List of leaders of Middle Eastern and North African states

Last updated

This is a list of leaders of Middle Eastern and North African states. It consists of the heads of state and government within the Arab League, and of other MENA countries outside it.

Contents

Leaders of Arab League member states

StateRegionImageLeaderTitleIn Office
Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria Maghreb Abdelmadjid Tebboune (2023) (cropped).jpg Abdelmadjid Tebboune President of Algeria 19 December 2019
Nadir Larbaoui 2023.jpg Nadir Larbaoui Prime Minister of Algeria 11 November 2023
Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain Arabian Peninsula Donald Trump meets with King Hamed bin Issa of Bahrain, May 2017 (cropped).jpg Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa King of Bahrain 6 March 1999
Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.jpg Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa Prime Minister of Bahrain 11 November 2020
Flag of the Comoros.svg  Comoros Indian Ocean [a] Fumio Kishida and Azali Assoumani before the funeral of Shinzo Abe (1) (cropped).jpg Azali Assoumani President of the Comoros 26 May 2016
Flag of Djibouti.svg  Djibouti Horn of Africa Ismail Omar Guelleh 2018.jpg Ismaïl Omar Guelleh President of Djibouti 8 May 1999
Taro Kono and Djiboutian PM Mohamed at the MOD 2019 (1) (cropped).jpg Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed Prime Minister of Djibouti 1 April 2013
Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt Northeast Africa [b] Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.PNG Abdel Fattah el-Sisi President of Egypt 8 June 2014
Moustafa Madbouly (cropped).jpg Mostafa Madbouly Prime Minister of Egypt 14 June 2018
Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq Fertile Crescent Abdul Latif Rashid 2023 (cropped).jpg Abdul Latif Rashid President of Iraq 13 October 2022
Iraqi Minister for Human Rights (6684996257) (cropped).jpg Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani Prime Minister of Iraq 27 October 2022
Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan King Abdullah II (cropped).jpg Abdullah II of Jordan King of Jordan 7 February 1999
HE Jafar Hassan (cropped).jpg Jafar Hassan Prime Minister of Jordan 15 September 2024
Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait Arabian Peninsula Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah GCC.jpg Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Emir of Kuwait 16 December 2023
Ahmad Al Abdullah Al Sabah.png Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah Prime Minister of Kuwait 15 May 2024
Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon Levant Joseph Aoun 99 (cropped).jpeg Joseph Aoun President of Lebanon 9 January 2025
Najib Mikati portrait.jpg Najib Mikati Prime Minister of Lebanon 10 September 2021
Flag of Libya.svg  Libya Maghreb Mohamed Yunus al-Menfi.jpg Mohamed al-Menfi Chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya 10 March 2021
Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh (15-04-2021).jpg Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh [c] Prime Minister of Libya 15 March 2021
Flag of Mauritania.svg  Mauritania Mukhammed Ul'd Gazuani 02 (18-02-2022).jpg Mohamed Ould Ghazouani President of Mauritania 1 August 2019
National Seal of Mauritania.svg Mokhtar Ould Djay Prime Minister of Mauritania 5 August 2024
Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco King Mohammed VI of Morocco, Africa Forum Summit 2015 (cropped).jpg Mohammed VI of Morocco King of Morocco 23 July 1999
Aziz Akhannouch in 2022.jpg Aziz Akhannouch Prime Minister of Morocco 7 October 2021
Flag of Oman.svg  Oman Arabian Peninsula Haitham bin Tariq Al Said.jpg Haitham bin Tariq Sultan of Oman 11 January 2020
Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine Levant Mahmoud Abbas September 2014.jpg Mahmoud Abbas President of the State of Palestine 8 May 2005
ldktwr mHmd mSTf~.JPG Mohammad Mustafa Prime Minister of the State of Palestine 12 March 2024
Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar Arabian Peninsula tmym bn Hmd bn khlyf@ al thny (49759678641) (cropped).jpg Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Emir of Qatar 25 June 2013
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani (cropped).jpg Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani Prime Minister of Qatar 7 March 2023
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdull aziz December 9, 2013.jpg Salman of Saudi Arabia King of Saudi Arabia 23 January 2015
Mohammad bin Salman October 2019 (cropped).jpg Mohammed Bin Salman Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia 27 September 2022
Flag of Somalia.svg  Somalia Horn of Africa Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud at Djiboutian presidential palace in Djibouti, Djibouti, September 24, 2023 - (cropped).jpg Hassan Sheikh Mohamud President of Somalia 9 June 2022
HassanBarre.jpg Hamza Abdi Barre Prime Minister of Somalia 25 June 2022
Flag of Sudan.svg  Sudan Northeast Africa Chairman of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan in October 2019 (cropped).jpg Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council 11 November 2021
Emblem of Sudan.svg Osman Hussein Prime Minister of Sudan 19 January 2022
Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg  Syria Levant Ahmed al-Sharaa 2024 Infobox crop.jpg Ahmed al-Sharaa De facto Head of State of Syria 8 December 2024
Mohammed al-Bashir at Umayyad Mosque (cropped).png Mohammed al-Bashir Acting Prime Minister of Syria 10 December 2024
Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia Maghreb Kais Saied 2023.jpg Kais Saied President of Tunisia 23 October 2019
Coat of arms of Tunisia.svg Kamel Madouri Prime Minister of Tunisia 7 August 2024
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates Arabian Peninsula Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, May 15, 2017.jpg Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan President of the United Arab Emirates 14 May 2022
Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.jpg Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates 11 February 2006
Flag of Yemen.svg  Yemen Rashad al-Alimi - 2023 (cropped).jpg Rashad al-Alimi [c] Chairman of the Presidential Leadership
Council of Yemen
7 April 2022
Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak (cropped).jpg Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak [c] Prime Minister of Yemen 5 February 2024

