tamer_youssef's Newest Cartoons

Abd al-Karim Qasim

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Abd al-Karim Qasim (1914 – 1963), was a nationalist Iraqi Army officer who seized power in a 1958 coup d'état, wherein the Iraqi monarchy was eliminated. He ruled the country as Prime Minister of Iraq until his downfall and death in 1963. His name can be transliterated from the Arabic in a number of ways, eg. Abdel Karim Kassem, Abdul Karim Kassem, Abdulkarim Kasem, Abdel-Karim Qaasim, `Abdul Karim Qasem, Qassem. During his rule, he was popularly known as al-za‘īm or "The Leader".

Frank Zappa by Tamer Youssef

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* Frank Zappa | USA | by Tamer Youssef | Pencil Sketch on Recycled Bristol Paper | August 2009 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American composer, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, electronic, orchestral, and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. Zappa produced almost all of the more than 60 albums he released with the band Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. In his teens, he acquired a taste for percussion-based avant-garde composers like Edgard Varèse and 1950s rhythm and blues music. He began writing classical music in high school, while at the same time playing drums in rhythm and blues bands—he later switched to electric guitar. He was a self-taught composer and performer and his diverse musical influences led him to create music that was often impossible to categorize. His 1966 debut album with the Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, combined songs in conventional rock and roll format with collective improvisations and studio-generated sound collages. His later albums shared this eclectic and experimental approach, irrespective of whether the fundamental format was one of rock, jazz or classical. He wrote the lyrics to all his songs, which—often humorously—reflected his iconoclastic view of established political processes, structures and movements. He was a strident critic of mainstream education and organized religion, and a forthright and passionate advocate for freedom of speech and the abolition of censorship. Zappa was a highly productive and prolific artist and he gained widespread critical acclaim. Many of his albums are considered essential in rock history, and he is regarded as one of the most original guitarists and composers of his time; he remains a major influence on musicians and composers. He had some commercial success, particularly in Europe, and for most of his career was able to work as an independent artist. Zappa was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. Zappa was married to Kathryn J. "Kay" Sherman from 1960 to 1964, and in 1967 he married Adelaide Gail Sloatman, with whom he remained until his death from prostate cancer in 1993. They had four children: Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan and Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen. Gail Zappa manages the businesses of her late husband under the name the Zappa Family Trust.

Salvador Dali

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* Salvador Dalí | Spain | by Tamer Youssef | Pencil Sketch on Recycling Paper | July 2009 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1st Marquis of Púbol (May 11, 1904 – January 23, 1989) was a Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres. Dalí (pronounced 'da-LEE') was a skilled draftsman, best known for the striking and bizarre images in his surrealist work. His painterly skills are often attributed to the influence of Renaissance masters. His best-known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in 1931. Dalí's expansive artistic repertoire includes film, sculpture, and photography, in collaboration with a range of artists in a variety of media. Dalí attributed his &quot;love of everything that is gilded and excessive, my passion for luxury and my love of oriental clothes&quot; to a self-styled &quot;Arab lineage,&quot; claiming that his ancestors were descended from the Moors. Dalí was highly imaginative, and also had an affinity for partaking in unusual and grandiose behavior, in order to draw attention to himself. This sometimes irked those who loved his art as much as it annoyed his critics, since his eccentric manner sometimes drew more public attention than his artwork.

Muammar al-Gaddafi

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* Muammar al-Gaddafi | Libya | by Tamer Youssef | Pencil Sketch on Regular Paper - 50% Recycled | Colors using Photoshop CS4 | California | USA | Jume 2009 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (born 7 June, 1942) also known as Colonel Gaddafi has been the de facto leader of Libya since a 1969 coup. Although Gaddafi has held no public office or title since 1979, he is accorded the honorifics "Guide of the First of September Great Revolution of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" or "Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution" in government statements and the official press. With the death of Omar Bongo of Gabon on June 8, 2009 he became the third longest serving head of state. In February 2009, upon being elected chairman of the 53-nation African Union in Ethiopia, Gaddafi told the assembled African leaders: "I shall continue to insist that our sovereign countries work to achieve the United States of Africa."

