national hero
Celebrated national figure
A national hero is a person celebrated by a country for exceptional service to the nation—often through military valor, political leadership, or cultural achievement.
Countries formally designate national heroes or the status emerges through popular consensus: José Rizal is a national hero of the Philippines.
The term carries patriotic weight and typically implies historical significance.
- poetWriter of verse
- statesmanRespected political leader
- independenceFreedom from external control
- Ho Chi MinhVietnamese nationalist leader
- patriotDevoted country supporter
George Washington · Sun Yat-sen · Nelson Mandela · Mahatma Gandhi · Che Guevara · Abraham Lincoln · Simon Bolivar · Mother Teresa · Joan of Arc · Alexander the Great · founding father · Napoleon Bonaparte · Dwight D. Eisenhower · homeland · Martin Luther King Jr. · statue · monument · bronze statue
- heroesheroes, heroine, heroines, superhero, superheroes
- national symbolsemblem, state flag, anthem, coat of arms, bald eagle
- national mythsfounding myth, founding myths, origin story, origin stories, creation myth
- Patriotspatriot, Paul Revere, Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, founding father
- cultural emblemflag, coat of arms, crest, seal, emblem
- honoreeshonoree, honorees, award winner, awardee, awardees
national heropublic enemy
Widely known criminal threat
war criminal · tyrant · despot · notorious criminal · pariah
national herotraitor
One who betrays allegiance
turncoat · quisling · collaborator · defector · fifth columnist