This is a list of openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, or trans (LGBT) people who have been the head of state or government of a country or a subnational division such as a state, a province, or a territory. Openly LGBT people have served as national heads of state or government in Andorra, Belgium, France, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, San Marino, and Serbia.
Name | Portrait | Country | National population (while in office) | Office | Political party | Mandate start | Mandate end | Term length | Sexual orientation/ gender identity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Paolo Rondelli | ![]() | ![]() | 33,627 (2021 estimate) | Captain Regent | RETE Movement | 1 April 2022 | 1 October 2022 | 183 days | Gay [1] |
Edgars Rinkēvičs | ![]() | ![]() | 1,827,533 (2023 estimate) | President | Unity | 8 July 2023 | Incumbent | 1 year, 33 days | Gay [2] [3] |
Name | Portrait | Country | National population (while in office) | Office | Political party | Mandate start | Mandate end | Term length | Sexual orientation/ gender identity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir | ![]() | ![]() | 315,556 (2011 census) | Prime Minister | Social Democratic Alliance | 1 February 2009 | 23 May 2013 | 4 years, 111 days | Lesbian [4] |
Elio Di Rupo | ![]() | ![]() | 11,000,638 (2011 census) | Prime Minister | Socialist Party | 6 December 2011 | 11 October 2014 | 2 years, 309 days | Gay [5] |
Xavier Bettel | ![]() | ![]() | 660,804 (2023 estimate) | Prime Minister | Democratic Party | 4 December 2013 | 17 November 2023 | 9 years, 348 days | Gay [6] |
Leo Varadkar | ![]() | ![]() | 5,149,139 (2022 census) | Taoiseach | Fine Gael | 14 June 2017 | 27 June 2020 | 3 years, 13 days | Gay [7] |
17 December 2022 | 9 April 2024 | 1 year, 114 days | |||||||
Ana Brnabić | ![]() | ![]() | 6,926,705 (2020 estimate) | Prime Minister | Progressive Party | 29 June 2017 | 20 March 2024 | 6 years, 265 days | Lesbian [8] |
Xavier Espot Zamora | ![]() | ![]() | 81,588 (2023 estimate) | Prime Minister | Democrats for Andorra | 16 May 2019 | Incumbent | 5 years, 86 days | Gay [9] |
Gabriel Attal | ![]() | ![]() | 68,042,591 (2023 estimate) | Prime Minister | Renaissance | 9 January 2024 | Incumbent | 214 days | Gay [10] |
Some openly LGBT people have also served as deputy prime ministers, or an analogous office, who may take the position of the acting head of government when they are temporarily absent.
Name | Portrait | Country | National population (while in office) | Office | Political party | Mandate start | Mandate end | Term length | Sexual orientation/ gender identity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Guido Westerwelle | ![]() | ![]() | 80,200,000 (2011 census) | Vice-Chancellor | Free Democratic Party | 28 October 2009 | 16 May 2011 | 1 year, 200 days | Gay |
Etienne Schneider | ![]() | ![]() | 604,245 (2018 estimate) | Deputy Prime Minister | Socialist Workers' Party | 4 December 2013 | 4 February 2020 | 6 years, 62 days | Gay |
Kajsa Ollongren | ![]() | ![]() | 17,590,672 (2022 estimate) | Second Deputy Prime Minister | Democrats 66 | 26 October 2017 | 1 November 2019 | 2 years, 6 days | Lesbian |
14 May 2020 | 10 January 2022 | 1 year, 241 days | |||||||
Petra De Sutter | ![]() | ![]() | 11,492,641 (2020 estimate) | Deputy Prime Minister | Groen | 1 October 2020 | Incumbent | 3 years, 314 days | Trans woman |
Grant Robertson | ![]() | ![]() | 5,136,220 (2022 estimate) | Deputy Prime Minister | Labour Party | 6 November 2020 | 25 January 2023 | 2 years, 80 days | Gay |
Xavier Bettel | ![]() | ![]() | 660,804 (2023 estimate) | Deputy Prime Minister | Democratic Party | 17 November 2023 | Incumbent | 267 days | Gay |
Rob Jetten | ![]() | ![]() | 18,008,200 (2024 estimate) | First Deputy Prime Minister | Democrats 66 | 8 January 2024 | 2 June 2024 | 146 days | Gay |
Politicians who were closeted while in office and never officially came out or were outed only after their deaths or retirement include:
Kārlis Augusts Vilhelms Ulmanis was a Latvian politician and a dictator. He was one of the most prominent Latvian politicians of pre-World War II Latvia during the Interwar period of independence from November 1918 to June 1940 and served as the country's first prime minister.
Aigars Kalvītis is a Latvian businessman and a former politician who was the Prime Minister of Latvia from 2004 to 2007. Currently he is the president of Latvian Ice Hockey Federation and the Chairman of the Board of Latvian gas company Latvijas Gāze. He is the Chairman of the Council of Latvian telecommunications company Tet.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Serbia face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in Serbia, and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is banned in areas such as employment, education, media, and the provision of goods and services, amongst others. Nevertheless, households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples.
