Equatoguinean President. He served as the 1st President of Equatorial Guinea from 1968 to 1979. Born Mez-m Ngueme at Nfengha in Spanish Guinea, he belonged to the Esangui clan, part of the Fang, Equatorial Guinea's majority ethnic group. His family settled in Mongomo, where he grew up. He survived several bouts with tuberculosis as a child, which left him with a profound fear of death for the remainder of his life. He changed his name to Francisco Macías Nguema after being baptized by Spanish Catholic missionaries. During his adolescence, he worked as a servant for some wealthy Spanish settlers, which he was ridiculed for by other non-Christianized Fang, showing an inferiority complex. He later became a clerk in the Spanish colonial administration, after previously failing the civil service exam three times, serving as court interpreter. In 1961, he travelled to Madrid as spokesperson for a delegation which honoured Francisco Franco on the 25th anniversary of his seizure of power. At the time, Macias Nguema generally displayed no anti-Spanish sentiment and collaborated with the authorities, preferring to work towards eventual independence within the existing system. Because of this, he was never jailed by the Spanish, unlike most Equatoguinean activists. As court interpreter, he eventually began taking bribes to manipulate his translations to absolve or incriminate defendants. The Spanish interpreted his important role in many trials as evidence for influence and talent for leadership, and began to rapidly promote him. He became mayor of Mongomo, then Minister of Public Works and finally as deputy President of the governing council. In 1964, he was named deputy Prime Minister of the autonomous transition government. Around this time, he came to fear that he was mentally unstable. Before the 1968 Spanish Guinean general election, he travelled to Madrid where he was treated at a clinic. Despite these concerns, he ran for president of the soon-to-be independent country against the Prime Minister of Spanish Guinea, Bonifacio Ondó Edú. He defeated Ondó Edú in the election and was sworn in as president on 12 October. As president, he promoted his allies to positions of authority, regardless of competence. In 1971, he issued a series of decrees and laws that gave him unbridled power, and also made threats against the president a crime punishable by death. He declared himself President for life in 1972, and a cult of personality around him was developed, assigning himself titles such as the "Unique Miracle" and "Grand Master of Education, Science, and Culture" in 1975, he outlawed private education, banned the use of European names, western medicine, and the word "intellectual." To prevent people from escaping Equatorial Guinea, he banned fishing in order to destroy boats that allowed people to escape. It is estimated that anywhere from 20,000 to 80,000 of the roughly 200,000 to 300,000 people in the country were killed under his regime. In 1979, the United Nations condemned his violent government. He then turned to North Korea, where he sent his wife and children to live. On August 3 of that year, his nephew Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo organized a successful coup to depose him. He fled into the jungle of Rio Muni, possibly intending to get across the border into exile, but was captured on August 18. He was imprisoned and on September 24, was charged with genocide, mass murder, embezzlement of public funds, treason, and violation of human rights. He was executed five days later.