The effectiveness of a country's leaders is best measured by examining the well-being of that country's citizens.

“Leader becomes great, not because of their powers because of their ability to empower others”. This quote remains us the influence the leaders have towards its people. Ever since the rise of early civilizations, there had been great leaders who led people even during the period of adversity and despair. This is witnessed in the recent century where democracy has taken an upper hand over monarchy and imperialism in many parts of the world. The world is fortunate to be led by some of the best leaders in its history.

During the times of monarchy, there was a frequent struggles and battles for power to rule people. But not all Kings and their dynasties were able to fulfil the expectations of its people. Nevertheless, there were some exceptional kings and even dynasties which ruled their people and this rule made the country grow leaps and bounds both individually and as a society. One of the best dynasties that had ruled India were the Mughal dynasty. Their regime is often termed as “Golden Age of Dynastic Rule”. During their rule, the land grew prosperous by having a very good trade and commerce and very good agricultural practices. The people under their rule were exposed to different cultures during their rule of 400 years. This directly reflected the well being of the people of the country.

The best dynasties or the best rulers not only made their country wealthy and prosperous but also evoked people’s interest in Arts, Music and crafts. They did not make prodigious spending of money but were more limited to spending for their welfare of the people. They focused towards the economical, political and social activities of their people. There was a religious harmony among the people ,though there were many casts and religions in their kingdoms. They were able to preserve their culture throughout the period of the dynasty.

The age of monarchy was followed by age of imperialism where natives of a country or region were held as slaves by their masters who were mainly the Europeans. There was a strong turbulence and unrest among the people in this era and this led to growth of violence and bloodshed in the country. The leaders, who were ruling the country, were focussing only on their personal benefits and plundering the native countries’ wealth and leaving the natives to feed for themselves. The countries were beleaguered under their European masters and wore a pathetic state under the hands of its imperialistic rulers.

This “dark age” of Imperialism was followed by democracy,which led the common people to take the leadership positions and working towards the welfare of the people. One of the best examples of democracy is in United States. The US produced one of the greatest list of national leaders in its 300 years of democratic rule. Some of the prominent leaders who led their country in times of adversity were Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D Roosevelt and John F Kennedy. Their accomplishments speak about themselves. Lincoln’s fight against abolishing the slavery in US led to the equal rights to Black Americans on par with the white Americans. Franklin D Roosevelt’s leadership took America out of Great Depressions of the 1930’s towards a stable economy where millions of people came out of poverty and paved for the growth of country. John F Kennedy’s development towards Science and Technology made the Americans reach its numero uno position in the respective fields which changed life and provided jobs to millions of people across the world ,the repercussions of which are even seen today.

Though there were many great leaders the world has seen, there remains a serious dearth in leadership across the world. By having good leaders and by having their leadership activities and strategies in place , we could make the world a better place to live in.