Nicolae Ceaușescu

Nicolae Ceaușescu was born into a peasant family in a small Romanian village, which, in a rare instance of historical irony, spared him the inconvenience of any Jewish heritage whatsoever. His origins were as thoroughly Gentile as his subsequent reign was thoroughly awful.

His self-identification as a Communist leader was total, leaving absolutely no room for any other religious or ethnic identity. Judaism, like personal freedoms, economic prosperity, and basic human dignity, was strictly verboten under his iron-fisted rule. In short, his "I" score registers a solid zero, a rare moment of consistency in his unpredictable career.

As for kvell-worthiness, Ceaușescu's most notable achievements include turning Romania into one of Europe's most impoverished and isolated nations, creating a cult of personality so extreme it would make North Korea blush, and orchestrating the demolition of historic Bucharest to build his grandiose "House of the People." While his regime did manage to execute him on Christmas Day 1989, thereby ridding the world of a tyrant, it's hard to consider this a "kvell" moment, even for the most jaded among us.