Patrice Lumumba

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* Patrice Lumumba | Congo | by Tamer Youssef | Pencil Sketch on Regular Paper - 50% Recycled | California | USA | Jume 2009 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

Patrice Émery Lumumba (2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961) was an African anti-colonial leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo after he helped win its independence from Belgium in June 1960. Only ten weeks later, Lumumba's government was deposed in coup during the Congo Crisis. He was subsequently imprisoned and murdered in controversial circumstances.

Jacob Zuma

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* Jacob Zuma | South Africa | by Tamer Youssef | Pencil Sketch on Bristol Paper | California | USA | Jume 2009 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (born 12 April 1942) is the President of South Africa, elected by parliament following his party's victory in the 2009 general election. Zuma is the President of the African National Congress (ANC), the governing political party, and was Deputy President of South Africa from 1999 to 2005. Zuma is also referred to by his initials JZ and his clan name Msholozi. Zuma became the President of the ANC on 18 December 2007 after defeating incumbent Thabo Mbeki at the ANC conference in Polokwane. Zuma is also a lifelong member of the South African Communist Party (SACP), briefly serving on the party's Politburo until 1990. Zuma has faced significant legal challenges. He was charged with rape in 2005, but was later acquitted. In addition, he fought a long legal battle over allegations of racketeering and corruption, resulting from his financial advisor Schabir Shaik's conviction for corruption and fraud. On 6 April 2009, the National Prosecuting Authority decided to drop the charges citing political interference.

Amir Peretz

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* Amir Peretz | Israel | Pencil Sketch on Bristol Paper | Greenville | South Carolina | USA | 2006 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

Amir Peretz‎ (born 9 March 1952) is an Israeli politician and member of the Knesset for the Labour Party. He is a former Defense Minister of Israel and former leader of the Labour Party, having left those positions in June 2007. Peretz is the former chairman of the Histadrut trade union federation and defeated Shimon Peres in the primary elections for the Labour leadership on 9 November 2005. He led the Labour Party to a second place showing in the 2006 Israeli elections. He was sworn in as Defense Minister along with the rest of the new Cabinet of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on 4 May 2006. He was defeated by Ehud Barak for the Labour leadership on 12 June 2007 and resigned from the position of Defense Minister.

Yasser Arafat

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* Yasser Arafat | (August 24, 1929 – November 11, 2004) | Palestine | by Tamer Youssef | Pencil Sketch on Bristol Paper | Cairo | Egypt | 2003 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini (August 24, 1929–November 11, 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian leader. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, President of the Palestinian National Authority, and leader of the secular Fatah political party, which he founded in 1959. Arafat spent much of his life fighting against Israel in the name of Palestinian self-determination. Originally opposed to Israel's existence, he modified his position in 1988 when he accepted UN Security Council Resolution 242. Arafat and his movement operated from several Arab countries. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Fatah faced off with Jordan in a brief civil war. Forced out of Jordan and into Lebanon, Arafat and Fatah were major targets of Israel's 1978 and 1982 invasions of that country. While the majority of the Palestinian people, regardless of political ideology or faction, viewed him as a freedom fighter and martyr who symbolized their national aspirations, some Israelis described him as a terrorist for the attacks his faction led against civilians. Later in his career, Arafat engaged in a series of negotiations with the government of Israel to end the decades-long conflict between that country and the PLO. These included the Madrid Conference of 1991, the 1993 Oslo Accords and the 2000 Camp David Summit. His political rivals, including Islamists and several PLO leftists, often denounced him for being corrupt or too submissive in his concessions to the Israeli government. In 1994, Arafat received the Nobel Peace Prize, together with Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, for the negotiations at Oslo. During this time, Hamas and other militant organizations rose to power and shook the foundations of the authority Fatah under Arafat had established in the Palestinian territories. In late 2004, after effectively being confined within his Ramallah compound for over two years by the Israeli army, Arafat became ill and fell into a coma. While the precise cause of death remains unknown, doctors spoke of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura and cirrhosis, but no autopsy was performed. Arafat died on November 11, 2004 at the age of 75.

