List of current longest-ruling non-royal national leaders

This list of current longest ruling non-royal national leaders is a list of the current living longest ruling heads of nation-states or national governments, who are not royalty, and have served ten years or longer, sorted by length of tenure.

The individuals on the list are not always the most powerful figure in their country's national government. Some are or have been at one time the most powerful figures in their country's national government but not necessarily continuously throughout the listed timespan. Some of them have held more than one national leadership level office: presidency, prime minister-ship, or some other title implying or widely believed to confer national leadership. When more than one such office exists in a country, there may be uncertainty as to which member of the national government actually has the ultimate power. Therefore, this list combines all national level offices held concurrently or consecutively by each individual leader.

Rank Image Name Country Office Tenure began Length of tenure
1.
Paul Biya  Cameroon Prime Minister, then President[1] 30 June 1975 43 years, 112 days
2.
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo  Equatorial Guinea President[2] 3 August 1979 39 years, 78 days
3.
Ali Khamenei  Iran President, then Supreme Leader[3] 13 October 1981 37 years, 7 days
4.
Nursultan Nazarbayev  Kazakhstan Chairman of the Council of Ministers,
then First Secretary,
then Kazakh SSR Head of State,
then President[4]		 22 March 1984 34 years, 212 days
5.
Denis Sassou Nguesso  Republic of the Congo President[5] 8 February 1979 – 31 August 1992 (1st time)
25 October 1997 – present (2nd time)		 34 years, 200 days
6.
Hun Sen  Cambodia Prime Minister[6] 31 December 1984 33 years, 293 days
7.
Yoweri Museveni  Uganda President 26 January 1986 32 years, 267 days
8.
Omar al-Bashir  Sudan President[7] 30 June 1989 29 years, 112 days
9.
Idriss Déby  Chad President[8] 2 December 1990 27 years, 322 days
10.
Isaias Afwerki  Eritrea President[9] 27 April 1991 27 years, 176 days
11.
Emomali Rahmon  Tajikistan Acting Head of State, then
President[10]		 19 November 1992 25 years, 335 days
12.
Alexander Lukashenko  Belarus President 20 July 1994 24 years, 92 days
13.
Milo Đukanović  Montenegro President[11] 15 February 1991 – 5 February 1998 (1st term as Prime Minister)
15 January 1998 – 5 February 1998 (Term as both President and Prime Minister)
15 January 1998 – 25 November 2002 (1st term as President)
8 January 2003 – 10 November 2006 (2nd term as Prime Minister)
29 February 2008 – 29 December 2010 (3rd term as Prime Minister)
4 December 2012 – 29 November 2016 (4th term as Prime Minister)
20 May 2018 – present (2nd term as President)		 22 years, 312 days
14.
Mahathir Mohamad  Malaysia Prime Minister 16 July 1981 – 31 October 2003 (1st time)
10 May 2018 – present (2nd time)		 22 years, 270 days
15.
Daniel Ortega  Nicaragua Acting Head of State, then
President[12]		 4 March 1981 – 25 April 1990 (1st time)
10 January 2007 – present (2nd time)		 20 years, 335 days
16.
Kim Yong-nam  North Korea President of the Presidium of the
Supreme People's Assembly[13]		 5 September 1998 20 years, 45 days
17.
Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi  Samoa Prime Minister 23 November 1998 19 years, 331 days
18.
Abdelaziz Bouteflika  Algeria President 27 April 1999 19 years, 176 days
19.
Ismaïl Omar Guelleh  Djibouti President 8 May 1999 19 years, 165 days
20.
Vladimir Putin  Russia Prime Minister, then President[14] 9 August 1999 – 7 May 2000 (1st term as Prime Minister)
8 May 2000 – 7 May 2008 (1st & 2nd terms as President)
8 May 2008 – 7 May 2012 (2nd term as Prime Minister)
7 May 2012 – present (3rd & 4th terms as President)		 19 years, 72 days
21.
Keith Mitchell  Grenada Prime Minister 22 June 1995 – 9 July 2008 (1st time)
