Gaddafi's son was linked to arms smuggling. Saddam's sons were rapists and torturers. The children of tyrants often hasten the downfall of their fathers. Just ask Mubarak.
Hosni Mubarak lost power in Egypt in part because he refused to heed one of history's hidden lessons: dictators shouldn't have sons. And most of them have them. This often hastens their or their nation's downfall.
Egyptians might have been prepared to suffer their fate for a while longer, if the ailing Mubarak had not revealed how he intended his son, Cemal, to succeed him in power.
Of all his arrogant actions, none offended the people more than his claim that Jamal Mubarak was the most qualified of the 80 million Egyptians to rule the country. The plan was to come to power not by the voice of the people, but only because his father wanted it that way.
Less than a week after protests broke out in Egypt, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh publicly promised that he would not hand over power to his son, Ahmed, after he leaves.
At the same time, King Abdullah of Jordan, who succeeded his father on the throne, dissolved the government to strengthen his regime. His monarchy appears secure at the moment, as does its namesake in Saudi Arabia, but the idea that sons have the right to succeed their fathers as near-absolute rulers is gaining ground.
Africa rich in examples
Few sons of dictators have managed to stay in the family business, most notably Bashar al-Assad of Syria and Kim Jong Il of North Korea. Most, however, failed miserably.
Africa is particularly rich in examples. The sons of Idi Amin, Daniel Arap Moi and Jomo Kenyatta failed to cope with the power their fathers tried to hand over to them.
One of Gaddafi's sons, Saif al-Arab, was under investigation for smuggling weapons to Germany. Another, Hannibal, caused a diplomatic dispute with Switzerland after he was arrested in Geneva on charges of abusing his housekeeper.
In some countries, even the idea of dynastic succession is enough to inflame popular anger. That may give thought to dictators such as Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, whose sons are rumored to be leading candidates to succeed him. Even if they fail to seize and retain power, they exemplify the dissolute lives that the sons of dictators often lead.
One of Gaddafi's sons, Saif al-Arab, was under investigation for smuggling weapons to Germany. Another, Hannibal, caused a diplomatic dispute with Switzerland after he was arrested in Geneva on charges of abusing his housekeeper.
His record also includes charges of assaulting a police officer in Italy, drunkenly speeding a Porsche down the Champs Elysées in the wrong direction, and police having to intervene at London's Claridges Hotel after his wife was heard screaming in her room (she later said that the cuts and bruises were the result of the fall).
Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay, were famous rapists and torturers. Rape was also a favorite pastime of Niku Ceausescu, the son of the deceased Romanian dictator; it was said that he enjoyed assaulting women while his guards beat their husbands. Niku was a compulsive gambler and heavy drinker, like the other sons.
Some have gained notoriety for drug use, and some, like Chucky Taylor from Liberia and Marko Milosevic from Serbia, are said to have entered the drug business themselves.
Marko Milošević loved racing cars
It does not require much psychological insight to conclude that the exaggerated sense of privilege these young men assimilate leads them to think there are no limits to the wanton immorality afforded them.
Joseph Kabila managed to seize power in the Congo without much protest after succeeding his murdered father in 2001, but he is an exception.
Sadi Gaddafi even secured a place in the Libyan national football team. Part of this equation is impulsive violence. How else to explain the allegations that Chucky Taylor once beat a driver to death after finding scratches on one of his cars, or that Uday Hussain ordered the torture of football players whose performance displeased him.
Placing sons in power often sets off a storm of protest. In 2005, police in Togo killed more than 400 protesters after the ruling clique agreed that Faure Gnasingbe would succeed his late father as president.
Four years later, riots erupted in Gabon when election officials announced that Ali Ben Bongo had been elected president, succeeding his late father.
Joseph Kabila managed to seize power in the Congo without much protest after succeeding his murdered father in 2001, but he is an exception. In Uganda, Joveri Museveni may be among those who will reconsider the plan to put his son in power.
Three options to avoid the curse
How can the powerful avoid this curse? There are three options. One solution is the "silk cord", which was favored by the Ottoman sultans. To avoid future problems, they often sacrificed their sons - ordered to be strangled - because their blood was considered too sacred to be shed. It sounds brutal, but supporters of this practice like to point out that the number of victims was negligible compared to the huge number of victims in European wars of succession.
When people wonder why Turkey has emerged as the most successful country in the Muslim Middle East, they should not overlook the fact that the country's founder, Kemal Ataturk, had no children.
When people wonder why Turkey has emerged as the most successful country in the Muslim Middle East, they should not overlook the fact that the country's founder, Kemal Ataturk, had no children. Like Washington, he was widely admired and could easily have named his son as his successor. Instead, like Washington, he graciously stepped down and let the country evolve toward democracy.
There is a third option: having daughters instead of sons. History suggests that the daughters of the powerful tend to be good leaders, and even very capable ones. Among them are Magavati Sunkarnoputri in Indonesia, Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan, Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh and Indira Gandhi in India. They seemed to inherit a sense of power and leadership, and although they did not rise above corruption, they tended to be more open-minded, more willing to compromise, and less consumed by testosterone-driven activities such as speeding, drug addiction, and violence.
Alas for Mubarak, he has no daughter, and it is too late for the silk cord.
(author Steven KINZER is an award-winning foreign correspondent and author of "Resetting: The Future of Iran, Turkey and America")
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