Special Sub-Topic: Take Me To Your Leader Click Here To Play: Take Me To Your Leader

Following the death of Yuri Andropov, this man became General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in February 1984. Who is he?

Konstantin Chernenko. Konstantin Chernonko was 72 when he succeeded Andropov and only lived for a further thirteen months after becoming the leader of the USSR. His demise led to Mikhail Gorbachev's accession. Brezhnev had ruled from 1964 until 1982 and was Andropov's precedessor.

Having spent 27 years in prison in South Africa, Nelson Mandela became President in May 1994. Who succeeded him in 1999?

Thabo Mbeki. Nelson Mandela's prison number was 46664 as he was the 466th prisoner in 1964 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/46664_(number)) It is also the name of the charity set up by Nelson Mandela to promote awareness of HIV/AIDS. Surprisingly, his successor, Thabo Mbeki has suggested that there is no link between HIV and AIDS.

This person became leader of a British political party in 1975 and was elected Prime Minister in 1979. She was the first woman to hold this role in Great Britain. Can you name her?

Margaret Thatcher & Thatcher. Margaret Thatcher succeeded Edward Heath as leader of the Conservative Party having previously held the position of 'Secretary of State for Education and Science' in his 1970-1974 government. Her controversial decision to withdraw free milk from 7-11 year olds led some people to call her 'Margaret Thatcher - Milk Snatcher'. She continued to take controversial decisions during her time as Prime Minister, one of which - the poll tax - led to the leadership challenge that ended her time in Downing street.

The Berlin Wall fell in 1989. Egon Krenz was in charge in East Germany, but who was the Chancellor of West Germany at the time?

Helmut Kohl & Kohl. Helmut Kohl became Chancellor of West Germany when his CDU/CSU party (Christian Democratic Union of Germany/Christian Social Union of Bavaria) won the 1982 election - a position he held during the reunification of Germany, until 1998 election to Gerhard Schroeder. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_Kohl

Emperor Akihito succeeded his father, Hirohito, as Emperor of Japan, but in which year did he ascend to the throne?

1989. Emperor Hirohito continued the line of the Yamoto Dynasty of Japenese Emperors. Like many monarchies, it is continued through the male line of the family. As a result, Akihito ascended to the throne ahead of his four elder sisters.

In the middle of World War II, Australia had a change of Prime Minister. Who took office at the end of August 1941?

Arthur Fadden. Arthur Fadden became Australia's Prime Minister following the resignation of Robert Menzies, however he himself resigned just over a month later to be replaced by John Curtin.

Who was the first man to hold the presidency of the United States of America, who was not elected to either the presidency or vice-presidency?

Gerald Ford & Ford. Spiro T Agnew resigned as the 39th Vice-President of the USA in 1973 and Gerald Ford was appointed as his successor by Richard Nixon. Nixon famously then resigned as president as a result of the Watergate scandal, which elevated Ford to the presidency. Whilst Gerald Ford was able to defeat the primary challenge of Ronald Reagan, he lost the 1976 presidential election to Jimmy Carter.

Pierre Trudeau served as Canadian Prime Minister twice, non-consecutively (winning four general elections in total). In what year did he begin his second stint in the job?

1980. Pierre Trudeau's liberal party was defeated in the 1979 Canadian general election and he had intended to resign at that time. Before he was able to do so, Joe Clark, whose Progressive Conservative party had formed a minority government, were defeated in a motion of no confidence. Pierre was re-elected as Prime Minister in the 1980 general election that followed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Trudeau

This Ukrainian politician is associated with the Orange Revolution and became president in 2005. Can you name him?

Viktor Yushchenko. During the 2004 election campaign, Viktor Yushchenko, became ill and it has been claimed that he was poisoned by dioxin to prevent him winning the presidency. In the first round of voting, neither candidate won sufficient support to win the presidency. In the second round, whilst exit polls suggested that Yushchenko had won convincingly, the official result was that Yanukovych was the winner. Following the Orange Revolution, the supreme court annulled that round of voting and a rerun confirmed Yushchenko as president.

Vicente Fox was elected as the President of Mexico and took office in 2000. Do you know who succeeded him in 2006?

Felipe Calderón. The Institutional Revolutionary Party had held power in Mexico for 60 years until Vicente Fox and his National Action Party took power. The Mexican president may only serve for one six-year term.