Leaders of other states and unrecognised states in the MENA region

StateRegionImageLeaderTitleIn Office
Flag of the Republic of Abkhazia.svg  Abkhazia Near East and the Caucasus Coat of arms of Abkhazia.svg Badra Gunba Acting President of Abkhazia 19 November 2024
Valerii Bganba (cropped).jpg Valeri Bganba Acting Prime Minister of Abkhazia 19 November 2024
Flag of the Taliban.svg  Afghanistan Near East Hibatullah Akhundzada OCS wordmark.png Hibatullah Akhundzada Supreme Leader of Afghanistan 15 August 2021
Hasan Akhund.png Hasan Akhund Acting Prime Minister of Afghanistan 7 September 2021
Flag of Armenia.svg  Armenia Near East and the Caucasus President of the Republic of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan (cropped).jpg Vahagn Khachaturyan President of Armenia 13 March 2022
Nikol Pashinyan 01 (07-04-2021).jpg Nikol Pashinyan Prime Minister of Armenia 8 May 2018
Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev 2020 (cropped).jpg Ilham Aliyev President of Azerbaijan 31 October 2003
Ali Asadov (25-08-2022).jpg Ali Asadov Prime Minister of Azerbaijan 8 October 2019
Flag of Chad.svg  Chad Central Africa Mahamat Deby.jpg Mahamat Déby President of Chad 20 April 2021 [d]
Premier Ministre, Allamaye Halina.jpg Allamaye Halina Prime Minister of Chad 24 May 2024
Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus Levant President Christodoulides (cropped).jpg Nikos Christodoulides President of Cyprus 28 February 2023
Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea Horn of Africa Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki in the Eritrean city of Massawa (cropped).JPG Isaias Afwerki President of Eritrea 24 May 1993
Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia Taye Atske Selassie MFA Portrait.jpg Taye Atske Selassie President of Ethiopia 7 October 2024
Abiy Ahmed 2019.jpg Abiy Ahmed Prime Minister of Ethiopia 2 April 2018
Flag of Georgia.svg  Georgia Near East and the Caucasus Mikheil Kavelashvili 2014.jpg Mikheil Kavelashvili [c] President of Georgia 29 December 2024
Irakli Kobakhidze and Volodymyr Groysman 01 cropped.jpg Irakli Kobakhidze Prime Minister of Georgia 8 February 2023
Flag of Iran.svg  Iran Near East Ali Khamenei portrait 2019.jpg Ali Khamenei Supreme Leader of Iran 4 June 1989
Masoud Pezeshkian, 2024-6-12 (cropped).jpg Masoud Pezeshkian President of Iran 28 July 2024
Flag of Israel.svg  Israel Levant Isaac Herzog.jpg Isaac Herzog President of Israel 7 July 2021
Benjamin Netanyahu 2019 (cropped).jpg Benjamin Netanyahu Prime Minister of Israel 29 December 2022
Flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.svg  Northern Cyprus Ilham Aliyev received President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in Konya (1) (cropped).jpg Ersin Tatar President of Northern Cyprus 23 October 2020
KKTC BASBAKAN UNAL USTEL.jpg Ünal Üstel Prime Minister of Northern Cyprus 12 May 2022
Flag of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.svg  Sahrawi Republic Maghreb Brahim Ghali 2.jpeg Brahim Ghali President of the Sahrawi Republic 12 July 2016
Buchraya Hamudi Bayun.png Bouchraya Hammoudi Bayoun Prime Minister of the Sahrawi Republic 13 January 2020
Flag of South Ossetia.svg  South Ossetia Near East and the Caucasus Alan Gagloyev (2023-03-15) 02 (cropped).jpg Alan Gagloyev President of South Ossetia 24 May 2022
Coat of arms of South Ossetia.svg Konstantin Dzhussoyev Prime Minister of South Ossetia 20 June 2022
Flag of Somaliland.svg  Somaliland Horn of Africa Abdirahaamn Abdullahi cirro (cropped).jpg Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi President of Somaliland 12 December 2024
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey Anatolia, the Fertile Crescent,
and the Caucasus [e]
Recep Tayyip Erdogan 2017.jpg Recep Tayyip Erdoğan President of Turkey 28 August 2014