Pablo Picasso

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* Pablo Picasso | Spain | by Tamer Youssef | Pencil Sketch on Bristol Paper | California | USA | May 2009 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. As one of the most recognized figures in 20th-century art, he is best known for co-founding the Cubist movement and for the wide variety of styles embodied in his work. Among his most famous works are the proto-Cubist Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) and Guernica (1937), his depiction of the German bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War.

Charles M Schulz

Nicolas Sarkozy

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* Nicolas Sarkozy | France | by Tamer Youssef | Pencil Sketch on Bristol Paper | January 2009 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa - Nicolas Sarkozy (born on 28 January 1955 in the 17th arrondissement of Paris) is the President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal ten days earlier.

Nicolas Sarkozy

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* Nicolas Sarkozy | France | Work in progress | by Tamer Youssef | Pencil Sketch on Bristol Paper | Photo | Olympus digital camera | January 2009 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa - Nicolas Sarkozy (born on 28 January 1955 in the 17th arrondissement of Paris) is the President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal ten days earlier.

Gordon Brown

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* Gordon Brown | UK | by Tamer Youssef | Pencil Sketch on Bristol Paper | February 2009 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

James Gordon Brown MP (born 20 February 1951) is a British Labour politician and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Brown assumed office in June 2007, after the resignation of Tony Blair and three days after becoming leader of the governing Labour Party. Before this, he served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour government from 1997 to 2007 under Blair. Brown has a PhD in history from the University of Edinburgh and spent his early career working as a TV journalist. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1983; first for Dunfermline East and since 2005 for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath. As Prime Minister, he also holds the positions of First Lord of the Treasury and the Minister for the Civil Service. Brown's time as Chancellor was marked by major reform of Britain's monetary and fiscal policy architecture, transferring interest rate setting powers to the Bank of England, by a wide extension of the powers of the Treasury to cover much domestic policy, and by largely benign economic conditions. His most controversial moves were the abolition of Advance Corporation Tax (ACT) relief in his first budget - a move that received criticism for effectively wiping out defined benefit or final salary pension schemes in the UK. - and removal of the 10p tax rate in his final 2007 budget. His time as PM has been of mixed fortune, facing repercussions of the credit crunch and the associated nationalisation of Northern Rock, the 10p tax rate row, rising oil and petrol prices, and increased inflation. Brown has also suffered as a result of investigations into improper party donation accusations, a costly political battle over 42 day detention and heavy by-election defeats, notably Glasgow East. Despite an initial increase in personal and Labour popularity following his appointment as Leader and PM, Brown has presided over a dramatic decline in poll approval ratings personally and for the party. During the summer of 2008 speculation arose of a potential challenge to Brown's leadership, but the threat of a contest receded during October following the Labour Party Conference, the emergence of the financial crisis and Labour's win in Glenrothes after a number of by-election losses.

Gordon Brown

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* Gordon Brown | UK | Work in progress | by Tamer Youssef | Pencil Sketch on Bristol Paper | Photo | Olympus digital camera | February 2009 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

