Uruguay’s former president (b. 1935)

Uruguay’s José Mujica has been dubbed “the world’s poorest president”. He resides on his wife’s farm outside the capital, Montevideo, and donates roughly 90% of his monthly salary to charities. Mujica became a member of the Uruguayan leftist guerrilla group, Tupamaros, in the early 1960s, and spent a total of 14 years as a political prisoner. He is a champion for the lower and middle classes, a radical liberal (he pushed Uruguay’s legalization of consumption, and regulation of cannabis in 2012), and a voice of reason opposing growth with consumption. Mujica is unlike any president today.