Notes

  1. Comoros is entirely outside of the MENA, but is a Member of the Arab League.
  2. Bulk of Territory; All of North Sinai and South Sinai, as well as parts of Port Said, Ismailia and Suez, are in Asia.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Leadership is disputed.
  4. As President of the Transitional Military Council until 10 October 2022, and Transitional State President until 10 May 2024.
  5. Bulk of Territory; Hatay is in the Fertile Crescent region; all of Edirne, Tekirdağ and Kırklareli, as well as parts of Çanakkale and Istanbul, are in the East Thrace / Balkans region, and therefore outside of the MENA

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle East</span> Geopolitical region

The Middle East is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arabian Peninsula</span> Peninsula in West Asia

The Arabian Peninsula, or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. At 3,237,500 km2 (1,250,000 sq mi), comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the State of Palestine</span>

The history of the State of Palestine describes the creation and evolution of the State of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. During the British mandate period, numerous plans of partition of Palestine were proposed but without the agreement of all parties. In 1947, the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was voted for. The leaders of the Jewish Agency for Palestine accepted parts of the plan, while Arab leaders refused it. This triggered the 1947–1949 Palestine war and led, in 1948, to the establishment of the state of Israel on a part of Mandate Palestine as the Mandate came to an end.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arab world</span> Geographical and cultural region in Africa and the Middle East

The Arab world, formally the Arab homeland, also known as the Arab nation, the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in the Arab world are ethnically Arab, there are also significant populations of other ethnic groups such as Berbers, Kurds, Somalis and Nubians, among other groups. Arabic is used as the lingua franca throughout the Arab world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp David Accords</span> 1978 political agreement between Egypt and Israel

The Camp David Accords were a pair of political agreements signed by Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin on 17 September 1978, following twelve days of secret negotiations at Camp David, the country retreat of the president of the United States in Maryland. The two framework agreements were signed at the White House and were witnessed by President Jimmy Carter. The second of these frameworks led directly to the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty. Due to the agreement, Sadat and Begin received the shared 1978 Nobel Peace Prize. The first framework, which dealt with the Palestinian territories, was written without participation of the Palestinians and was condemned by the United Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Egypt–Israel peace treaty</span> 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel

The Egypt–Israel peace treaty was signed in Washington, D.C., United States, on 26 March 1979, following the 1978 Camp David Accords. The Egypt–Israel treaty was signed by Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, and Menachem Begin, Prime Minister of Israel, and witnessed by Jimmy Carter, President of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Levant</span> Geographical region

The Southern Levant is a geographical region that corresponds approximately to modern-day Palestine, Israel, and Jordan; some definitions also include southern Lebanon, southern Syria and/or the Sinai Peninsula. As a strictly geographical description, it is sometimes used by archaeologists and historians to avoid the religious and political connotations of other names for this area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Europe, the Middle East and Africa</span> Geographical region for global institutional and marketing planning

Europe, the Middle East and Africa, commonly known by its acronym EMEA among the North American business spheres, is a geographical region used by institutions, governments and global spheres of marketing, media and business when referring to this region. The acronym EMEA is a shorthand way of referencing the two continents and the Middle Eastern sub-continent all at once.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Occupation of the Gaza Strip by the United Arab Republic</span> Egyptian military rule over the Gaza Strip (1949–1967)

