Most world leaders enter the job of running a country with a wealth of knowledge and experience. Some have degrees in law, economics, and political science, and they spend years building up a reputation within their political parties. But sometimes the path to running a country is not quite so straightforward.
Many leaders of the most powerful countries in the world had past jobs that most people would not expect. Here are just a few of the strange jobs of world leaders before they took control of an entire country.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi – Cruise Ship Singer
Silvio Berlusconi did not have a typical rise to power. Born in Milan, he grew up to be a very enterprising young man. First, he started a career selling vacuum cleaners. From there he moved on to a more lucrative profession of singing on cruise ships. His voice was good enough to start building a reputation both at sea and on land in various nightclubs. Berlusconi was never content to stay with one profession, and he left the life of a singer to pursue a law degree.
In 1961 he graduated with a law degree and then created his own construction company. Through his company, he becomes known as a residential builder throughout Milan. His successful construction company led Berlusconi to seek out yet another opportunity. In 1971 he launched his own cable company, Telemilano.
That company went on to become the biggest media empire in Italy under the name of Mediaset. He used his successful companies to build the holding company Fininvest, which soon controlled the largest publishing house in Italy, the newspaper Il Giornale, and the AC Milan football club.
Still not satisfied with his success, he formed his own political party, Forza Italia, in 1993. He ran for Prime Minister in 1994 and won, but was forced to resign due to scandal later that same year. In 2001, Berlusconi ran for Prime Minster and won again. He remained in power until 2011 when he is forced to resign. Amazingly, Berlusconi did not run for Prime Minister again in 2013 and won.