further show her appeal and tactics, Britannica states, “[Wu Zetian] ruthlessly eliminated opponents by dismissing, exiling, or executing them -- even if they were her own family… though she had brutal tactics, her decisive nature and talent for government has been praised by historians.” This excerpt affirms the lack of Zetian’s sense of tranquility and even how unwilling she was to give second chances. Her favorable traits, such as determination and patriotism, were not balanced out by the traits that are truly needed for world leaders, such as serenity, causing her to make murderous decisions she would be known for in the future.

The most recent and final example of a leader who does not exhibit these important traits is Donald Trump. He is the 45th president of the United States of America, and has also been called the most controversial president so far. Those who support him favor the same qualities in him as others have favored in Wu Zetian and Adolf Hitler: determination, decisiveness, and ambition. Like the leaders before him, however, his traits cause him to make disputable choices. During his campaign, Donald Trump had famously proclaimed that he will build a wall between the USA and Mexico to shop criminals and illegal immigrants from entering the country. Although this may seem like a solution to that issue, the government may be shut down from lack of funds if they were to start the building immediately. Multiple sites and officials have stated that this shutdown would cost billions of dollars, as well as halt health, safety, and veteran’s benefits. Despite this, Donald Trump insists upon starting. He does not possess the quality of self-control, and this could set him and the country back in terms of appeal and poverty.
Many different people say that leaders such as the aforementioned three were successful because they took charge and united their countries. What people fail to mention is what they took charge upon and what the citizens were united over. For example, Donald Trump is uniting parts of the country over hatred of different ethnic/religious groups, like how Adolf Hitler was. Using this unity, Hitler and Trump both took charge. In Hitler’s case, he cost his country the support of many countries as well as cost many innocent human beings their lives.

Peacefulness, self-control, and calmness (as well as determination, ambition, and decisiveness) are all qualities that create a well-balanced leader. Take away the first three, however, and the leaders suddenly seem to act like rulers, as shown through the actions of Donald Trump, Wu Zetian, and Adolf Hitler.