James Gordon Brown MP (born 20 February 1951) is a British Labour politician and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Brown assumed office in June 2007, after the resignation of Tony Blair and three days after becoming leader of the governing Labour Party. Before this, he served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour government from 1997 to 2007 under Blair. Brown has a PhD in history from the University of Edinburgh and spent his early career working as a TV journalist. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1983; first for Dunfermline East and since 2005 for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath. As Prime Minister, he also holds the positions of First Lord of the Treasury and the Minister for the Civil Service. Brown's time as Chancellor was marked by major reform of Britain's monetary and fiscal policy architecture, transferring interest rate setting powers to the Bank of England, by a wide extension of the powers of the Treasury to cover much domestic policy, and by largely benign economic conditions. His most controversial moves were the abolition of Advance Corporation Tax (ACT) relief in his first budget - a move that received criticism for effectively wiping out defined benefit or final salary pension schemes in the UK. - and removal of the 10p tax rate in his final 2007 budget. His time as PM has been of mixed fortune, facing repercussions of the credit crunch and the associated nationalisation of Northern Rock, the 10p tax rate row, rising oil and petrol prices, and increased inflation. Brown has also suffered as a result of investigations into improper party donation accusations, a costly political battle over 42 day detention and heavy by-election defeats, notably Glasgow East. Despite an initial increase in personal and Labour popularity following his appointment as Leader and PM, Brown has presided over a dramatic decline in poll approval ratings personally and for the party. During the summer of 2008 speculation arose of a potential challenge to Brown's leadership, but the threat of a contest receded during October following the Labour Party Conference, the emergence of the financial crisis and Labour's win in Glenrothes after a number of by-election losses.

Sammy Davis Jr.

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* Sammy Davis Jr. | USA | by Tamer Youssef | Pencil Sketch on Regular Paper - 50% Recycled | California | USA | May 2009 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

Samuel George “Sammy” Davis, Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American entertainer. He was a dancer, singer, multi-instrumentalist (vibraphone, trumpet, and drums), impressionist, comedian, convert to Judaism, and Emmy-winning and Golden Globe-nominated actor. He was a member of the Rat Pack, led by Frank Sinatra, and included performers Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford.

Dr. Mohamed El-Baradei

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* Dr. Mohamed El-Baradei | The Director General of the International Atomic Energy | Nobel Peace Prize awarded in 2005 | by Tamer Youssef | Pencil Sketch on Bristol Paper | Greenville | South Carolina | USA | October 2005 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

Dr. Mohamed Mostafa El-Baradei (born June 17, 1942, in Cairo, Egypt) is the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an inter-governmental organization under the auspices of the United Nations. El-Baradei and the IAEA were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.

Maurice Druon

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* Maurice Druon | France | by Tamer Youssef | Pencil Sketch on Regular Paper | California | USA | May 2009 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

Maurice Druon (April 23, 1918 – April 14, 2009) was a French novelist and a member of the Académie française. Born in Paris, France, Druon was the nephew of the writer Joseph Kessel, with whom he wrote the Chant des Partisans, which, with music composed by Anna Marly, was used as an anthem by the French Resistance during World War II. In 1948 he received the Prix Goncourt for his novel Les grandes familles. He was elected to the 30th seat of L'Académie française on December 8, 1966, succeeding Georges Duhamel.
While his scholarly writing earned him a seat at the Académie, he is best known for a series of seven historical novels published in the 1950s under the title Les Rois Maudits (The Accursed Kings). He was Minister of Cultural Affairs (1973–1974) in Pierre Messmer's cabinet, and a deputy of Paris (1978–1981).