20 February 2013 – present (2nd time)		 18 years, 259 days
22.
Paul Kagame  Rwanda Acting President, then President[15] 24 March 2000 18 years, 179 days
23.
Hage Geingob  Namibia Prime Minister, then President[16] 21 March 1990 – 28 August 2002 (1st time)
4 December 2012 – present (2nd time)		 18 years, 115 days
24.
Bashar al-Assad  Syria President 17 July 2000 18 years, 95 days
25.
Joseph Kabila  Democratic Republic of the Congo President 17 January 2001 17 years, 276 days
26.
Ralph Gonsalves  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister 29 March 2001 17 years, 205 days
27.
Dési Bouterse  Suriname De facto Head of State, then
President[17]		 25 February 1980 – 25 January 1988 (1st time)
12 August 2010 – present (2nd time)		 16 years, 38 days
28.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan  Turkey Prime Minister, then President[18] 14 March 2003 15 years, 220 days
29.
Ilham Aliyev  Azerbaijan Prime Minister, then President[19] 4 August 2003 15 years, 77 days
30.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev  Uzbekistan Prime Minister, then President[20] 12 December 2003 14 years, 312 days
31.
Sheikh Hasina  Bangladesh Prime Minister 23 June 1996 – 15 July 2001 (1st time)
6 January 2009 – present (2nd time)		 14 years, 309 days
32.
Roosevelt Skerrit  Dominica Prime Minister 8 January 2004 14 years, 285 days
33.
Mahmoud Abbas  Palestine Prime Minister, then President[21] 19 March 2003 – 6 September 2003 (1st time)
15 January 2005 – present (2nd time)		 14 years, 84 days
34.
Lee Hsien Loong  Singapore Prime Minister 12 August 2004 14 years, 69 days
35.
Tommy Remengesau  Palau President 1 January 2001 – 15 January 2009 (1st time)
17 January 2013 – present (2nd time)		 13 years, 290 days
36.
Faure Gnassingbé  Togo President[22] 5 February 2005 – 25 February 2005 (1st time)
4 May 2005 – present (2nd time)		 13 years, 189 days
37.
Salva Kiir Mayardit  South Sudan President[23] 30 July 2005 13 years, 82 days
38.
Pierre Nkurunziza  Burundi President 26 August 2005 13 years, 55 days
39.
Angela Merkel  Germany Federal Chancellor 22 November 2005 12 years, 332 days
40.
Evo Morales  Bolivia President 22 January 2006 12 years, 271 days
41.
Benjamin Netanyahu  Israel Prime Minister 18 June 1996 – 6 July 1999 (1st time)
31 March 2009 – present (2nd time)		 12 years, 220 days
42.
Viktor Orbán  Hungary Prime Minister 6 July 1998 – 27 May 2002 (1st time)
29 May 2010 – present (2nd time)		 12 years, 104 days
43.
Raúl Castro  Cuba First Secretary, formerly
President and
Prime Minister[24]		 31 July 2006 12 years, 81 days
44.
Doris Leuthard   Switzerland Federal Council Member, formerly
President[25]		 1 August 2006 12 years, 80 days
45.
Frank Bainimarama  Fiji Acting Head of State, then
Prime Minister[26]		 29 May 2000 – 13 July 2000 (1st time)
5 December 2006 – present (2nd time)		 11 years, 364 days
46.
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow  Turkmenistan President[27] 21 December 2006 11 years, 303 days
47.
Ahmed Ouyahia  Algeria Prime Minister 31 December 1995 – 15 December 1998 (1st time)
5 May 2003 – 24 May 2006 (2nd time)
23 June 2008 – 3 September 2012 (3rd time)
16 August 2017 – present (4th time)		 11 years, 140 days
48.
Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta  Mali Prime Minister, then President[28] 4 February 1994 – 15 February 2000 (1st time)
4 September 2013 – present (2nd time)		 11 years, 57 days
49.
Bako Sahakyan  Artsakh[29] President 7 September 2007 11 years, 43 days
50.
Alassane Ouattara  Côte d'Ivoire Prime Minister, then President[30] 7 November 1990 – 9 December 1993 (1st time)
4 December 2010 – present (2nd time)		 10 years, 352 days
51.
Dean Barrow  Belize Prime Minister 8 February 2008 10 years, 254 days
52.
Dmitry Medvedev  Russia President, then Prime Minister[31] 7 May 2008 10 years, 166 days

