List of current state leaders by date of assumption of office explained
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.
List of state leaders by date of assuming office
Prior to 2000
2000–2009
2010–2014
2015–2017
2018–2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
List of upcoming leaders
See also
Notes and References
- Brunei was a British protected state until 1 January 1984.
- President Obiang is the nephew of the previous president, Francisco Macías Nguema.
- [Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein|Hereditary Prince Alois]
- Yoweri Museveni was the de facto head of state of Uganda as Commander of the National Resistance Army from 26 January 198629 January 1986.
- The country was called the Kingdom of Swaziland until 19 April 2018.
- [Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway|Haakon]
- The country gained independence from Ethiopia on 23 May 1993.
- Lukashenko's presidency has been disputed since 23 September 2020.
- Letsie III was previously King of Lesotho from 12 November 199025 January 1995.
- Denis Sassou Nguesso was previously President of the People's Republic of the Congo / Republic of the Congo from 8 February 197931 August 1992. Sassou Nguesso was the de facto head of state of the Republic of the Congo as a militia leader from 15 October 199725 October 1997.
- [Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume]
- The country was called the State of Bahrain before 14 February 2002.
- President Guelleh is the nephew of the previous president, Hassan Gouled Aptidon.
- President Assad is the son of the previous president, Hafez al-Assad.
- The office of Head of State of Syria has been in dispute between Bashar al-Assad and the President of the National Coalition, Hadi al-Bahra, since 12 September 2023.
- The Representatives of Andorra each represent their respective Co-Prince. Josep Maria Mauri represents Joan Enric Vives i Sicília, while Patrick Strzoda represents Emmanuel Macron.
- President Aliyev is the son of the previous president, Heydar Aliyev.
- [Artur Rasizade]
- Mahmoud Abbas was Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority from 19 March 2003 – 6 September 2003.
- President Gnassingbé is the son of the previous president, Gnassingbé Eyadéma.
- Faure Gnassingbé was previously President of Togo from 5 February 200525 February 2005.
- The country gained independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011.
- It was the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region until 9 July 2011.
- Sheikh Mohammed is the brother of the previous Prime Minister Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and son of the Prime Minister before that, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum.
- Daniel Ortega was a member (and during 4 March 198110 January 1985 the Coordinator) of the Junta of National Reconstruction of Nicaragua 18 July 197910 January 1985; he was President of Nicaragua from 10 January 198525 April 1990.
- Viktor Orbán was Prime Minister of Hungary from 6 July 199827 May 2002.
- Alassane Ouattara was Prime Minister of Ivory Coast from 7 November 19909 December 1993.
- Kim Jong-un is the son and grandson of the two previous supreme leaders, Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung.
- 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.
The term Supreme Leader is used as a description, for the sake of brevity, rather than being an official title of a single office. The actual offices held by Kim Jong-un are: General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea, President of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK, and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the DPRK. The office of President of the State Affairs Commission was formalized as head of state by a constitutional amendment proclaimed on 11 April 2019.
- Tupou VI (then known as Prince ʻUlukālala Lavaka Ata) was Prime Minister of Tonga from 3 January 200011 February 2006.
- The office of Head of State of Venezuela has been in dispute between Nicolás Maduro and the President of the National Assembly, Dinorah Figuera, since <
- Mohamed bin Zayed is the brother of the previous President, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
- Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed was regent for his brother, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan from 25 January 201413 May 2022.
- Leader of Ansar Allah as an insurgency since 2004, until the successful takeover in 2015
- Prime Minister Trudeau is the son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.
- 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 20115 January 2012.
- Faustin Touadéra was Prime Minister of the Central African Republic from 22 January 200817 January 2013.
- Azali Assoumani was Chief of Staff of the National Development Army (de facto leader of the Comoros) from 30 April 19996 May 1999, Head of State of the Comoros from 6 May 199921 January 2002, then the elected President from 6 May 200226 May 2006.
- [Prem Tinsulanonda]
- President Akufo-Addo is the son of a former president, Edward Akufo-Addo.
- Afioga Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II was Acting O le Ao o le Malo from 11 May 200720 June 2007.
- News: Syria's Idlib enclave: how does it work? . 10 January 2023 . . . 28 June 2019 . . The head of the Salvation Government is [the prime minister], who assumed his post late last year, but the region's strongman is HTS chief Abu Mohammed al-Jolani..
- 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 20121 June 2012.
- Julius Maada Bio was Head of State of Sierra Leone (as leader of the Supreme Council of State) from 16 January 199629 March 1996.
- The office of Head of State of Cuba was styled as President of the Council of State from 2 December 197610 October 2019, then as President of the Republic 10 October 2019present.
- The office of Head of Government of Cuba was styled as President of the Council of Ministers from 2 December 197621 December 2019, then as Prime Minister from 21 December 2019present.
- Mostafa Madbouly was Acting Prime Minister of Egypt from 23 November 201727 January 2018.
- Željko Komšić was a Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 6 November 200617 November 2014, and served as the Chairman of the Presidency from 6 July 20076 March 2008, 6 July 20096 March 2010, 10 July 201110 March 2012, and 10 July 201310 March 2014.
