List of current state leaders by date of assumption of office
Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand is the world's longest serving national leader, acceding to his throne on 9 June 1946.
This is a list of current state leaders ordered by the date they assumed a position of national leadership. In countries with different heads of state and heads of government, both offices are listed. For leaders who held the same office prior to their state's independence, the start of their tenure is used, not independence. For a list of heads of state taking dates of independence into account, see List of heads of state by diplomatic precedence.
Acting presidents are included in this list, but if a leader has non-consecutive terms, only the current period of service is listed.
States where head of state differs from head of government are mainly parliamentary systems. Often a leader holds both positions in presidential systems or dictatorships. Some states have semi-presidential systems where the head of government role is fulfilled by both the listed head of government and the head of state.
List of state leaders by date of assuming office
Prior to 1970
| Assumed Office | Leader | State | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 June 1946 | Bhumibol Adulyadej |  Thailand |
King[1] |
| 6 February 1952 | Elizabeth II[2][3] |  Antigua and Barbuda |
Queen[4] |
 Australia |
Queen | ||
 Bahamas |
Queen[5] | ||
 Barbados |
Queen[6] | ||
 Belize |
Queen[7] | ||
 Canada |
Queen | ||
 Grenada |
Queen[8] | ||
 Jamaica |
Queen[9] | ||
 New Zealand |
Queen | ||
 Papua New Guinea |
Queen[10] | ||
 Saint Kitts and Nevis |
Queen[11] | ||
 Saint Lucia |
Queen[12] | ||
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
Queen[13] | ||
 Solomon Islands |
Queen[14] | ||
 Tuvalu |
Queen[15] | ||
 United Kingdom |
Queen | ||
| 4 October 1967 | Hassanal Bolkiah |  Brunei |
Sultan: 4 October 1967 – present Prime Minister:[16] 1 January 1984 – present |
1970s
| Assumed Office | Leader | State | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 January 1970 | Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa |  Bahrain |
Prime Minister[17] |
| 23 July 1970 | Qaboos bin Said al Said |  Oman |
Sultan: 23 July 1970 – present Prime Minister:[18] 2 January 1972 – present |
| 14 January 1972 | Margrethe II |  Denmark |
Queen |
| 15 September 1973 | Carl XVI Gustaf |  Sweden |
King |
| 30 June 1975 | Paul Biya |  Cameroon |
Prime Minister: 30 June 1975 – 6 November 1982 President: 6 November 1982 – present |
| 30 August 1976 | Mohamed Abdelaziz |  Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic |
President |
| 3 August 1979 | Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo |  Equatorial Guinea |
Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council: 3 August 1979 – 25 August 1979 Chairman of the Supreme Military Council: 25 August 1979 – 12 October 1982 President: 12 October 1982 – present |
| 10 September 1979 | José Eduardo dos Santos |  Angola |
Acting President: 10 September 1979 – 21 September 1979 President: 21 September 1979 – present |
1980s
| Assumed Office | Leader | State | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 April 1980 | Robert Mugabe |  Zimbabwe |
Prime Minister: 18 April 1980 – 31 December 1987 President: 31 December 1987 – present |
| 13 October 1981 | Ayatollah Ali Khamenei |  Iran |
President: 13 October 1981 – 2 August 1989 Supreme Leader: 4 June 1989 – present |
| 26 August 1984 | Hans-Adam II |  Liechtenstein |
Prince-regent: 26 August 1984 – 13 November 1989 Prince: 13 November 1989 – present[19] |
| 14 January 1985 | Hun Sen |  Cambodia |
Chairman of the Council of Ministers: 14 January 1985 – 2 July 1993 Co-Equal Prime Minister: 2 July 1993 – 21 September 1993 Second Prime Minister: 21 September 1993 – 30 November 1998 Prime Minister: 30 November 1998 – present |
| 29 January 1986 | Yoweri Museveni |  Uganda |
President[20] |
| 25 April 1986 | Mswati III |  Swaziland |
King |
| 7 January 1989 | Akihito |  Japan |
Emperor |
| 30 June 1989 | Omar al-Bashir |  Sudan |
President of the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation: 30 June 1989 – 16 October 1993 President: 16 October 1993 – present |
1990s
2000–2004
2005–2009
2010–2011
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2012
2013
2014
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2015
List of upcoming leaders
| Designated | Leader | State | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| May | Juha Sipilä |  Finland |
Prime Minister-designate |
| 29 May | Muhammadu Buhari |  Nigeria |
President-elect[95] |
Notes
- ↑ Rangsit was Prince-Regent of Thailand from 16 June 1946 – 5 May 1950 and Sirikit was Queen-Regent from 22 October 1956 – 7 December 1956.
