Riyad al-Asad

Riyad al-Asad has been the leader of the Free Syrian Army since his defection from the Syrian Air Force in July 2011. Like other Syrian soldiers, he defected after refusing to follow President Assad's orders to shoot civilians. Little is known about his background, but he, like the majority of Syrians, is Sunni, unlike the Alawi President Bashar al-Assad. Before the uprising, he had served in Syria's Air Force since 1987, attaining the rank of Colonel.

Mohamed Bouazizi

Mohamed Bouazizi was the man credited with causing the Arab Spring. Because his father had died when he was young, Mohamed barely finished high school before it fell to him to support his family. The main breadwinner for his mother and several siblings, he could only find work in his rural Tunisian town as a fruit-and-vegetable vendor; he barely made a living, but he fared better than many in a country where the unemployed are often university graduates.

Tawakel Karman

Tawakel Karman was one of the 2011 recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize. A Yemeni activist and journalist, she gained widespread recognition when she was imprisoned during the early stages of the Yemeni protests to depose Ali Abdullah Saleh.  In 2005, she co-founded Women Journalists without Chains, a Yemeni group that since 2007 has led weekly protests to campaign for press freedom.  When the Arab Spring spread to Yemen, Karman emerged as an obvious leader of the protesters.  

Mohammad Ali Jafari

Mohammad Ali Jafari has commanded Iran's Revolutionary Guards since 2007. From a poor background, he received his basic education in his hometown of Yazd before attending Tehran University with financial help. While at university, he became involved in anti-Shah protests; some allege that he participated in the American Embassy siege. During the Iran-Iraq War, he served in the Revolutionary Guards, the section of Iran's military now tasked with preserving the republic's Islamic character.

Sami Hafez Anan

Sami Hafez Anan has been the Chief of Staff of Egypt's Armed Forces since 2005. He was in the United States when the Arab Spring protests began in late January 2011, but he quickly returned to Egypt to order the army not to fire on protestors. The day before Mubarak resigned from the presidency, Anan made a speech in Tahrir Square promising to protect the protestors and their demands.

Avigdor Lieberman

Avigdor Lieberman has been Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2009. Born in the Soviet Union, he moved to Israel as a young man and quickly became involved in conservative politics; there are allegations that he was briefly involved in the Kach party, which was later banned for its racist ideology. In 1999, he founded the secular Zionist party Yisrael Beitenu, whose base is Lieberman's fellow immigrants from the former Soviet bloc.

Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is the heir apparent to the Saudi throne. The younger half-brother of King Abdullah, he became crown prince in October 2011 after the death of Prince Sultan. Alongside the late King Fahd and Prince Sultan, he is a member of the so-called Sudairi Seven, the largest cohort of full brothers among the sons of King Abdulaziz; the brothers support each other and each holds prominent positions in government.

Maher al-Assad

Maher al-Assad is a key Syrian military commander and is widely considered the country's most powerful man after his brother, President Bashar al-Assad. After his brother Basil's 1994 death, Maher, while politically active, was not chosen to succeed his father as president; analysts speculate that this was likely due to either his youth or his temper. The position instead went to his older brother Bashar, then largely outside of politics.

Abdullah Gul

Abdullah Gul has been the President of Turkey since 2007. A member of the country's ruling Justice and Development Party, he has attracted criticism in the secular society because his wife wears a headscarf.  While he gained notoriety as an Islamist, he has recently pursued more moderate policies; as foreign minister, he spearheaded Turkey's bid to join the European Union.  Despite these reassurances, many Turks were still uneasy when Gul became president of the staunchly secular country.

Ali Khamenei

Ali Khamenei has been the Supreme Leader of Iran since 1989. Previously the president of Iran, he has been the Supreme Leader since Ayatollah Khomeini's death. Khamenei has a long record as a conservative cleric; he was an early supporter of Khomeini's ideology, and served as his spokesman inside Iran during Khomeini's exile. He narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in 1981, and became president a few months later.

Rashid al-Ghannushi

Rashid al-Ghannushi is a co-founder of the Ennahda Party that won the 2011 Tunisian elections. A Socialist at university in Damascus, he later became more religious and turned to Islamism. In the early 1980s, the then-dictator of Tunisia allowed some political freedoms, and al-Ghannushi used this opportunity to form the political party that would later become Ennahda. Three months after its founding, the leaders were imprisoned, and seven years later, al-Ghannushi would be sent into exile.

Ismail Haniyeh

Ismail Haniyeh claims to have been Prime Minister of Gaza since 2006; Fatah disputes this, having appointed Salam Fayyad in 2007. Born in a refugee camp in Gaza, he joined a party that would later help form Hamas and was arrested by Israel during the Palestinian intifada in the late 1980s. After his release, he became a key assistant to Hamas' founder, Ahmed Yassin, which helped him become known in the party.

Hassan Nasrallah

Hassan Nasrallah has been the Secretary General of Hezbollah since 1992. Born in Beirut, his family returned to their ancestral home when the Lebanese civil war began; Hassan was 15 then and his imams encouraged him to pursue his interest in theology. At 16, he commenced studies at a seminary in Najaf, Iraq. When Iraq expelled all Lebanese students two years later, he and future Hezbollah leader Abbas Musawi returned to Lebanon to form a seminary and start Hezbollah.

Qaboos bin Said Al Said

Qaboos bin Said Al Said has been the Sultan of Oman since he ousted his father in 1970. While his father was conservative and mistrusted outsiders, Qaboos has significantly modernized and opened Oman to the world. Qaboos took power during a civil war; the coup was a turning point because of his policy changes and different approach to the conflict. The country has since benefited substantially from the discovery of petroleum, but the Sultan remains an absolute ruler.

Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has been President of the United Arab Emirates since his father's death in 2004.  He is also emir of Abu Dhabi; the two positions are traditionally paired together.  One of the world's richest people, he is known for his philanthropy.  In 2009, he bailed out the construction of the world's tallest building in Dubai, which was then named for him.  In 2008, he forgave $7 billion of Iraqi debt.

Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani

Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has been the Emir of Qatar since he deposed his father in 1995. Previously the Minister of Defense, he replaced his conservative father with the royal family's support; soon after the coup, the son funded Al-Jazeera, unique in the region because it is not controlled by any government.  However, Al-Jazeera's chairman is the Emir's distant cousin, and the network is cautious when covering Qatar and other Gulf countries.

Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah

Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah has been the Emir of Kuwait since 2006. He became emir a week after the death of his brother Jaber when the intended successor could not take office due to illness. He ascended the throne after over 50 years of service in Kuwait's government, including 40 years as foreign minister. During his reign, several significant reforms have been enacted to ensure more freedom of expression, political freedoms, and women's rights.