Korea: North Korea's 'Great Leader' Kim Il Sung (1912-1994), supreme ruler of the Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK) between 1948 and 1994, posing with a group of children at Mangyongdae Fun Fair, 1982

Kim Il-sung (15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a Korean communist politician who ruled North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, from its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death. He was also the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea from 1949 to 1994 (titled as chairman from 1949 to 1966 and as general secretary after 1966).

His tenure as leader of North Korea has often been described as autocratic, and he established an all-pervasive cult of personality. From the mid-1960s, he promoted his self-developed Juche variant of communist national organization. He outlived Joseph Stalin by four decades, Mao Zedong by two, and remained in power during the terms of office of six South Korean presidents, ten U.S. presidents, and twenty-one Japanese prime ministers.

Following his death in 1994, he was succeeded by his son Kim Jong-il, who in turn was succeeded by his son Kim Jong-un. North Korea officially refers to Kim Il-sung as the 'Great Leader' (Suryong in Korean 수령) and he is designated in the constitution as the country's 'Eternal President'.

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