Dictators: Ousted and Still Standing -- PICTURES

By National Journal Staff

July 13, 2012 | 3:05 p.m.

Autocrats have hit a rough patch lately, with the Arab Spring knocking off several in the Middle East and Syria's Baathist Regime embroiled in a civil war. Elsewhere in the world, some dictatorships have escaped crisis in recent years. Here's a look at some of the dictators who have toppled, and some who haven't.

STILL STANDING: Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has held onto power as his country descends into civil war. His stockpile of chemical weapons has created additional unease over Syria's instability. (AP Photo/SANA)

OUSTED: Despite rumors last month that former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had died after suffering a stroke, he remains in prison, sentenced to life for his role in the brutal crackdown on the protests that toppled his regime. (AP Photo, File)

OUSTED: Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali was the first dictator ousted during the Arab Spring. Since fleeing the country, he has twice been convicted in absentia by Tunisian courts. (AP Photo/Hassene Dridi)

OUSTED: Libya's Muammar el-Qaddafi fell to rebels from within and NATO airpower from above. He was killed by his countrymen in October 2011. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

OUSTED: Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh left office in November 2011 amid domestic protests and international pressure to abdicate. (AP Photo/Mohammed Hamoud, File)

OUSTED: Former dictator of Iraq Saddam Hussein was found in ad-Dawr, a small town near Tikrit, in what was described as a "spiderhole." Hussein would be found guilty of crimes against humanity in November 2006 and executed on Dec. 30. (WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

STILL STANDING: Kim Jong Il's December 2011 death brought his dynasty to a critical juncture, but power passed smoothly to his son Kim Jong Un, pictured here. (AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service)

STILL STANDING: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced in June 2011 that he was undergoing treatment for cancer, but he has maintained control of the country and in July 2012 announced a full recovery, calling it "a miracle." (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

STILL STANDING: His health ailing, a 79-year-old Fidel Castro (left) began transferring power to his brother Raul (right) in 2006. Raul remains in charge today. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano, File)

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