The longest-serving current leader, Hassanal Bolkiah, has ruled since 1967.
This is a list of current state leaders ordered by their continuous tenure in a position of national leadership. For countries in which the head of state and head of government are separate, 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.
Acting Prime Minister: 9 August 1999–16 August 1999 Prime Minister: 16 August 1999–7 May 2000 Acting President: 31 December 1999–7 May 2000 President: 7 May 2000–7 May 2008 Prime Minister: 8 May 2008–7 May 2012 President: 7 May 2012–present
↑ Letsie III was previously King of Lesotho from 12 November 1990–25 January 1995.
↑ Denis Sassou Nguesso was previously President of the People's Republic of the Congo / Republic of the Congo from 8 February 1979–31 August 1992. Sassou Nguesso was the de facto head of state of the Republic of the Congo as a militia leader from 15 October 1997–25 October 1997.
↑ Daniel Ortega was a member (and during 4 March 1981–10 January 1985 the Coordinator) of the Junta of National Reconstruction of Nicaragua 18 July 1979–10 January 1985; he was President of Nicaragua from 10 January 1985–25 April 1990.
↑ Prime Minister Trudeau is the son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 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.
↑ Andrew Holness was Prime Minister of Jamaica from 23 October 2011–5 January 2012.
↑ Azali Assoumani was Chief of Staff of the National Development Army (de facto leader of the Comoros) from 30 April 1999–6 May 1999, Head of State of the Comoros from 6 May 1999–21 January 2002, then the elected President from 6 May 2002–26 May 2006.
↑ Prime Minister Jugnauth is the son of a former prime minister and president, Sir Anerood Jugnauth.
↑ Ismail Haniyeh was Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority from 29 March 2006–2 June 2014 (Note: during 29 March 2006–14 June 2007, Haniyeh's premiership was not under dispute and he exercised authority over all areas controlled by the Palestinian National Authority), and was Hamas Chief in the Gaza Strip from 2 June 2014–13 February 2017.
↑ Afioga Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II was Acting O le Ao o le Malo from 11 May 2007–20 June 2007.
↑ When Barbados had a monarch as head of state, the Governor-General of Barbados represented Elizabeth II, who was Queen of the country. Sandra Mason was Acting Governor-General of Barbados from 30 May 2012–1 June 2012.
↑ Julius Maada Bio was Head of State of Sierra Leone (as leader of the Supreme Council of State) from 16 January 1996–29 March 1996.
↑ The office of Head of State of Cuba was styled as President of the Council of State from 2 December 1976–10 October 2019, then as President of the Republic 10 October 2019–present.
↑ The office of Head of Government of Cuba was styled as President of the Council of Ministers from 2 December 1976–21 December 2019, then as Prime Minister from 21 December 2019–present.
↑ Željko Komšić was a Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 6 November 2006–17 November 2014, and served as the Chairman of the Presidency from 6 July 2007–6 March 2008, 6 July 2009–6 March 2010, 10 July 2011–10 March 2012, and 10 July 2013–10 March 2014.
1 2 3 In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Presidency is a Tripartite council, with the Chairman of the Presidency rotating every eight months.
↑ Manasseh Sogavare was Prime Minister of Solomon Islands from 30 June 2000–17 December 2001, 4 May 2006–20 December 2007 and 9 December 2014–15 November 2017.
↑ Aleksander Ankvab was Prime Minister of Abkhazia from 14 February 2005–13 February 2010 and President of Abkhazia from 29 May 2011–1 June 2014. Russia recognized Abkhazia as an independent state on 26 August 2008.
↑ As part of a ceasefire agreement, the office of Head of State of Libya consists of a Tripartite presidential council.
↑ The office of Prime Minister of Libya has been in dispute between Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh and Fathi Bashagha/Osama Hamada, the interim prime minister of the Government of National Stability supported by the Tobruk-based House of Representatives, since 3 March 2022.
↑ Albin Kurti was Prime Minister of Kosovo from 3 February 2020–3 June 2020.
↑ The office of Head of State of Yemen has been in dispute between Rashad Al-Alimi and the Leader of the Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, since 7 April 2022.
↑ Ranil Wickremesinghe was Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 7 May 1993–18 August 1994, 9 December 2001–6 April 2004, 9 January 2015–26 October 2018 and 15 December 2018–21 November 2019. The office of Prime Minister was disputed between Wickremesinghe and Mahinda Rajapaksa from 26 October 2018–15 December 2018.
↑ Han Duck-soo was Acting Prime Minister of South Korea from 14 March 2006–19 April 2006 and Prime Minister of South Korea from 2 April 2007–29 February 2008.
↑ Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was President of Somalia from 16 September 2012–16 February 2017.
↑ Mohammed bin Salman is the son of the current King, Salman.
↑ Patrice Trovoada is the son of former prime minister and president Miguel Trovoada.
↑ Patrice Trovoada was Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe from 14 February 2008–22 June 2008, 14 August 2010–12 December 2012 and 25 November 2014–3 December 2018.