The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have developed significantly over time. Today, lesbian, gay and bisexual rights are considered to be advanced by international standards.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in North Korea may face social challenges due to their sexuality or gender identity. However, homosexuality is not illegal. Other LGBT rights in the country are not explicitly addressed in North Korean law.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Latvia have expanded substantially in recent years, although LGBT people still face various challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female types of same-sex sexual activity are legal in Latvia, but households headed by same-sex couples are ineligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples. Since May 2022, same-sex couples have been recognized as "family" by the Administrative District Court, which gives them some of the legal protections available to married (opposite-sex) couples; as of 2023 November, around 40 couples have been registered via this procedure. In November 2023 registered partnerships were codified into law. These partnerships are available to both same and different sex couples - since July 1, 2024 the implemented registered partnership law has the similar rights and obligations as married couples - with the exception of the title of marriage, and adoption or inheritance rights.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Lithuania have evolved rapidly over the years, although LGBT people still face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female expressions of same-sex sexual activity are legal in Lithuania, but neither civil same-sex partnership nor same-sex marriages are available, meaning that there is no legal recognition of same-sex couples.
The president of Latvia is head of state and commander-in-chief of the National Armed Forces of the Republic of Latvia.
The ordination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender (LGBT) clergy who are open about their sexuality or gender identity; are sexually active if lesbian, gay, or bisexual; or are in committed same-sex relationships is a debated practice within some contemporary Christian denominations.
LGBT conservatism refers to LGBT individuals with conservative political views. It is an umbrella term used for what is bifurcated into two specific sub-categories, each with its own term and meaning. The first sub-categorical term, Pre-Stonewall LGBT Conservatism, refers to LGBT individuals embracing and promoting the ideology of a traditional conservatism in either a general or specifically-LGBT social context or environment. The second sub-categorical term, Post-Stonewall LGBT Conservatism, refers to self-affirming LGBT persons with fiscally, culturally, and politically conservative views. These post-Stonewall conservatives' social views, though generally conservative too, at the same time reflect a self-determination-stemmed and more recent socio-historical "gay-affirmation" on issues like marriage equality for same-sex couples, gay family recognition, civic equality generally for LGBT people in society, and also a positive role for (gay-affirming) religion in LGBT life, though there is not complete unanimity of opinion among them on all issues, especially those regarding the dynamics and politics of the closet and "identity management," and various legal and political issues The first term can include LGBT people who are opposed to same-sex marriage or other LGBTQ rights while the second term, contrastingly, usually refers to self-affirming gay people who unequivocally favor marriage as a legal institution for both heterosexuals and gays and who simultaneously prefer economic and political conservatism more generally. The number of self-affirming LGBT advocates for conservative ideas and policies became more apparent only after the advent of the modern LGBT civil rights movement in the 1970s even as many gay conservatives, labelled as "self-hating" at the time, did remain closeted in areas where anti-gay socially conservative politicians then led the most organized opposition to LGBT rights. The Realpolitik and ideology situations for LGBT conservatives today vary by their own self-definition, and each country's sociopolitical, cultural, and legal LGBT rights landscape.
Gay and lesbian citizens have been allowed to serve openly in His Majesty's Armed Forces since 2000. The United Kingdom's policy is to allow lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) personnel to serve openly, and discrimination on a sexual orientation basis is forbidden. It is also forbidden for someone to pressure LGBT people to come out. All personnel are subject to the same rules against sexual harassment, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.
The history of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT) in Russia and its historical antecedents has largely been influenced by the political leanings of its rulers. Medieval Catholic-Protestant Europe had the largest influence on Russian attitude towards homosexuality. Russian LGBT history was influenced by the ambivalent attitude of the Russian Orthodox religiosity regarding sexuality.
Edgars Rinkēvičs is a Latvian public official and politician serving as the 11th and current president of Latvia since July 2023. He previously served as the minister of foreign affairs of Latvia from 2011 to 2023, and head of the Chancery of the President of Latvia as state secretary of the Ministry of Defence, as well as a deputy of the Saeima.
Ana Brnabić is a Serbian politician serving as president of the National Assembly of Serbia since 2024. A member of the Serbian Progressive Party, she previously served as prime minister of Serbia from 2017 to 2024. She was the first woman, first openly gay, and longest-serving person to hold the office of Prime Minister.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in the post-Soviet states face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents.
This is a timeline of notable events in the history of non-heterosexual conforming people of African ancestry, who may identify as LGBTIQGNC, men who have sex with men, or related culturally specific identities. This timeline includes events both in Africa, the Americas and Europe and in the global African diaspora, as the histories are very deeply linked.
The following is a timeline of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) history in the 21st century.