The occupation of the Gaza Strip by the United Arab Republic began in 1959 following the dissolution of the All-Palestine Protectorate, which had ruled the Gaza Strip as a client state of Egypt since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and its merger with the United Arab Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democracy in the Middle East and North Africa</span> Overview of the role and situation of democracy in the Middle East and North Africa

The state of Democracy in Middle East and North Africa can be comparatively assessed according to various definitions of democracy. De jure democracies in the Middle East and North Africa are according to system of government:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle East and North Africa</span> Geographic region

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA), also referred to as West Asia and North Africa (WANA) or South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA), is a geographic region which comprises the Middle East and North Africa together. However, it is widely considered to be a more defined and apolitical alternative to the concept of the Greater Middle East, which comprises the bulk of the Muslim world. The region has no standardized definition and groupings may vary, but the term typically includes countries like Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, the UAE, and Yemen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allon Plan</span> 1967 plan to distribute the territory around Israel

The Allon Plan was a political proposition that outlined potential next steps for Israel after the 1967 Arab–Israeli War. It was drafted by Israeli politician Yigal Allon following Israel's seizure of territory from Syria, Jordan, and Egypt; the Israeli military had come to occupy Syria's Golan Heights, the Jordanian-annexed West Bank and the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip, and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. Allon advocated a partitioning of the West Bank between Israel and Jordan, the creation of a sovereign state for Druze in the Golan Heights, and the return of most of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic</span>

The politics of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic refers to politics of the Polisario Front's proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, a country in North Africa with limited recognition by other states, controlling parts of the Western Sahara region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Partition of the Ottoman Empire</span> Division of Ottoman territory after World War I

The partition of the Ottoman Empire was a geopolitical event that occurred after World War I and the occupation of Constantinople by British, French, and Italian troops in November 1918. The partitioning was planned in several agreements made by the Allied Powers early in the course of World War I, notably the Sykes–Picot Agreement, after the Ottoman Empire had joined Germany to form the Ottoman–German alliance. The huge conglomeration of territories and peoples that formerly comprised the Ottoman Empire was divided into several new states. The Ottoman Empire had been the leading Islamic state in geopolitical, cultural, and ideological terms. The partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after the war led to the domination of the Middle East by Western powers such as Britain and France, and saw the creation of the modern Arab world and the Republic of Turkey. Resistance to the influence of these powers came from the Turkish National Movement but did not become widespread in the other post-Ottoman states until the period of rapid decolonization after World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borders of Israel</span> Political boundaries between Israel and neighboring states

The modern borders of Israel exist as the result both of past wars and of diplomatic agreements between the State of Israel and its neighbours, as well as an effect of the agreements among colonial powers ruling in the region before Israel's creation. Only two of Israel's five total potential land borders are internationally recognized and uncontested, while the other three remain disputed; the majority of its border disputes are rooted in territorial changes that came about as a result of the 1967 Arab–Israeli War, which saw Israel occupy large swathes of territory from its rivals. Israel's two formally recognized and confirmed borders exist with Egypt and Jordan since the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty and the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty, while its borders with Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories remain internationally defined as contested.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military history of Azerbaijan</span> Aspect of military history

The military history of Azerbaijan is framed within thousands of years of armed actions of many other states in the territory encompassing modern Azerbaijan, as well as the shorter history of interventions by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces in conflicts abroad. The Azerbaijanis are the inheritors of the lands of various ancient civilizations and peoples including the indigenous Caucasian Albanians, Iranian tribes such as Scythians and Alans, and Oghuz Turks among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All-Palestine Government</span> 1948–1959 Egyptian client government of Gaza

The All-Palestine Government was established on 22 September 1948, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, to govern the Egyptian-controlled territory in Gaza, which Egypt had on the same day declared as the All-Palestine Protectorate. It was confirmed by the Arab League and recognised by six of the then seven Arab League members, with Transjordan being the exception. Though it claimed jurisdiction over the whole of the former Mandatory Palestine, its effective jurisdiction was limited to the All-Palestine Protectorate, which came to be called the Gaza Strip. The President of the protectorate was Hajj Amin al-Husseini, former chairman of the Arab Higher Committee, and the Prime Minister was Ahmed Hilmi Pasha. The legislative body was the All-Palestine National Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic State – Sinai Province</span> Branch of the Salafi jihadist group IS

The Islamic State – Sinai Province was a branch of the jihadist organization Islamic State that was active in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt.

Shahid is an Saudi content-streaming platform operated by the Saudi state-owned MBC Group.

References