Footnotes

  1. ↑ was Prime Minister of Cameroon from 30 June 1975 to 6 November 1982
  2. ↑ was Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council / Supreme Military Council of Equatorial Guinea from 3 August 1979 to 12 October 1982
  3. ↑ Was President of Iran from 13 October 1981 to 2 August 1989, leaving the presidency close to two months after becoming Supreme Leader. Was approved as Supreme Leader of Iran by the Assembly of Experts and sworn in on 4 June 1989, shortly after the death of the founder of this Shia Islamic republic, Ruhollah Khomeini.
  4. ↑ Was Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR from 22 March 1984 to 27 July 1989, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Kazakh SSR from 22 June 1989 to 14 December 1991, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet (Speaker of Parliament – de facto head of state) of the Kazakh SSR from 22 February 1990 to 24 April 1990, and President of the Kazakh SSR from 24 April 1990 to 16 December 1991, when Kazakhstan declared independence from the Soviet Union.
  5. ↑ was previously President from 8 February 1979 to 31 August 1992, when the country was a one-Party state known as the People's Republic of the Congo
  6. ↑ Was Acting Prime Minister of the Vietnam-occupation one-Party state called the People's Republic of Kampuchea from 31 December 1984 to 14 January 1985, then Prime Minister of the Vietnam-occupation one-Party state People's Republic of Kampuchea from 14 January 1985 to 1 May 1989. Was also Prime Minister during the entire existence of the State of Cambodia from 1 May 1989 to 24 September 1993.
  7. ↑ was Chairman of the Sudanese Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation from 30 June 1989 to 16 October 1993
  8. ↑ was President of the Council of State of Chad from 2 December 1990 to 4 March 1991
  9. ↑ Was Secretary-General of the Provisional Government of Eritrea from 27 April 1991 to 24 May 1993, when Eritrea declared independence from Ethiopia.
  10. ↑ was Chairman of the Supreme Assembly (Speaker of Parliament) of Tajikistan – de facto head of state – from 19 November 1992 to 16 November 1994
  11. ↑ Was Prime Minister of the Republic of Montenegro from 15 February 1991 to 5 February 1998, both Prime Minister and President of the Republic of Montenegro from 15 January 1998 to 5 February 1998, President of the Republic of Montenegro from 15 January 1998 to 25 November 2002, Prime Minister again from 8 January 2003 to 10 November 2006; then Prime Minister of independent Montenegro from 29 February 2008 to 29 December 2010 and 4 December 2012 to 29 November 2016. Montenegro became independent on 3 June 2006 by seceding from Serbia and Montenegro.
  12. ↑ Was a member of the Nicaraguan Junta of National Reconstruction from 18 July 1979 to 4 March 1981, then the Coordinator of the Junta of National Reconstruction (effectively the head of state) from 4 March 1981 to 10 January 1985; he was then President from 10 January 1985 to 25 April 1990.
  13. ↑ The "President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly" performs some of the duties of a head of state. The position of President (formerly the head of state) was written out of the constitution in 1998. State founder Kim Il-sung, who died in 1994, was given the appellation "Eternal President".
  14. ↑ Was Prime Minister of Russia from 9 August 1999 to 7 May 2000 and Acting President from 31 December 1999 to 7 May 2000; then President of Russia from 7 May 2000 to 7 May 2008; then Prime Minister again from 8 May 2008 to 7 May 2012.
  15. ↑ Was Vice-President of Rwanda from 19 July 1994 to 22 April 2000 and Acting President from 24 March 2000 to 22 April 2000.
  16. ↑ was Prime Minister of Namibia from 21 March 1990 to 28 August 2002 and 4 December 2012 to 21 March 2015
  17. ↑ Was Chairman of the National Military Council (de facto leader of Suriname) from 25 February 1980 to 25 January 1988; and head of state as National Army Commander from 13 August 1980 to 15 August 1980 and from 4 February 1982 to 8 February 1982.
  18. ↑ was Prime Minister of Turkey from 14 March 2003 to 28 August 2014
  19. ↑ was Acting President of Azerbaijan from 6 August 2003 to 31 October 2003
  20. ↑ Was Prime Minister of Uzbekistan from 12 December 2003 to 14 December 2016, and Acting President from 8 September 2016 to 14 December 2016.
  21. ↑ was Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority from 19 March 2003 to 6 September 2003
  22. ↑ Was President of Togo from 5 February 2005 to 25 February 2005, when it was disputed whether he had inherited the presidency from his deceased father, Gnassingbé Eyadéma.
  23. ↑ South Sudan did not gain independence until 9 July 2011, being part of Sudan. Kiir was Acting President of the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region from 30 July 2005 to 11 August 2005.
  24. ↑ Was Acting President and Acting Prime Minister of Cuba from 31 July 2006 to 24 February 2008, then President and Prime Minister of Cuba from 24 February 2008 to 19 April 2018; and Acting First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 31 July 2006 to 19 April 2011. Under the one-Party system, the position of First Secretary is a more important and powerful position than the Presidency of Cuba.
  25. ↑ The Swiss Federal Council is a collective seven-member head of state. Leuthard previously served as chairperson of the Federal Council, i.e. as the President of the Swiss Confederation, in the constitutional customary one-year period from 1 January to 31 December 2010 and from 1 January to 31 December 2017. From 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2016, she was the deputy chairperson of the Federal Council, or Vice President of Switzerland.
  26. ↑ Was President of the first Interim Military Government of Fiji from 29 May 2000 to 13 July 2000; then President of a second Interim Military Government of Fiji from 5 December 2006 to 4 January 2007. Was Acting Prime Minister from 5 January 2007 to 22 September 2014.
  27. ↑ was Acting President of Turkmenistan from 21 December 2006 to 14 February 2007
  28. ↑ was Prime Minister of Mali from 4 February 1994 to 15 February 2000
  29. ↑ The country was called the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh until 10 March 2017.
  30. ↑ Was Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire from 7 November 1990 to 9 December 1993. The Presidency was disputed between Ouattara and Laurent Gbagbo from 4 December 2010 to 11 April 2011.
  31. ↑ was President of Russia from 7 May 2008 to 7 May 2012, then Prime Minister from 8 May 2012 to present

See also

  • Rulers.org List of rulers throughout time and places
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.