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

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* Mahmoud Ahmadinejad | Iran | Pencil Sketch on Bristol Paper | San Francisco | California | USA | 2007 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born 28 October 1956) is the sixth and current President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He became president on 6 August 2005 after winning the 2005 presidential election by popular vote, the first president of the Islamic Republic not to be a religious cleric in 24 years. Prior to becoming president, Ahmadinejad served as mayor of Tehran, the governor general of Ardabil Province, and served in the Iran–Iraq War as a member of Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution. He is not the most powerful official in Iran; that role belongs to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei according to Article 113 of Constitution of Iran. Khamenei(Khamenei Jendeh) is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Iran and has the final word in all aspects of foreign and domestic policies. Ahmadinejad is a critic of the George W. Bush Administration and supports strengthened relations with Russia, Venezuela, Syria, and the Persian Gulf states. He has said Iran's nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. He has also refused to end nuclear enrichment despite United Nations Security Council resolutions. Ahmadinejad argues that the sanctions are "illegal", imposed by “arrogant powers”, and that Iran has decided to pursue the monitoring of its nuclear program through "its appropriate legal path”, the International Atomic Energy Agency. He has called for the dissolution of the state of Israel and its government, which he does not regard as legitimate or representative of the population, and for free elections in the region. He believes that the Palestinians need a stronger voice in the region's future. One of his most controversial statements was one in which, according to the initial Islamic Republic News Agency translation, he called for Israel to be "wiped off the map," though the interpretation of this quote is disputed. He has also been condemned for describing the Holocaust as a myth, which has led to accusations of anti-semitism; the interpretation of this quote is also disputed. In response to these criticisms, Ahmadinejad said “No, I am not against Jews, I respect them very much”. During his presidency, Ahmadinejad launched a gas rationing plan to reduce the country's fuel consumption and cut the interest rate for private and public banking facilities.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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* Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez | Gabriel García Márquez | Colombia | Nobel Prize Winner in Literature 1982 | by Tamer Youssef | Pencil Sketch on Regular Paper | California | USA | November 2008 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (born March 6, 1927 is a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist. García Márquez, familiarly known as "Gabo" in his native country, is considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. In 1982, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He pursued a self-directed education that resulted in his leaving law school for a career in journalism. From early on, he showed no inhibitions in his criticism of Colombian and foreign politics. In 1958, he married Mercedes Barcha; they have two sons, Rodrigo and Gonzalo. He started as a journalist, and has written many acclaimed non-fiction works and short stories, but is best-known for his novels, such as One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967) and Love in the Time of Cholera (1985). His works have achieved significant critical acclaim and widespread commercial success, most notably for popularizing a literary style labeled as magical realism, which uses magical elements and events in otherwise ordinary and realistic situations. Some of his works are set in a fictional village called Macondo, and most of them express the theme of solitude.

Ismail Haniyah

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* Ismail Haniyah | Palestine | by Tamer Youssef | Pencil Sketch on Recycled Paper | January 2009 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

Ismail Haniyah (born January 1963) is a senior political leader of Hamas and either the former or present Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, the matter being under political and legal dispute. He became Prime Minister after the Palestinian legislative election of 2006 in which Hamas was voted in by the Palestinian people. He was dismissed from office on June 14, 2007 by the decree of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during the Fatah-Hamas conflict; however, he did not acknowledge the decree and continues to exercise prime ministerial authority in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Legislative Council also continues to recognize his authority.

Nouri al-Maliki

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* Nouri al-Maliki | Iraq | by Tamer Youssef | Pencil Sketch on Bristol Paper | Greenville | South Carolina | USA | May 2006 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

Nouri Kamil Mohammed Hassan al-Maliki; born June 20, 1950), also known as Jawad al-Maliki, is the Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Al-Maliki and his government also succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government. His 37-member Cabinet was approved by the National Assembly and sworn in on May 20, 2006. He is married to Fareeha Khalil, and has four daughters and one son. He started in politics as a Shiite dissident under Saddam Hussein's regime in the 1970s and rose to prominence after he fled a death sentence into exile more than 20 years ago. During his time abroad he became a senior leader of Dawa, coordinated the activities of anti-Hussein guerillas and built relationships with Iranian and Syrian officials whose help he sought in overthrowing Hussein. Al-Maliki's constitutional mandate will last until 2010. On April 26, 2006, al-Maliki stopped using the pseudonym Jawad.

Ossama Bin Laden

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* Ossama Bin Laden | Pencil Sketch on Bristol Paper | Cairo | Egypt | 2003 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

Ossama bin Laden (born March 10, 1957) is a member of the prominent Saudi bin Laden family and the founder of the terrorist organization al-Qaeda, best known for the September 11 attacks on the United States. Al-Qaeda has also been associated with numerous other mass casualty attacks against civilian targets. Since 2001, Osama bin Laden and his organization have been major targets of the United States' War on Terrorism. Bin Laden and fellow Al-Qaeda leaders are believed to be hiding in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Wole Soyinka

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* Wole Soyinka | Nigeria | Nobel Prize Winner in Literature 1986 | by Tamer Youssef | Pencil Sketch on Recycling Paper | California | USA | 2008 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

