Definitions

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  • noun A ruling figure in a kleptocracy.

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Instead, spend your time focusing on how he governs, which will either be so extremely poll tested as to be meaningless or as a third world kleptocrat, which is the way he ran his campaign.

    RedState 2008

  • Whether Pinochet was “reluctant” from the start or not, the discovery of secret offshore bank accounts established by him holding far more money than he could have earned through his government salary confirm that he plunged head-first into his role as kleptocrat-in-chief once he got the chance.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » Competing Explanations for the Oppressive Nature of Socialism 2010

  • We can't know what future tyrant, or corrupt kleptocrat, may be waiting in the wings in China's future.

    Is China Next? Francis Fukuyama 2011

  • Still, Switzerland, anxious to shed its image as a haven for kleptocrat money, is taking extraordinary steps to walk new Arab regimes through the recovery process.

    Tracking Assets in the Arab Spring Deborah Ball 2011

  • "It will empower activists, media and good-governance watchdogs, both south of the equator and north, to ensure the continent's vast riches end up in service of its people, not lining the pocket of some kleptocrat."

    Wall Street Reform Passes 2010

  • Somebody who I honestly believe, at this point, may hold the ideals of a public servant rather than a kleptocrat.

    remember, remember, the fifth of November panjianlien 2008

  • Human rights activists and anti-corruption pressure groups accused Unesco of "laundering the reputation of a kleptocrat with an appalling human rights record" and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu argued that the money should go to Obiang's impoverished people.

    African prize for excellent leadership fails to find a winner 2010

  • You'll hire and equip the mercenaries to assassinate the corrupt kleptocrat dictators AND install freedom-loving democracies in their stead?

    Shame on the Hill - Canada - Macleans.ca 2010

  • "It will empower activists, media and good-governance watchdogs, both south of the equator and north, to ensure the continent's vast riches end up in service of its people, not lining the pocket of some kleptocrat."

    Wall Street Reform Passes 2010

  • Bono, the U2 lead singer and antipoverty campaigner in Africa, said in a statement the disclosures can "ensure the continent's vast riches end up in service of its people, not lining the pocket of some kleptocrat."

    Oil Industry Gets Disclosure Jolt 2010

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  • "The anecdote highlights how, regardless of election hoopla, Washington is the same one-party town it always has been -- controlled not by Democrats or Republicans, but by Kleptocrats (i.e., thieves). Their ties to money make them the undead zombies in the slash-and-burn horror flick that is American politics: No matter how many times their discredited theologies are stabbed, torched and shot down by verifiable failure, their careers cannot be killed. Somehow, these political immortals are allowed to mindlessly lunge forward, never answering to rivals -- even if that rival is the president himself."

    - David Sirota, Obama's team of zombies, salon.com, 6 Feb 2009.

    February 7, 2009