April 15, 1912 - Kim Il-sung

Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean revolutionary, military commander, politician, and dictator who founded the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), also known as North Korea, in 1948, and led the country from its establishment until his death in 1994. He was succeeded by his son Kim Jong Il and was declared Eternal President.

Kim was born in Japanese-ruled Korea and grew up in northeast China. During his teenage years, he became a communist and joined various anti-Japanese guerrilla groups, eventually joining the Chinese Communist Party in 1931, in which year northeast China was occupied by Japan. Kim took part in several groups led by the CCP. In 1942, he was assigned to the Soviet Red Army, leading him to stay in the Soviet Union until 1945. Following the division of Korea after Japan's surrender in World War II, he was put into power by the Soviet Union in North Korea. Kim authorized the invasion of South Korea in 1950, triggering an intervention in defense of South Korea by the United Nations led by the United States. Following the military stalemate in the Korean War, a ceasefire was signed in July 1953.

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