- In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Presidency is a Tripartite council, with the Chairman of the Presidency rotating every eight months.
- Félix Tshisekedi is the son of former Prime Minister Étienne Tshisekedi.
- Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was Acting Prime Minister of Kazakhstan from 1 October 199912 October 1999, then Prime Minister of Kazakhstan from 12 October 199928 January 2002.
- Abdelmadjid Tebboune was Prime Minister of Algeria from 25 May 201715 August 2017.
- The Secretary for Foreign Affairs is the de facto head of government of San Marino.
- Luca Beccari was a Captain Regent of San Marino from 1 April 20141 October 2014.
- Robert Abela is the son of former president George Abela.
- Bouchraya Hammoudi Bayoun was Prime Minister of the Sahrawi Republic from 19 September 19938 September 1995 and 10 February 199929 October 2003.
- [Andrey Belousov]
- Zoran Milanović was Prime Minister of Croatia from 23 December 201122 January 2016.
- Umaro Sissoco Embaló was Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau from 18 November 201630 January 2018.
- Luis Lacalle Pou is the son of former president Luis Alberto Lacalle.
- Prime Minister Salman is the son of the current King, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
- Maia Sandu was Prime Minister of Moldova from 8 June 201914 November 2019.
- Sadyr Japarov was Acting Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan from 6 October 202010 October 2020, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan from 10 October 202021 January 2021, and Acting President of Kyrgyzstan from 15 October 202014 November 2020. Japarov took a leave of absence from the office of Prime Minister from 14 November 202011 January 2021 to compete in the 2021 Kyrgyz presidential election, and Artem Novikov acted for Japarov.
- 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 20203 June 2020.
- Vjosa Osmani was Acting President of Kosovo from 5 November 202022 March 2021.
- Mahamat Déby is the son of the previous President, Idriss Déby.
- Assimi Goïta was Head of State of Mali (as Chairman of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People of Mali) from 19 August 202027 August 2020 and Acting Head of State of Mali from 27 August 202025 September 2020.
- Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa is the daughter of former Prime Minister Fiamē Mataʻafa Faumuina Mulinuʻu II.
- Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh was Prime Minister of Mongolia from 4 October 201727 January 2021.
- Isaac Herzog is the son of former president Chaim Herzog.
- Najib Mikati was Prime Minister of Lebanon from 19 April 200519 July 2005 and 13 June 201115 February 2014.
- José Maria Neves was Prime Minister of Cape Verde from 1 February 200122 April 2016.
- [Serdar Berdimuhamedow]
- 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.
- José Ramos-Horta was Acting Prime Minister of East Timor from 26 June 200610 July 2006, Prime Minister of East Timor from 10 July 200619 May 2007 and President of East Timor from 20 May 200711 February 2008 and 17 April 200820 May 2012.
- Han Duck-soo was Acting Prime Minister of South Korea from 14 March 200619 April 2006 and Prime Minister of South Korea from 2 April 200729 February 2008.
- Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was President of Somalia from 16 September 201216 February 2017.
- Bongbong Marcos is the son of former President and Prime Minister Ferdinand Marcos.
- The Governors-General of each Commonwealth realm outside of the United Kingdom represent Charles III.
- 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 200822 June 2008, 14 August 201012 December 2012 and 25 November 20143 December 2018.
- Sitiveni Rabuka was Acting Head of State of Fiji (as President of the Interim Military Government) from 14 May 19875 December 1987, then Prime Minister of Fiji from 2 June 199219 May 1999.
- Benjamin Netanyahu was Prime Minister of Israel from 18 June 19966 July 1999 and 31 March 200913 June 2021.
- Sonexay Siphandone is the son of Chairman of the People's Revolutionary Party, President, and Prime Minister Khamtai Siphandone.
- Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was President of Brazil from 1 January 200331 December 2010.
- Kyriakos Mitsotakis is the son of former Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis.
- Kyriakos Mitsotakis was Prime Minister of Greece from 8 July 201925 May 2023.
- Xanana Gusmão was President of East Timor from 20 May 200220 May 2007 and Prime Minister of East Timor from 8 August 200716 February 2015.
- [Hun Manet]
- Brice Oligui Nguema is the cousin of the previous President, Ali Bongo Ondimba.
- Cynthia A. Pratt was Acting Prime Minister of the Bahamas from 4 May 200522 June 2005.
- Raymond Ndong Sima was Prime Minister of Gabon from 27 February 201227 January 2014.
- Hadi al-Bahra was President of the Syrian National Coalition from 9 July 20144 January 2015.
- Charlot Salwai was Prime Minister of Vanuatu from 11 February 201620 April 2020.
- Robert Fico was Prime Minister of Slovakia from 4 July 20068 July 2010 and 4 April 201222 March 2018.
- David Adeang is the son of former president Kennan Adeang.
- Donald Tusk was Prime Minister of Poland from 16 November 200722 September 2014.
- Andry Rajoelina was Head of State of Madagascar (as President of the High Transitional Authority) from 17 March 200925 January 2014, then the elected President from 19 January 20199 September 2023.