Akinwande Oluwole &amp;quot;Wole&amp;quot; Soyinka (born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian writer, poet and playwright. Some consider him Africa's most distinguished playwright, as he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, the first African to be so honored.Soyinka was born into a Yoruba family, specifically, a Remo family in Isara-Remo in 1934. He received a primary school education in Abeokuta and attended secondary school at Government College, Ibadan. He then studied at the University College, Ibadan (1952-1954) and the University of Leeds (1954-1957) from which he received an honours degree in English Literature. He worked as a play reader at the Royal Court Theatre in London before returning to Nigeria to study African drama. He taught in the Universities of Lagos, Ibadan, and Ife (becoming Professor of Comparative Literature there in 1975). Soyinka has played an active role in Nigeria's political history. In 1967, during the Nigerian Civil War he was arrested by the Federal Government of General Yakubu Gowon and put in solitary confinement for his attempts at brokering a peace between the warring parties. While in prison he wrote poetry which was published in a collection titled Poems from Prison. He was released 22 months later after international attention was drawn to his imprisonment. His experiences in prison are recounted in his book The Man Died: Prison Notes. He has been an outspoken critic of many Nigerian administrations and of political tyrannies worldwide, including the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe. A great deal of his writing has been concerned with &amp;quot;the oppressive boot and the irrelevance of the colour of the foot that wears it&amp;quot;. This activism has often exposed him to great personal risk, most notable during the government of the Nigerian dictator General Sani Abacha (1993-1998). During Abacha's dictatorship, Soyinka left the country on voluntary exile and has since been living abroad (mainly in the United States, where he was a professor at Emory University in Atlanta). When civilian rule returned in 1999, Soyinka accepted an emeritus post at Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) on the condition that the university bar all former military officers from the position of chancellor. Soyinka is currently the Elias Ghanem Professor of Creative Writing at the English department of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the President's Marymount Institute Professor in Residence at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, US. In 2005, he became one of the spearheads of an alternative National conference - PRONACO.

Barack Obama

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* Barack Hussein Obama | USA | by Tamer Youssef | Pencil Sketch on Regular Paper | February 2007 | Sepia Color | Photoshop CS4 2009 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama was the junior United States Senator from Illinois from 2005 until he resigned following his 2008 election to the presidency. He was inaugurated as President on January 20, 2009. Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review. He worked as a community organizer in Chicago prior to earning his law degree, and practiced as a civil rights attorney in Chicago before serving three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. He also taught Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, Obama was elected to the Senate in November 2004. Obama delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, Obama helped create legislation to control conventional weapons and to promote greater public accountability in the use of federal funds. He also made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. During the 110th Congress, he helped create legislation regarding lobbying and electoral fraud, climate change, nuclear terrorism, and care for U.S. military personnel returning from combat assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Robert Mugabe

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* Robert Gabriel Mugabe | Zimbabwe | by Tamer Youssef | Pencil Sketch on Bristol Paper | Photoshop CS3 | November 2008 | Tamer Youssef's Caricature World *

Robert Gabriel Mugabe (born 21 February 1924) is the President of Zimbabwe. He has held power as the head of government since 1980, as Prime Minister from 1980 to 1987, and as the first executive head of state since 1987. Mugabe rose to prominence in the 1960s as a Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) leader in guerilla warfare against white-minority rule in Rhodesia in the Bush War (1964–1979). Emerging from this conflict, Mugabe was hailed by Africans as a hero. Since 1998 Mugabe's policies have increasingly elicited domestic and international denunciation. Mugabe's government pursued a costly intervention in the Second Congo War, expropriated thousands of white-owned farms, printed hundreds of trillions of Zimbabwean dollars triggering hyperinflation, and harassed and intimidated political opponents like members of the Movement for Democratic Change. Zimbabwe's economy spiraled downward, with food and oil shortages, and with massive internal displacement and emigration. In July, 2008, the G8 released a collective statement saying that they "do not accept the legitimacy of a government that does not reflect the will of the Zimbabwean people".