Name(s):
Personality disorders of leadership
Leadership impaired by mental illness
Undisclosed diseases of government leaders
Incidence
Many presidents of the USA have suffered serious illnesses while in office. For example, J F Kennedy suffered from adrenal insufficiency and was treated over a long period by hormonal replacement therapy, although the Kennedy family repeatedly denied any ill-health. In the USSR, the medical condition, and occasionally the death, of leaders was concealed as a matter of practice. In France, the death of former president François Mitterand was followed by a barrage of information - including a book by his former physician - about his long-standing illness and allegations as to his unfitness for office.