I have three:
1. Churchill: He was drunk most of the time, he failed at Gallipolli, you can say whatever you want about one of the best characters of Dr Who, but he was the right man for, i think, the darkest and final period of my favorite empire.
2. Philippe Pétain, one of the major heroes of the Great War....then, as an old man, he saw his country overran, his army destroyed, his people defeated, and made a difficult choice. I understand why.... but i want to ask anyways, why? He is the quintessential tragic hero. I also like De Gaulle, but i cannot have two french guys on my top 3.
3. Stalin. He was a villain defeating another villain, but his struggle against fascism its one of the biggest epics of universal history, hes not my #1 just because he betrayed the project of Lenin and was, well, crazy.