A supreme leader typically refers to the person among a number of leaders of a state, organization or other such group who has been given or is able to exercise the most – or complete – authority over it. In a religion, this role is usually satisfied by a person deemed to be the representative or manifestation of a god or gods on Earth. In politics, a supreme leader usually has a cult of personality associated with them, such as below:

• Adolf Hitler in Germany
• Benito Mussolini in Italy
• Emperor of Japan in Japan
• Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union
• The Supreme Leader of North Korea
• The Paramount Leader and leadership core of China
• General Secretary of the Communist Party in Communist states
• The Supreme Leader of Iran