- ↑ Elizabeth II was previously Queen of Ceylon from 6 February 1952 – 22 May 1972, Queen of Pakistan from 6 February 1952 – 23 March 1956, Queen of South Africa from 6 February 1952 – 31 May 1961, Queen of Ghana from 6 March 1957 – 28 April 1960, Queen of Nigeria from 1 October 1960 – 1 October 1963, Queen of Sierra Leone from 27 April 1961 – 19 April 1971, Queen of Tanganyika from 9 December 1961 – 9 June 1962, Queen of Trinidad and Tobago from 31 August 1962 – 1 August 1976, Queen of Uganda from 9 October 1962 – 9 October 1963, Queen of Kenya from 12 December 1963 – 12 December 1964, Queen of Malawi from 6 July 1964 – 6 July 1966, Queen of Malta from 21 September 1964 – 13 December 1974, Queen of Gambia from 18 February 1965 – 24 April 1970, Queen of Guyana from 26 May 1966 – 23 February 1970, Queen of Mauritius from 12 March 1968 – 12 March 1992 and Queen of Fiji from 10 October 1970 – 15 October 1987.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 The Governors-General of each Commonwealth realm represent Elizabeth II.
- ↑ Antigua and Barbuda was a British colony until 1 November 1981.
- ↑ The Bahamas was a British colony until 10 July 1973.
- ↑ Barbados was a British colony until 30 November 1966.
- ↑ Belize was a British colony until 21 September 1981.
- ↑ Grenada was a British colony until 7 February 1974.
- ↑ Jamaica was a British colony until 6 August 1962.
- ↑ Papua New Guinea was a British colony until 16 September 1975.
- ↑ Saint Kitts and Nevis was a British colony until 19 September 1983.
- ↑ Saint Lucia was a British colony until 22 February 1979.
- ↑ Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was a British colony until 27 October 1979.
- ↑ The Solomon Islands was a British colony until 7 July 1978.
- ↑ Tuvalu was a British colony until 1 October 1978.
- ↑ Brunei was a British protectorate until 1 January 1984. Hassanal Bolkiah did not take the position of Prime Minister until full independence.
- ↑ Bahrain was a British protectorate until 16 December 1971.
- ↑ Oman was a British protectorate until 2 December 1971. Qaboos bin Said al Said did not take the position of Prime Minister until a month after full independence.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Alois is the Prince-Regent of Liechtenstein for Hans-Adam II.
- ↑ Yoweri Museveni was de facto ruler of Uganda as Commander of the National Resistance Army from 26 January 1986.
- ↑ Nursultan Nazarbayev was head of state of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic from 22 February 1990 until it gained independence on 25 December 1991.
- ↑ Islam Karimov was President of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic from 24 March 1990 until it gained independence on 25 December 1991.
- ↑ Haakon was Prince-Regent of Norway from 25 November 2003 – 13 April 2004 and 29 March 2005 – 7 June 2005.
- ↑ Isaias Afwerki was Secretary-general of the Provisional Government of Eritrea until independence on 23 May 1993.
- ↑ Letsie III was previously King of Lesotho from 12 November 1990 – 25 January 1995.
- ↑ Denis Sassou Nguesso was previously President of Congo from 8 February 1979 – 31 August 1992, and was de facto ruler as militia leader from 15 – 25 October 1997.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 The late Kim Il-sung has been designated "Eternal President of North Korea" and the post of President has not been filled since his death on 8 July 1994, making Kim Il-sung in his de jure capacity the only deceased person considered a current head of state in the world.
- ↑ Sam Hinds was previously Prime Minister of Guyana from 9 October 1992 – 17 March 1997 and 22 December 1997 – 9 August 1999; and President from 6 March 1997 – 19 December 1997.
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 The Representatives of Andorra each represent their respective Co-Prince. Josep Maria Mauri represents Joan Enric Vives Sicília and Thierry Lataste represents François Hollande.
- ↑ Montenegro did not gain independence until 3 June 2006, being part of Serbia and Montenegro. Filip Vujanović was previously Acting President from 25 November 2002 – 19 May 2003.
- ↑ Artur Rasizade was Acting Prime Minister from 6 August 2003 – 4 November 2003.
