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Sacha Baron Cohen

01 / Characters · 04 of 06

Admiral General Aladeen

The Supreme Leader of Wadiya, a dictator invented to make fun of real ones.

2012

Sacha Baron Cohen in uniform as Admiral General Aladeen.

02 / Character file

Republic of Wadiya

By order of the Supreme Leader

Full name
Admiral General Haffaz Aladeen
Title
President-Prime Minister Admiral General Haffaz Aladeen
Nationality
Wadiyan. Wadiya is a fictional country in East Africa, just below Sudan.
Occupation
Dictator and Supreme Leader of Wadiya
Religion
Atheist; a follower of the Cult of Aladeen.
Co-writer David Mandel, 2012: "Technically speaking, the dictator is North African. But he is not Muslim. There is no mention of Muslims, or Muslim humor." J. The Jewish News of Northern California, May 18, 2012
Ethnicity
East African
In the film: 'I am not an Arab.'
Style
Beloved Oppressor
Family
Omar Aladeen (father), Tamir Mafraad (uncle)
Spouse
Zoey (an American Jewish woman he meets in the US)
Children
Expecting one by the end of the film

03 / The character

Aladeen is a pampered tyrant with a beard, a chest full of medals, a nuclear programme, a claimed 137 PhDs and no idea how ordinary people live. Stripped of his beard and dumped in New York, he has to survive in a city that treats him like anyone else, which is the one thing he has never been.

The target

The vanity of authoritarian rulers, and how comfortably democracies accommodate them when it suits their interests.

04 / History

Aladeen marked a change of method. After Borat and Bruno made hidden-camera work in character impractical, The Dictator was fully scripted and cast, with the satire aimed at the strongmen of the era and at the Western governments and companies happy to do business with them.

The character’s public appearances, including the 2012 Academy Awards red carpet, were staged performances rather than pranks on unwitting people.

05 / Key works

  • 2012The DictatorParamount Pictures. Directed by Larry Charles.
  • 2012The 84th Academy Awards red carpetArrived in character carrying an urn.

06 / The republic

Wadiya

The film gives Aladeen a country: the Republic of Wadiya, a desert state on the Red Sea, bordered by Sudan, with a nuclear programme, a capital named after its ruler and a flag of green and orange. It exists only in The Dictator.

A fan-made map of the Republic of Wadiya on the Red Sea, with Aladeen Palace, Aladinea (Wadiya City) and the country's green and orange flag.
A fan-made map placing Wadiya on the Red Sea coast, with Aladeen Palace inland and the capital, Aladinea, on the water. Not from the film.
A news broadcast frame from The Dictator showing a satellite map of Wadiya beside Sudan on the Red Sea, captioned Nuclear threat in Wadiya.
A broadcast frame from The Dictator: Wadiya between Sudan and the sea, under the caption 'Nuclear threat in Wadiya.'

07 / The reel

Watch Admiral General Aladeen

  • Trailer, 2012, Paramount Pictures UK

    The Dictator UK trailer

    Paramount's official UK trailer; the main US Paramount channel has no upload of the film's trailer.

  • Trailer, 2012, Netflix

    The Dictator trailer (Netflix)

    Netflix's upload of the trailer when the film joined the service.

  • Awards, 2012, E! Entertainment

    Aladeen spills 'Kim Jong Il's ashes' on Ryan Seacrest, Oscars red carpet 2012

    E! aired the red carpet live on February 26, 2012; the urn contained pancake mix. E! is the network that broadcast the moment; no Paramount, ABC or Oscars upload exists.

Official clips play here. Others open in a new tab.