This article contains various lists of state leaders organized by age, defined as heads of state and/or heads of government.
Oldest serving state leaders[edit]
Top ten currently serving[edit]
Paul Biya, currently the oldest serving state leader
People currently serving as head of state and/or head of government, a party leader of a one-party state, or a representative of a head of state.
| 1 | Paul Biya | President of Cameroon | 1982[1] | 13 February 1933 | 89 years, 307 days |
| 2 | Mahmoud Abbas | President of the Palestinian National Authority, President of the State of Palestine | 2005 | 15 November 1935 | 87 years, 32 days |
| 3 | Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud | King of Saudi Arabia | 2015[2] | 31 December 1935 | 86 years, 351 days |
| 4 | Francis | Pope of the Holy See, Sovereign of the Vatican City State | 2013 | 17 December 1936 | 86 years, 0 days |
| 5 | Harald V | King of Norway[3] | 1991 | 21 February 1937 | 85 years, 299 days |
| 6 | Cornelius A. Smith | Governor-General of the Bahamas | 2019 | 7 April 1937 | 85 years, 254 days |
| 7 | Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah | Emir of Kuwait | 2020 | 25 June 1937 | 85 years, 175 days |
| 8 | Ali Khamenei | Supreme Leader of Iran | 1989[4] | 19 April 1939 | 83 years, 242 days |
| 9 | Margrethe II | Queen of Denmark[5] | 1972 | 16 April 1940 | 82 years, 245 days |
| 10 | Michael D. Higgins | President of Ireland | 2011 | 18 April 1941 | 81 years, 243 days |
Top ten of all time[edit]
| 1 | Giovanni Paolo Lascaris | Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller | 1657 (death) | 97 years, 47 days |
| 1–2 | Enrico Dandolo | Doge of Venice | 1205 (death) | 97–98 years[6] |
| 3 | Abdul Momin | Sultan of Brunei | 1885 (death) | 97 years, 8 days |
| 4 | Elizabeth II | Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms[7] | 2022 (death) | 96 years, 140 days |
| 5 | Hastings Banda | President of Malawi | 1994 (presidency for life revoked, defeated in re-election) | 96 years, 98 days |
| 6 | Prem Tinsulanonda | Regent of Thailand | 2016 (term ended) | 96 years, 97 days |
| 7 | George Tupou I | King of Tonga | 1893 (death) | 95 years, 76 days |
| 8 | Mahathir Mohamad | Prime Minister of Malaysia | 2020 (resigned) | 94 years, 235 days |
| 9 | Nicolò da Ponte | Doge of Venice | 1585 (death) | 94 years, 196 days |
| 10 | Malietoa Tanumafili II | O le Ao o le Malo of Samoa | 2007 (death) | 94 years, 127 days |
Youngest serving state leaders[edit]
Top ten currently serving[edit]
Ibrahim Traoré, the youngest serving state leader
| 1 | Ibrahim Traoré | President of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration of Burkina Faso | 2022 | 1988[8] | 33 years, 351 days to 34 years, 350 days |
| Interim President of Burkina Faso | 2022 | ||||
| 2 | Gabriel Boric | President of Chile | 2022 | 11 February 1986 | 36 years, 309 days |
| 3 | Dritan Abazović | Prime Minister of Montenegro | 2022 | 25 December 1985 | 36 years, 357 days |
| 4 | Sanna Marin | Prime Minister of Finland | 2019 | 16 November 1985 | 37 years, 31 days |
| 5 | Mohammed bin Salman | Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia | 2022 | 31 August 1985 | 37 years, 108 days |
| 6 | Mahamat Déby | Transitional President of Chad[9] | 2022 | 1 January 1984 | 38 years, 350 days |
| 7 | Kim Jong-un | Supreme Leader of North Korea[10] | 2011 | 8 January 1983[11] | 39 years, 343 days[11] |
| 7–8 | Assimi Goïta | Interim President of Mali[12] | 2021 | 1983 | 38 years, 351 days to 39 years, 350 days |
| 9 | Irakli Garibashvili | Prime Minister of Georgia[13] | 2021 | 28 June 1982 | 40 years, 172 days |
| 10 | Serdar Berdimuhamedow | President of Turkmenistan | 2022 | 22 September 1981 | 41 years, 86 days |
Top ten since 1935[edit]
Jean-Claude Duvalier, the youngest non-royal state leader since 1900
Currently in office
| 1 | Fuad II | King of Egypt | 1952 | 192 days |
| 2 | Gyanendra | King of Nepal | 1950[14] | 3 years, 123 days |
| 3 | Faisal II | King of Iraq | 1939 | 3 years, 337 days |
| 4 | Simeon II | Tsar of Bulgaria | 1943 | 6 years, 73 days |
| 5 | Jigme Singye Wangchuck | King of Bhutan | 1972 | 16 years, 256 days |
| 6 | Hussein | King of Jordan | 1952 | 16 years, 271 days |
| 7 | Mswati III | King of Eswatini[15] | 1986 | 18 years, 6 days[16] |
| 8 | Bhumibol Adulyadej | King of Thailand | 1946 | 18 years, 186 days |
| 9 | Ntare V | King of Burundi | 1966 | 18 years, 218 days |
| 10 | Jean-Claude Duvalier | President of Haiti | 1971 | 19 years, 293 days |
Longest-lived state leaders[edit]
The following lists are the top ten all-time state leaders and the top ten living.
