OUCH! THIS IS EMBARRASSING:

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone –– Losing your job, quitting school, going broke and moving back home with your mother after living abroad for years would be tough on anyone.

It’s even tougher when you’re a former military dictator who once had the power to execute opponents at will.

Valentine Strasser became the world’s youngest head of state when he seized power in 1992 at the age of 25. But the limelight didn’t last – four years later, he was ousted in another coup.

“I’m basically living off my mother now. She’s been very supportive,” the 35-year-old said at a neighborhood bar on the outskirts of Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital.

“It’s been tough. I’m unemployed, but I’m coping.”

I’ll bet all the other ex-dictators make fun of him, too. Oh, well. At least he’s not a TimeWarner/AOL shareholder.

UPDATE: My brother writes to disagree:

I don’t think the Strasser story is embarrassing at all. Despite having been the world’s youngest Head of State, he should be a role model for military rulers everywhere. Note… he clearly didn’t steal huge sums of money and stash them in Switzerland or the Cayman Islands, he is not hugely reviled by the populace and bears little grudge for his ouster. His response to being out of power? ‘Maybe I’ll run for president someday, but right now I think I’ll have a beer.’ If more military rulers had such perspective the world would be a better place!

Good point, bro. (He’s the smart one. I’m the cute one.)