# Who are the best military leaders who became politicians?

> These commanders proved equally formidable in the political arena as on the battlefield — some founding nations, others reshaping empires. Cast your vote!

*By YPB Team · Published April 10, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/who-are-the-best-military-leaders-who-became-politicians*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **George Washington**
   Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army who became the first President of the United States in 1789.
2. **Dwight D. Eisenhower**
   Five-star Supreme Allied Commander who led the D-Day invasion and became the 34th President of the United States.
3. **Ulysses S. Grant**
   Union Army general who led the North to victory in the Civil War and became the 18th President of the United States.
4. **Napoleon Bonaparte**
   Military genius who conquered much of Europe and became Emperor of the French, reshaping modern law and governance.
5. **Julius Caesar**
   Roman military general who conquered Gaul and became dictator of Rome, transforming the Republic toward imperial rule.
6. **Charles de Gaulle**
   French WWII resistance hero who became President of France and founded the Fifth Republic in 1958.
7. **Mustafa Kemal Atatürk**
   Ottoman military commander who founded the Republic of Turkey in 1923 and became its first president.
8. **Simón Bolívar**
   South American military leader who liberated Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia from Spanish rule.
9. **Andrew Jackson**
   Hero of the Battle of New Orleans in 1815 who became the 7th President of the United States.
10. **Colin Powell**
   Four-star general and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who served as the first Black U.S. Secretary of State.
11. **Fidel Castro**
   Guerrilla leader who overthrew the Batista regime and ruled Cuba for nearly five decades.
12. **Ariel Sharon**
   Celebrated Israeli military general who became Prime Minister of Israel and initiated the Gaza disengagement plan.
13. **Francisco Franco**
   Spanish general who led the Nationalists to victory in the Civil War and ruled Spain as head of state until 1975.
14. **Ho Chi Minh**
   Revolutionary military leader who led North Vietnam's independence movement and became President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

Tags: historical-figures, celebrities, politics