- ↑ Artur Rasizade was previously Prime Minister of Azerbaijan from 20 July 1996 – 4 August 2003.
- ↑ Mahmoud Abbas was previously Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority from 19 March 2003 – 6 September 2003.
- ↑ Faure Gnassingbé was previously President of Togo from 5 February 2005 – 25 February 2005.
- ↑ Salva Kiir Mayardit was President of the Government of Southern Sudan prior to his country's independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011.
- ↑ Aníbal Cavaco Silva was previously Prime Minister of Portugal from 6 November 1985 – 28 October 1995.
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 37.3 37.4 37.5 37.6 The Swiss Federal Council is a collective seven-member Head of State. The President of Switzerland serves solely in a primus inter pares capacity for one year.
- ↑ Frank Bainimarama was previously President of the Interim Military Government of Fiji from 29 May 2000 – 13 July 2000.
- ↑ Daniel Ortega was previously a member of the Junta of National Reconstruction of Nicaragua from 18 July 1979 – 4 March 1981 and the Coordinator of the Junta of National Reconstruction from 4 March 1981 – 10 January 1985; he was previously President from 10 January 1985 – 25 April 1990.
- ↑ Tufuga Efi was previously Prime Minister of Samoa from 24 March 1976 – 13 April 1982 and 18 September 1982 – 31 December 1982.
- ↑ Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini was previously Prime Minister of Swaziland from 26 July 1996 – 29 September 2003.
- ↑ Sheikh Hasina was previously Prime Minister of Bangladesh from 23 June 1996 – 15 July 2001.
- ↑ Benjamin Netanyahu was previously Prime Minister of Israel from 18 June 1996 – 6 July 1999.
- ↑ Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj was previously Prime Minister of Mongolia from 23 April 1998 – 9 December 1998 and 20 August 2004 – 13 January 2006.
- ↑ Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was previously President of the High Council of State from 6 August 2008 – 15 April 2009.
- ↑ Viktor Orbán was previously Prime Minister of Hungary from 6 July 1998 – 27 May 2002.
- ↑ Bronisław Komorowski was previously Acting President of Poland from 10 April 2010 – 8 July 2010.
- ↑ Dési Bouterse was previously Chairman of the National Military Council (de facto leader of Suriname) from 25 February 1980 - 25 January 1988 and head of state as National Army Commander from 13 August 1980 - 15 August 1980 and from 4 February 1982 - 8 February 1982.
- ↑ 49.0 49.1 49.2 In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Presidency is a Tripartite council, with the Chairman of the Presidency rotating every eight months.
- ↑ Alassane Ouattara was previously Prime Minister of Ivory Coast from 7 November 1990 – 9 December 1993.
- ↑ Mahamadou Issoufou was previously Prime Minister of Niger from 17 April 1993 – 28 September 1994.
- ↑ Manuel Pinto da Costa was previously President of São Tomé and Príncipe from 12 July 1975 – 4 March 1991, when the country was a one-party state.
- ↑ Almazbek Atambayev was previously Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan from 29 March 2007 – 28 November 2007 and 17 December 2010 – 23 September 2011.
- ↑ Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi previously served as Acting President of Yemen from 4 June 2011 – 23 September 2011.
- ↑ The office of Head of State of Yemen is disputed between Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the President of the Revolutionary Committee, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, since 6 February 2015.
- ↑ Kenny Anthony was previously Prime Minister of Saint Lucia from 24 May 1997 – 15 December 2006.
- ↑ Abdul Halim was previously Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia from 21 September 1970 – 20 September 1975.
- ↑ Portia Simpson-Miller was previously Prime Minister of Jamaica from 30 March 2006 – 11 September 2007.
- ↑ Tupou VI (then known as ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho) was previously Prime Minister of Tonga from 3 January 2000 – 11 February 2006.
- ↑ Macky Sall was previously Prime Minister of Senegal from 21 April 2004 – 19 June 2007.
- ↑ Robert Fico was previously Prime Minister of Slovakia from 4 July 2006 – 8 July 2010.
- ↑ Perry Christie was previously Prime Minister of the Bahamas from 3 May 2002 – 4 May 2005 and 6 June 2005 – 4 May 2007.
- ↑ Elliott Belgrave was previously Acting Governor-General of Barbados from 1 November 2011 – 30 May 2012.
- ↑ Daniel Kablan Duncan was previously Prime Minister of Ivory Coast from 11 December 1993 – 24 December 1999.