- Rui Duarte de Barros was Acting Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau from 16 May 20123 July 2014.
- Hilda Heine was President of the Marshall Islands from 28 January 201613 January 2020.
- Bernardo Arévalo is the son of former president Juan José Arévalo.
- Tshering Tobgay was Prime Minister of Bhutan from 27 July 20139 August 2018.
- The office of Prime Minister of Yemen has been in dispute since 4 October 2016 with Abdel-Aziz bin Habtour, prime minister of the Supreme Political Council government.
- Feleti Teo is the son of former Governor-General Fiatau Penitala Teo.
- Alexander Stubb was Prime Minister of Finland from 24 June 201429 May 2015.
- Shehbaz Sharif is the brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
- Shehbaz Sharif was Prime Minister of Pakistan from 11 April 202213 August 2023.
- Asif Ali Zardari is the widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
- Asif Ali Zardari was President of Pakistan from 9 September 20089 September 2013.
- Bjarni Benediktsson was Prime Minister of Iceland from 11 January 201730 November 2017.
- Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah is the fifth son of Sheikh Abdullah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, and the grandson of Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the tenth Emir of Kuwait.
- Lai Ching-te was Premier of Taiwan from 8 September 201714 January 2019.
- Peter Pellegrini was Prime Minister of Slovakia from 22 March 201821 March 2020.
- K.P. Sharma Oli was Prime Minister of Nepal from 12 October 201524 August 2016 and 15 February 201813 July 2021.
- Paetongtarn Shinawatra is the daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the niece of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
- The office of Head of Government of Syria has been in dispute between Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali and the Prime Minister of the Interim Government, Abdurrahman Mustafa, since 14 September 2024.
- Dalibor Riccardi is the son of former Captain Regent Marino Riccardi.
- Khaled Mashal was Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau from 1996 - 6 May 2017.
- Mohammed Sinwar is the brother of Yahya Sinwar.
- Navin Ramgoolam is the son of Prime Minister and Governor-General, Seewoosagur Ramgoolam.
- Navin Ramgoolam was Prime Minister of Mauritius from 27 December 199511 September 2000 and 5 July 200517 December 2014.
- Valeri Bganba was Acting President of Abkhazia from 1 June 201425 September 2014 and 13 January 202023 April 2020, and Prime Minister of Abkhazia from 18 September 201823 April 2020.
- Abdoulaye Maïga was Acting Prime Minister of Mali from 21 August 20225 December 2022.
- Micheál Martin was Taoiseach from 27 June 202017 December 2022.
- Donald Trump was President of the United States from 20 January 201720 January 2021.
- President Daniel Ortega and Co-President Rosario Murillo are married.
Sweden
Cameroon
Equatorial Guinea
Liechtenstein
Uganda
Norway
Eritrea
Tajikistan
Belarus
Lesotho
Luxembourg
Jordan
Bahrain[12] 
Djibouti
Morocco
Rwanda
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Turkey
Andorra
Azerbaijan
Uzbekistan
Dominica
Cambodia
Monaco
Togo
United Arab Emirates
Bhutan
Nicaragua
Jamaica
Hungary
Ireland
Tonga
China
Grenada
Qatar
Belgium
Albania
Serbia
India
Egypt
Antigua and Barbuda
Spain
Romania
San Marino
Oman
Malta
Croatia
Guinea-Bissau
Uruguay
Ukraine
Greece
Burundi
Malawi
Suriname
Guyana
Dominican Republic
Seychelles
Belize
Lithuania
Iceland
Bulgaria
Ghana
Mozambique
United States
Namibia
Saudi Arabia
Italy
Poland
Trinidad and Tobago
Canada
Switzerland
Portugal
Kiribati
Central African Republic
Benin
Cape Verde
Comoros
Thailand
Austria
Papua New Guinea
Germany
France
Samoa
Angola
Zimbabwe
Barbados
South Africa
Ethiopia
Sierra Leone
Cuba
Armenia
Madagascar
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Georgia
Kazakhstan
Sudan
Japan
El Salvador
Denmark
Mauritania
Tunisia
Mauritius
Algeria
Palau
Kyrgyzstan
Mongolia
Myanmar
Libya
Chad
Israel
Saint Lucia
Afghanistan
Zambia
Guinea
Lebanon
Tuvalu
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New Zealand
Czech Republic
Honduras
Chile
Turkmenistan
Yemen
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Australia
Slovenia
Somalia
Philippines
Vanuatu
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Colombia
Solomon Islands
United Kingdom
Kenya
Burkina Faso
Iraq
Malaysia
Peru
Fiji
Brazil
Cyprus
Nepal
Bangladesh
Montenegro
Nigeria
Finland
Latvia
Niger
Paraguay
Gabon
Singapore
Slovakia
Nauru
Maldives
Ecuador
Argentina
Kuwait
Marshall Islands
Guatemala
Liberia
Pakistan
Senegal
Panama
Sri Lanka
Mexico
Haiti
Indonesia
Botswana
Mali