↑ Choguel Kokalla Maïga was Acting Prime Minister of Mali from 6 June 2021–21 August 2022.
↑ Hadi al-Bahra was President of the Syrian National Coalition from 9 July 2014–4 January 2015.
↑ Charlot Salwai was Prime Minister of Vanuatu from 11 February 2016–20 April 2020.
↑ Robert Fico was Prime Minister of Slovakia from 4 July 2006–8 July 2010 and 4 April 2012–22 March 2018.
↑ David Adeang is the son of former president Kennan Adeang.
↑ Donald Tusk was Prime Minister of Poland from 16 November 2007–22 September 2014.
↑ Andry Rajoelina was Head of State of Madagascar (as President of the High Transitional Authority) from 17 March 2009–25 January 2014, then the elected President from 19 January 2019–9 September 2023.
Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa was a Bahraini royal and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Bahrain from 10 January 1970 until his death in 2020. He took office over a year before Bahrain's independence on 15 August 1971. He was the longest-serving prime minister in the world. Under the 2002 Constitution he lost some of his powers, with the King now having the authority to appoint and dismiss ministers.
Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum was an Emirati royal and politician who served as the second vice president, first and third prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and as the ruler of Dubai. He was prime minister from 1971 to 1979 and from 1990 to 2006, he served as the ruler of Dubai from 1990 to 2006. He was succeeded after his death by his brother Sheikh Mohammed as Ruler of Dubai.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is an Emirati politician and royal who is the current ruler of Dubai, and serves as the vice president, prime minister, and minister of defense of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Mohammed succeeded his brother Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum as UAE vice president and ruler of Dubai following the latter's death in 2006.
Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum was an Emirati royal, politician and a founder of the United Arab Emirates. Al Maktoum was the first vice president and second prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, and was the ruler of Dubai. He ruled Dubai for 32 years from 1958 until his death in 1990. He was the vice president from the founding of the UAE until his death. Al Maktoum was the first vice president to serve as prime minister concurrently, when he became prime minister on 30 April 1979. Every prime minister after him was de facto also vice president.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was the second president of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Abu Dhabi, serving from November 2004 until his death in May 2022.
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is King of Saudi Arabia, reigning since 2015 and has served as Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2022. The 25th son of King Abdulaziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia, he assumed the throne on 23 January 2015. Prior to his accession, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 18 June 2012 to 23 January 2015. Salman is the third oldest living head of state, the oldest living monarch, and Saudi Arabia's first head of state born after the unification of Saudi Arabia. He has a reported personal wealth of at least $18 billion, which makes him the third wealthiest royal in the world and one of the wealthiest individuals in the world.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, popularly known by his initials as MBZ or MbZ, is an Emirati royal and politician who currently serves as the third president of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Abu Dhabi.
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, often referred to as Sheikh Mansour, is an Emirati royal and politician who is the current vice president and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, as well as the minister of presidential court and member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi. He is the brother of the current president of the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and is married to Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed Al Maktoum, daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai. A billionaire, through City Football Group he holds stakes in a variety of football clubs, including Manchester City FC.
The Darod is a Somali clan. The forefather of this clan was Sheikh Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti, more commonly known as Darod. The clan primarily settles the apex of the Horn of Africa and its peripheries, the Somali hinterlands adjacent to Oromia (Ogaden), and both sides of the Kenya–Somalia border. The Darod clan is the largest Somali clan family in the Horn of Africa.
Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was Emir of Kuwait from 2020 until his death in 2023.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is Emir of Qatar, reigning since 2013.
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber bin Mohammed bin Thani Al Thani, who was also known informally by his initials HBJ, is a Qatari politician. He was the Prime Minister of Qatar from 3 April 2007 to 26 June 2013, and foreign minister from 11 January 1992 to 26 June 2013.
Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, popularly known as Omar Sharmarke, is a Somali diplomat and politician. From 2009 to 2010, he was the Prime Minister of Somalia. He subsequently briefly served as Somalia's Ambassador to the United States in 2014. In December 2014, Sharmarke was reappointed Prime Minister of Somalia. His term ended on 1 March 2017, and he was replaced by Hassan Ali Khaire.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani is a Qatari politician, who served as the Prime Minister of Qatar from 26 June 2013 until his resignation on 28 January 2020. A member of the ruling family, he was Minister of State for Internal Affairs from 2005 to 2013.
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is a Somali politician who has served as the president of Somalia since May 2022. He is the founder and current chairman of the Union for Peace and Development Party. He was indirectly elected as President of the Federal Republic of Somalia on 15 May 2022, defeating the incumbent president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed. He previously served as the 8th president of Somalia from 2012 to 2017. A civil and political rights activist, Hassan was previously a university professor and dean at SIMAD University, which he co-founded.
Haitham bin Tariq Al Said is Sultan and Prime Minister of Oman.
Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is Emir of Kuwait. Mishal spent most of his career in Kuwait's security and intelligence apparatus. Prior to becoming emir at age 83, he was the oldest crown prince in the world.
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