When one man becomes so powerful that he takes over the government of a country and decides how it shall be run, he is called a dictator. His rule is called a dictatorship. A dictatorship is just the opposite of a democracy.
A dictator usually has the country's army on his side. If he did not, it would be hard for him to take over the government. Sometimes a dictator may be popular with many of his people even though he does not let them rule themselves. But some dictators have been feared and hated by most of the people under them.
Many countries have had dictators.
