Politicians have love-hate relationships with the general masses. When a person enters politics, the general public has grand expectations from him/her. However, not all of these politicians are able to meet these expectations. As a result, they get a lot of hate and hostility. It is true that a person who takes the responsibility of directing and influencing the political landscape of his/her country needs to be credible, honest and responsible. But it is unfair to weigh these people relative to what good they are actually able to accomplish while forgetting that they too are human, just like the rest of us.

Many politicians around the world make headlines for all the wrong reasons every day. Some are accused of corruption, others of ethical misdemeanours, and still others take the spotlight for being jerks. In the political crowd of the world, not many can claim that they have a clean slate. But it would be unfair to assume that politicians have never done any good for their countries, their people and even the world. It is politicians who have shaped the landscape for the freedom, integrity, and rights we enjoy today. And so, here we have compiled a list of the most misunderstood politicians around the world who aren’t as big a jerk as you would think otherwise.

15. Justin Trudeau

The 23rd Prime Minister of Canada and one of the most famous personalities on social media is Justin Trudeau. He is the current Prime Minister since 2015 and leader of the Liberal party since 2013. Some of his haters believed that Justin Trudeau was elected because of his dad, as his father was much loved by the Canadians during his time as Prime Minister. They say Justin Trudeau is a moron who would speak French to a plane full of English people because he is so fanatical about bilingualism. He forced multiculturalism down their throats. However, the world is falling in love with Justin Trudeau because he calls himself a proud feminist and welcomed Syrian refugees very warmly when other countries were reluctant to let them in. He stood in solidarity with Muslims while Trump spread hate. He also elected a gender-balanced cabinet “because it’s 2015.”

14. Imran Khan

Imran Khan is a Pakistani politician who is also a famous first gate cricketer and philanthropist. He is the founder of the Pakistan Movement of justice and is a member of the national assembly. Before joining politics, Khan played international cricket for two decades. Imran Khan is considered a jerk because he is loud-mouthed and aggressive. But Imran Khan has, with the support of his political party, managed to expose the corruption done by many politicians and businessmen in Pakistan. He is also the founder and chairman of “Shaukat Khanum” hospital, a nonprofit entity which is the largest cancer hospital in Pakistan. His followers believe that he is not after money and fame and presents his true self, something which is rarely seen in politics.

13. Rob Anders

Robert Anders is a Canadian politician who served as the founding member of the Conservative Party of Canada. From 1997 to 2015, the riding of Calgary West was represented by Rob Anders. He is famous for his sleeping habits since he fell asleep in the House of Commons. When he was accused of sleeping during the meetings. Rob Anders was apologetic for his irregular and rather embarrassing sleeping patterns but unfortunately, he was booted from the committee. However, Rob Anders was a valued member of his team and has been their strong voice.

12. Barack Obama

The 44th President of United States (2009-2017) was born on August 4, 1961 in Hawaii. He was the first African American to hold the office. Obama represented Illinois in the U.S Senate (2005-08) before he took over the Presidency. Obama was accused of nearly doubling the national debt. The debt he added to the country seemed to be unavoidable. Obama’s foolishness, by unleashing the nuclear weapons in the Middle East, marked the beginning of a nuclear arms race between nations who were not friendly to America. Anti-Obama people also claim he encouraged illegal immigration and made sure that millions of illegal aliens stay in the country without fear of deportation. This lead to the bad impression he left on Republicans. However, in 2009 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his remarkable efforts to strengthen International diplomacy and cooperation among people. He rose an imploding economy and expanded healthcare for all Americans

11. James Watt

James Watt, an American national, was the secretary of the interior from 1981 to 1983. He was known as an anti-environmentalist. He was one of Ronald Reagan’s most controversial cabinet appointments and the worst cabinet officer. Apparently, Watt wanted oil derricks on every inch of the Earth, he did extensive coal mining on massive lands and opened up large areas of the ground with oil drillers. He was accused of making false statements before the grand jury investigating influence peddling at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which he had lobbied in the 1980s. However, his pro-development views played an instrumental role in ending the Sagebrush Rebellion, a sentiment in the ’80s to give state and local authorities more control over the country’s land.

10. John Boehner

John Boehner is an American politician. He was the 53rd speaker of the United States from 2011 to 2015. He served as a member of the Republican Party, and as a US representative from a district that included many rural and suburban areas. As he was the speaker of the house. he seemed to be a bit authoritative at times, but he wasn’t a well-trained speaker. Some of his speeches proved that his priority was just to serve the government and save the institution he loved, for which he got a lot of hate. Surprisingly, John Boehner still seems to be irreplaceable because he is an experienced legislative negotiator and a leader who could rack up tangible accomplishments for the party to run on in 2012.

9. Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin is the current Russian president and a statesman since 2012. He has been elected as the Prime Minister of Russia twice, from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012. He was the chairman of the ruling United Russia party during the second term as Prime Minister. Putin holds a long record of inhumanity. During Putin’s time in power, a number of Russian democrats, journalists, and opposition leaders were killed in mysterious circumstances. He was accused of taking the lives of innocent people, supplying and aiding Russian terrorists and what not. However, Putin is a national savior and hero. Under Putin’s eight-year reign, the Russian economy grew every single year, with an overall GDP increase of more than 70%. The Russian economy was considered the 22nd best economy which was capable of giving loans to other countries and it is now the 7th best.

