Meaning of Dear Leader | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A title adopted by Kim Jong Il, the supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011.
2. An authoritarian leader who demands unquestioning loyalty.
   derogatory, ironic
3. Nickname for Donald Trump (born 1946), President of the United States (2017–2021; since 2025), seen as engendering unthinking subservience among his followers.
   US, broadly, derogatory, ironic

Examples

“Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s so-called Dear Leader, did not survive the year that opened with the Arab Spring.”

“North Korea has long been known for its love of titles for its leaders. Mr. Kim's grandfather, the nation's founder, was known as the Great Leader; his son, the Dear Leader. The country seems not yet to have decided on the same kind of moniker for Mr. Kim — settling for workaday titles like marshal of the military.”

“"The teachers would say: 'Do you know where the milk came from? It came from the Dear Leader. Because of his love and consideration, we are drinking milk today,' " said Lee, looking every bit a South Korean with her dyed hair and trendy sweater.”

“But patriotism means standing up for your country's values, not pledging personal allegiance to Dear Leader.”

“Even as Trump commands a dwindling number of Republicans willing to say the election remains unsettled, his administration is stuck trying to carry out Dear Leader's wishes.”

“Also on Tuesday, Arizona Republicans censured Rusty Bowers, a Republican and leader in the state's legislature, after he had testified last month before the committee and denied that Trump won Arizona. Fealty to "Dear Leader" remains a tribal litmus test.”

“These people, then, are Jezza's bezzas - his praetorian guard, if you like. And - surely rather alarmingly if you are one of those Labour MPs who isn't content to hold your tongue - they seem open to using the prospect of deselection to ensure that there is a price to pay for badmouthing the dear leader.”

“Like Trump, Trudeau is less a leader than a mascot. Like Trump's following, Trudeau's following sometimes comes off like a Dear Leader cult. Like Trump, Trudeau routinely elicits in his political enemies an hysterical incoherence. As with Trump, it is not known whether Trudeau has ever met a dictator he didn't like.”

“On Sunday, Brady said, Twitter temporarily suspended her account, to which she commented: "Seems one must never make fun of the Dear Leader."”

“In fairness to MPs and MPPs of all political parties, it should be noted that blind servitude to the Dear Leader of the day is the price of career advancement in politics.”

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