- ↑ Milo Đukanović was previously Prime Minister of Montenegro from 15 February 1991 - 5 February 1998 and again from 8 January 2003 – 10 November 2006 and 29 February 2008 – 29 December 2010 (Montenegro gained independence on 3 June 2006), as well as being President from 15 January 1998 – 25 November 2002.
- ↑ Hage Geingob was previously Prime Minister of Namibia from 21 March 1990 – 28 August 2002.
- ↑ Borut Pahor was previously Prime Minister of Slovenia from 21 November 2008 – 10 February 2012.
- ↑ Shinzō Abe was previously Prime Minister of Japan from 26 September 2006 – 26 September 2007.
- ↑ Tommy Remengesau was previously President of Palau from 1 January 2001 – 15 January 2009.
- ↑ Keith Mitchell was previously Prime Minister of Grenada from 22 June 1995 – 9 July 2008.
- ↑ Miloš Zeman was previously Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 22 July 1998 – 15 July 2002.
- ↑ Pak Pong-ju was previously Premier of North Korea from 3 September 2003 – 11 April 2007.
- ↑ Nawaz Sharif was previously Prime Minister of Pakistan from 6 November 1990 – 18 April 1993, 26 May 1993 – 18 July 1993, and 17 February 1997 – 12 October 1999.
- ↑ Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta was previously Prime Minister of Mali from 4 February 1994 – 15 February 2000.
- ↑ Michelle Bachelet was previously President of Chile from 11 March 2006 – 11 March 2010.
- ↑ The office of Prime Minister of Libya is disputed between the incumbent, Abdullah al-Thani, and Khalifa al-Ghawi, who was elected as acting Prime Minister on 31 March 2015 by the General National Congress.
- ↑ Karim Massimov was previously Prime Minister of Kazakhstan from 10 January 2007 – 24 September 2012.
- ↑ Abdelmalek Sellal was previously Prime Minister of Algeria from 3 September 2012 – 13 March 2014.
- ↑ Raul Khadjimba was previously Prime Minister of Abkhazia from 22 April 2003 – 6 October 2004.
- ↑ Ahmad Tu'mah was previously Prime Minister of the Syrian Republic from 14 September 2013 – 22 July 2014.
- ↑ Boyko Borisov was previously Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 27 July 2009 – 13 March 2013.
- ↑ The office of Head of Government of Yemen is disputed between Khaled Bahah and the President of the Revolutionary Committee, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, since 6 February 2015.
- ↑ Dragan Čović was previously a Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 5 October 2002 – 9 May 2005, and served as the Chairman of the Presidency from 2 April 2003 – 10 April 2003 and from 27 June 2003 – 28 February 2004.
- ↑ Yacouba Isaac Zida was previously Acting Head of State of Burkina Faso from 1 November 2014 – 18 November 2014.
- ↑ Patrice Trovoada was previously Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe from 14 February 2008 – 22 June 2008 and from 14 August 2010 – 12 December 2012.
- ↑ Manasseh Sogavare was previously Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands from 30 June 2000 – 17 December 2001 and from 4 May 2006 – 20 December 2007.
- ↑ Sir Anerood Jugnauth was previously Prime Minister of Mauritius from 16 June 1982 – 22 December 1995 and 17 September 2000 – 30 September 2003, and President of Mauritius from 7 October 2003 – 31 March 2012.
- ↑ Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke was previously Prime Minister of Somalia from 14 February 2009 – 21 September 2010.
- ↑ Beji Caid Essebsi was previously Head of Government of Tunisia from 27 February 2011 – 24 December 2011.
- ↑ Modibo Keita was previously Prime Minister of Mali from 18 March 2002 – 9 June 2002.
- ↑ Ranil Wickremesinghe was previously Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 7 May 1993 – 19 August 1994 and from 9 December 2001 – 6 April 2004.
- ↑ Tabaré Vázquez was previously President of Uruguay from 1 March 2005 – 1 March 2010.
- ↑ Pakalitha Mosisili was previously Prime Minister of Lesotho from 29 May 1998 – 8 June 2012.
- ↑ Antoni Martí was previously Head of Government of Andorra from 12 May 2011 - 23 March 2015.
- ↑ Muhammadu Buhari was previously Head of State of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 – 27 August 1985.
See also
- List of current heads of state and government
- List of current heads of government by time in office
- List of current foreign ministers
- List of national legislatures
- Lists of office-holders
- List of political parties
- List of women heads of state
- State leaders by year
- Lists of state leaders
- List of heads of state by diplomatic precedence
External links
- Rulers.org List of rulers throughout time and places