8. Sonny Bono

He was an American singer and producer who joined politics. From 1988 until 1992 he remained the mayor of Palm Springs, California, and congressman for California’s 44th district from 1995 until his death in 1998. Bono was never concerned about any political issues. He worked in the Senate but was not able to successfully run it in 1992. After two years, he was elected to congress and served as a representative from California’s 44^th Congressional District. Regardless of his previous carelessness and negative reputation, he gained popularity while he was in Republican Party due to his wit and his deeply conservative views.

7. Francois Hollande

Francois Hollande is a French politician who was the President of France from 2012 to 2017. Hollande is one of the most influential people in the world. The first years of Hollande’s presidency did not prove to be very impressive or successful for the party. The first five years were plagued by terrorist attacks, a shift to the right on domestic matters, persistent unemployment, and internal party divisions. His illicit love affair also destroyed the confidence in Hollande’s government which also affected his voters. But Hollande played a key role in persuading Europe and the US to step up the fight against ISIS. He influenced the French economy as well as decreased the rate of unemployment during his tenure.

6. Kim Jong Un

Kim Jong Un is the Chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea and supreme leader of North Korea since 2011. He is the first North Korean leader to have been born after the country’s founding. Kim was not seen very often before he took charge of the country and many activities of his government were unrevealed. Nuclear threats have become the scariest threat under Kim Jong’s power. North Korea has carried out several nuclear tests. He threatened a nuclear strike against the US numerous times. Kim took charge of his father’s military and turned out to be a rational leader whose sole agenda was staying in power. He may be a threat to everyone else in the world, but Kim is a stallion for the people of North Korea (more like his own narcissistic interests) as he has not only improved their military might but also developed North Korea’s nuclear program.

5. Woodrow Wilson

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of United States from 1913 to 1921. He served as a member of the Democratic Party and as the president of Princeton University. He was the first southern to be elected for Presidency who also led the United States during World War I. His wife and staff members handled most of the presidential duties as he experienced debilitating strokes in September of 1919. People hated Woodrow Wilson because he not only sent hundreds of soldiers to die in a silly war but also could never give an explanation about their deaths to anyone. He ignored the influenza epidemic and crushed civil liberties. His presidency was a disaster and even after suffering from massive strokes, he was unwilling to resign. Despite his negative impression on the public, he gave the 14 points for peace to end World War I.

4. Altaf Hussain

Altaf Hussain was a Pakistani politician and the founder of a political party called Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which is the fourth largest political party of Pakistan. Altaf Hussain had many cases against him. He was accused of money laundering, controversial speech and inciting violence and soliciting murder in Karachi but due to insufficient evidence, the cases were dismissed. He is currently residing in Britain and dealing with all matters that his party overseas. Despite being out of the country, he runs a very strong leadership, respects and rewards his workers, took care about the water problems of Karachi, and took initiatives to make Sindh a province based on its economy and the population.

3. Narendra Modi

Narendra Damodardas Modi is the current and 14th Prime Minister of India since 2014. From 2001 to 2014 he was the Chief Minister of Gujrat and served as a member of Parliament Varanasi. He is criticized for high inflation, price rise, unemployment situation, failed schemes, GST, demonetizations. Modi has created hurdles for all those who were not wishing to fall into the mainstream of honesty, declaring true income, paying taxes fully and regularly, indulging in corrupt practices and black marketing. But his focus on rural India and improving the standard of their living has been appreciated. He seems to follow things first before asking others to follow them.

2. Yingluck Shinawatra

Yingluck Shinawatra is a Thai businesswoman as well as a politician. She served as a member of the Pheu Thai Party and became the 28^th Prime Minister of Thailand. Shinawatra was the third Pheu Thai Prime Minister to be kicked out of office by the Constitutional Court. There were a number of allegations against her which included failure in government management, ethical misdemeanors by her and her family and giving false hopes to get votes. However, Yingluck Shinawatra was the first politician to actively help reconcile Thai politics and military, a problem that has plagued the country for decades. She also passed a rice subsidy bill that made rice farmers more than the market rate for their crops, an initiative that would help the rural areas flourish. However, this bill became the reason why she was sacked and recently sentenced to 5 years in jail.

1. Julia Gillard

Julia Gillard was the first woman to hold the position of Prime Minister in Australia. She was the 27th Prime Minister from 2010 to 2013 and the leader of the Australian Labor Party. Before that, she was the 13th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia. Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion are positions that she held from 2007 to 2010. People turned against her when she was found to abuse other politicians on Twitter. After an investigation, however, it was discovered she was also being abused online by members of other parties. During her time in power, she utilized her authority by working on issues such as climate change, immigration, education, water policy, information technology and disability reform. As a woman in a male-dominated field, she has had her share of rivals including Tony Abbot.