Alexei Kosygin vs Ali Abdullah Saleh

Kosygin became Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Premier) in October 1964 after Khrushchev's ouster. He served as head of government for 16 years, overseeing the Soviet economy and foreign policy during the Brezhnev era.

Kosygin launched economic reforms in September 1965 aimed at decentralizing the Soviet economy. The reforms gave enterprises more autonomy, reduced central planning, and introduced profit incentives, but were largely abandoned by the early 1970s due to bureaucratic resistance.

Kosygin supported the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968, which crushed the Prague Spring reforms. He participated in negotiations with Czechoslovak leaders, justifying the intervention as necessary to preserve socialism in the Eastern Bloc.

Kosygin resigned as Premier in October 1980 due to declining health. He was replaced by Nikolai Tikhonov, ending his 16-year tenure as head of the Soviet government. He died two months later, on December 18, 1980.

Ali Abdullah Saleh, as president of North Yemen, negotiated the unification with South Yemen on May 22, 1990. He became president of the unified Republic of Yemen, a major achievement in Arab unity.

Saleh initially supported Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, straining relations with Saudi Arabia and the West. This led to the expulsion of nearly a million Yemeni workers from Saudi Arabia and economic hardship.

After southern leaders attempted secession, Saleh's forces crushed the rebellion in a brief civil war. This solidified his control over a unified Yemen but deepened regional divisions.

Mass protests erupted against Saleh's 33-year rule. After months of violence and a failed assassination attempt, he agreed to a Gulf Cooperation Council-brokered deal to step down in exchange for immunity.

After switching sides in the Yemeni Civil War to ally with the Houthis, Saleh was killed by Houthi forces on December 4, 2017, while trying to flee Sanaa. His death ended a complex political career.