As the saying goes, "Behind every great man is a great woman." But can the same be said about the ladies that stand behind some of the world's most infamous dictators? Find out more after the jump.


Ana Paula dos Santos, wife of Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos

This former fashion model met her husband while working as a flight attendant on the Angolan version of Air Force One. Her accomplishments include a degree in teaching and law, as well as being a member of the International Steering Committee.


Sabika bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, wife of Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa

Said to be a devoted mother to their four children, one of whom is crown prince Ibrahim Al Khalifa who is an outspoken activist for women's and children's rights.  She also serves as the head of the Supreme Council for Women in Bahrain, encouraging women to vote in the country, and is also the chief patron of the Society for Women and Children in Bahrain.


Chantal Biya, wife of Cameroonian President Paul Biya

Thirty-eight years her husband's junior, Biya is best known as being a trendsetting socialite who has met with Michelle Obama, Paris Hilton, and even the pope. Her favorite European designers include Dior and Chanel, and many of the pieces in her wardrobe are reportedly custom-made. She is also a member of African Synergy, a club that comprises the wives of 22 of the continent's heads of state.


Hinda Déby, wife of Chadian President Idriss Déby Itno

Hinda Déby is considered the "new first lady," but is technically the "fourth lady" of Chad as her husband has been married many times. She is well-loved and renowned for her beauty, which is perhaps why she's the best-known of the president's wives.


Constancia Mangue, wife of Equatorial Guinean President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo

Referred to as the first lady of Equatorial Guinea, she's been awarded for her advocacy of women's and children's rights through the NGO she founded, the Equatorial Guinean Child Aid Committee. Mangue is the mother of Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the president's oldest son, who has been named his successor.


Zeinab Suma, wife of Gambian President Yahya Jammeh

Most reports about the "official" first lady of Gambia are shockingly negative. She's been labelled a "gold digger", a "hustler", and a "devil" who "enjoys seeing Gambians suffer." When her husband took a younger, second wife in 2010, she protested by moving to the U.S. and threatening divorce until he divorced the new wife.


Rania Al Abdullah, wife of Jordanian King Abdullah II ibn Al-Hussein

Since her marriage, Queen Rania has used her position to advocate for various sectors of society in Jordan and beyond. She was ranked the most beautiful queen consort or first lady by Harper and Queen magazine in 2011. Born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents, she is described highly educated and worked briefly in marketing for Citibank, followed by a job with Apple in Amman.


Sara Nazarbayeva, wife of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev

Sara is the founder and chair of Bobek, an international children's charity fund, which won her the Ihsan Doğramacı Family Health Foundation Prize from the World Health Organization in 1997. Despite her work in children's welfare, Nazarbayeva recently revealed that she is not in favor of people from other countries adopting Kazakh children.


Ri Sol-ju, wife of North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un

Has been deemed as the so-called "the Kate Middleton of North Korea" by the Global Post. Was only "outed" as the supreme leader's wife in 2012. Little else is known about her in general other than that she's around 30 and comes from a well-to-do North Korean family. There are rumors that she may have shot a homemade porn film, and that she once led a promiscuous lifestyle. Her husband was said to have ordered nine musicians who were supposedly perpetuating these rumors executed.


Jeannette Kagame, wife of Rwandan President Paul Kagame

Jeannette Kagame work has focused on ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic and improving the lives of its victims. Thanks to the collective efforts of Kagame and global leaders, new HIV infections have been cut in half and testing among young women has increased sixfold in the last decade. She returned to her native Rwanda after the genocide of 1994 and has since championed issues related to women's rights and children.


Inkhosikati LaMbikiza, wife of Swazi King Mswati III

Thanks to Swazi law, King Mswati III gets to marry someone new every year (15 brides and counting). But Queen Inkhosikati LaMbikiza stands out as the "senior wife" because their's was not an arranged marriage. She reportedly dropped out of school at age 16 just  to marry him.

She also defied Swazi tradition by earning a law degree after the marriage, but she's not allowed to practice as it could create pressure on judges to rule in her favor. Her other accomplishments include becoming the first Swazi queen to record a gospel album, and earning American press for her bold fashion choices.


Asma al-Assad, wife of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

The two first met in London, where she worked as an investment banker at J.P. Morgan while Assad was studying to be an eye surgeon. They married shortly and have three children together. She stood by the President's side as his fortune rocketed past $1 billion and a civil war rages on in Syria. Her other interests include of extravagant shopping sprees, disingenuous photos of her charitable work on the president's official Instagram account, and arranging for a praiseworthy profile to be published in Vogue.


Tatyana Karimova, wife of Uzbek President Islam Karimov

Tatyana Karimova is an economist by trade and keeps busy by engaging in charity work and accompanying the president on trips. The pair are reportedly separated, and their eldest first daughter has also accused her of practicing witchcraft.


Cilia Flores, wife of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro

The couple met 19 years ago through mutual friend Hugo Chavez, when Maduro was his bodyguard and Flores was just a feisty lawyer who rose up from poverty. She was also a member of Chavez's defense team that won his freedom after a failed coup attempt. Nicknamed the "First Fighter" by her husband, she succeeded him as the first female president of the National Assembly, and last year was appointed attorney general of the Republic. Despite putting roughly 40 family members in positions of public administration, she denies all accusations of nepotism.


Grace Mugabe, wife of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe

Described as 41 years his junior, Grace Mugabe, was President Mugabe's secretary when they began having an affair in the '80s. Two of their three children were born while the president was still married to his late wife, and finally got hitched in an extravagant Catholic mass a few years after she died. Reports of the first lady's lavish lifestyle and international shopping sprees have prompted the president's opponents to call her "Disgrace", although she prefers the moniker "mother of the nation."


The 30+ wives of Saudi Arabian King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

King Abdullah has had more than 30 wives during his lifetime, though very little is known about any of them individually. Historically, the women of the House of Saud play a major role in politics. Behind palace walls, they hold regular meetings with the king so he can explain his views and listen to their thoughts. Since his father, King Abd al-Aziz, wed a daughter of every tribal chief in his realm, it is believed that these marriages and the resulting offspring are most likely a form of cementing alliances.