Top ten living[edit]
Khamtai Siphandone, the oldest-living state leader
| 1 | Khamtai Siphandone | Prime Minister of Laos (1991–1998) | 8 February 1924 | 98 years, 312 days |
| Chairman of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (1992–2006) | ||||
| President of Laos (1998–2006) | ||||
| 2 | Tomiichi Murayama | Prime Minister of Japan (1994–1996) | 3 March 1924 | 98 years, 289 days |
| 3 | Jimmy Carter | President of the United States (1977–1981) | 1 October 1924 | 98 years, 77 days |
| 4 | Lubomír Štrougal | Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia (1970–1988) | 19 October 1924 | 98 years, 59 days |
| 5 | Guillermo Rodríguez | President of Ecuador (1972–1976) | 4 November 1924 | 98 years, 43 days |
| 6 | Ali Hassan Mwinyi | President of Tanzania (1985–1995) | 8 May 1925 | 97 years, 223 days |
| National Chairman of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (1990–1992) | ||||
| 7 | Giorgio Napolitano | President of Italy (2006–2015) | 29 June 1925 | 97 years, 171 days |
| 8 | Mahathir Mohamad | Prime Minister of Malaysia (1981–2003, 2018–2020) | 10 July 1925 | 97 years, 160 days |
| 9 | Mohammad Hasan Sharq | Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Afghanistan (1988–1989) | 17 July 1925 | 97 years, 153 days |
| 10 | Arnaldo Forlani | Prime Minister of Italy (1980–1981) | 8 December 1925 | 97 years, 9 days |
Top ten since 1800[edit]
Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum, the longest-lived state leader
| 1 | Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum | Prime Minister of Cambodia (1962) | 1905 | 2009 | 103 years, 143 days |
| 2 | Celâl Bayar | Prime Minister of Turkey (1937–1939) | 1883 | 1986 | 103 years, 98 days |
| President of Turkey (1950–1960) | |||||
| 3 | Antoine Pinay | Prime Minister of France (1952–1953) | 1891 | 1994 | 102 years, 348 days |
| 4 | André Prunet-Foch | French Viguier in Andorra (1977–1980) | 1914 | 2017 | 102 years, 211 days |
| 5 | Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni | Prime Minister of Japan (1945) | 1887 | 1990 | 102 years, 48 days |
| 6 | Babiker Awadalla | Prime Minister of Sudan (1969) | 1917 | 2019 | 101 years, 321 days |
| 7 | Willem Drees | Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1948–1958) | 1886 | 1988 | 101 years, 314 days |
| 8 | Đỗ Mười | Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Vietnam (1988–1991) | 1917 | 2018 | 101 years, 241 days |
| General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (1991–1997) | |||||
| 9 | Zhang Qun | Premier of the Republic of China (1947–1948) | 1889 | 1990 | 101 years, 219 days |
| 10 | Yasuhiro Nakasone | Prime Minister of Japan (1982–1987) | 1918 | 2019 | 101 years, 186 days |
See also[edit]
- Lists of state leaders
Notes[edit]
- ^ Previously served as Prime Minister of Cameroon from 1975–1982.
- ^ Served concurrently as Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 2015–2022.
- ^ The Kingdom of Norway includes the dependent territory of Svalbard.
- ^ Previously served as President of Iran from 1981–1989.
- ^ The Kingdom of Denmark includes the autonomous territories of Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
- ^ None of the earlier chronicles and contemporary witnesses give his exact age, only mentioning that he was very old. The commonly given birth year of circa 1107 is based on the account of Marino Sanuto the Younger (1466–1536) three centuries later, who stated that Dandolo was eighty-five when he assumed the throne in 1192. (See Madden. Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice. p. 92.) As Dandalo died on June 1, 1205, he was 97 or 98 at death if indeed born in 1107.
- ^ In 1952, Princess Elizabeth acceded as the monarch of seven Commonwealth realms. At the time of her death, she reigned as Queen of 15 sovereign states including the United Kingdom. From 1957–1983, most of her British colonies attained independence, and some joined the other realms in different years; most states ceased to be a realm upon becoming republics.
- ^ Rakotomalala, Omega; Chothia, Farouk (3 October 2022). "Capt Ibrahim Traoré: Burkina Faso's new military ruler". Nairobi: BBC News. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- ^ Previously President of the Transitional Military Council of Chad from 2021–2022.
- ^ 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 Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the DPRK.
- ^ a b Kim's year of birth has been the subject of dispute. North Korean authorities and state-run media have stated Kim's birth date is 8 January 1982, but South Korean intelligence officials believe the actual date is a year later. Until 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department had claimed that his year of birth is 1984.
- ^ Previously Chairman of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People of Mali in 2020 and 2021.
- ^ Previously Prime Minister of Georgia from 2013–2015.
- ^ Gyanendra's first occupation of the throne was in 1950; he was deposed in the 1951 Nepalese revolution.
- ^ The country was called the Kingdom of Swaziland until 19 April 2018.
- ^ Began personal reign after a 3-year regency
Who were the 3 youngest presidents?
Youngest Presidents of the United States.
Who is the youngest elected president?
According to the White House, as the 35th president, President John F. Kennedy, was the youngest person ever elected president. Kennedy was 43 years and seven months old in 1961 when he became president, according to the Constitution Center.
Who is India's youngest president?
Presidential election of 1977
Reddy was elected unopposed, the only President to be elected thus, after being unanimously supported by all political parties including the opposition Congress party. At 64, he was the youngest person to be elected President of India until Droupadi Murmu was elected President in 2022.
Who is the youngest president in Africa?
Mswati III, Swaziland – Age: 54
At 18, he was crowned on April 25, 1986, after being introduced as the crown prince in 1983. He co-rules the nation as an absolute king alongside his mother, Ntombi Tfwala, who is currently Queen Mother. Mswati III is a proud polygamist with 15 wives as of writing this piece.