List of heads of state by diplomatic precedence
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International protocol holds that a Head of State takes precedence over all other officials, and that Heads of State rank in the order that they took office. The following list contains the Heads of State for all United Nations member states and non-member observer states.
Commonwealth realms each have a Governor General to represent the Queen. Governors-General are not Heads of State, but are frequently accorded the status and privileges of a Head of State at diplomatic events when considered to represent the monarch in Right of the Realm. The princes of Andorra each have a Governor-General as well. They are included in the list and are highlighted in blue.
However, in many cases it is not this neutral principle but national rules of protocol that are acted upon, usually by an international event's host nation, as in many bilateral and even certain multilateral occasions. Various international organisations have a system for internal use. Even in the presence of one or more Heads of State, certain occasions are governed by specific protocol, e.g. military. Thus in many cases precedence is given to monarchs over republican Heads of State, mostly in monarchies; in some nations the Pope (himself a monarchical Head of State) ranks above secular Heads of State, especially in Roman Catholic countries.
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[edit] Members and Observers of the United Nations
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[edit] Non-Members and Non-Observers of the United Nations
| Title | Name | Head of State since | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Mohamed Abdelaziz | 30 August 1976 |  Western Sahara |
| President | Fatmir Sejdiu | 10 February 2006 |  Kosovo |
| President | Ma Ying-jeou | 20 May 2008 |  Taiwan |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Kim Yongnam is not de jure head of state of North Korea (as no such office exists), however in his capacity as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly he is the de facto head of state. Kim Il-sung (deceased) is the Eternal President of the Republic of North Korea.
- ^ It is the Holy See and not the Vatican City state that maintains diplomatic relations with states and participates in international organisations. The Holy See and the Vatican City state are two separate and distinct entities. Foreign embassies are accredited to the Holy See, not to the Vatican City state, and it is the Holy See that establishes treaties and concordats with other sovereign entities. Also it is the Holy See that has United Nations Observer status not the Vatican City state.
- ^ In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Presidency is a Tripartite council.
