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, excluding royalty, who have served ten years or longer, sorted by length of tenure. Heads of generally recognized sovereign states are ranked by number, while heads of sovereign states with limited international recognition are listed in italics and are not given a numbered rank.

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 44 years, 364 days
2.
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo  Equatorial Guinea President[2] 3 August 1979 40 years, 330 days
3.
Ali Khamenei  Iran President, then
Supreme Leader[3]		 13 October 1981 38 years, 259 days
4.
Denis Sassou Nguesso  Republic of the Congo President[4] 8 February 1979 – 31 August 1992 (1st time)
25 October 1997 – present (2nd time)		 36 years, 86 days
5.
Hun Sen  Cambodia Prime Minister[5] 26 December 1984 35 years, 185 days
6.
Yoweri Museveni  Uganda President 26 January 1986 34 years, 154 days
7.
Idriss Déby  Chad President[6] 2 December 1990 29 years, 209 days
8.
Nursultan Nazarbayev  Kazakhstan Chairman of the
Security Council,
formerly President[7]		 16 December 1991 28 years, 195 days
9.
Emomali Rahmon  Tajikistan De facto Head of State, then
President[8]		 19 November 1992 27 years, 222 days
10.
Isaias Afwerki  Eritrea President[9] 24 May 1993 27 years, 35 days
11.
Paul Kagame  Rwanda Acting Head of State, then President[10] 19 July 1994 25 years, 345 days
12.
Alexander Lukashenko  Belarus President 20 July 1994 25 years, 344 days
13.
Daniel Ortega  Nicaragua Acting Head of State, then
President[11]		 4 March 1981 – 25 April 1990 (1st time)
10 January 2007 – present (2nd time)		 22 years, 222 days
14.
Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi  Samoa Prime Minister 23 November 1998 21 years, 218 days
15.
Ismaïl Omar Guelleh  Djibouti President 8 May 1999 21 years, 51 days
16.
Vladimir Putin  Russia Prime Minister, then President[12] 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)		 20 years, 324 days
17.
Keith Mitchell  Grenada Prime Minister 22 June 1995 – 9 July 2008 (1st time)
20 February 2013 – present (2nd time)		 20 years, 146 days
18.
Hage Geingob  Namibia Prime Minister, then President[13] 21 March 1990 – 28 August 2002 (1st time)
4 December 2012 – present (2nd time)		 20 years, 1 day
19.
Bashar al-Assad  Syria President 17 July 2000 19 years, 347 days
20.
Ralph Gonsalves  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister 29 March 2001 19 years, 91 days
21.
Dési Bouterse  Suriname De facto Head of State, then
President[14]		 25 February 1980 – 25 January 1988 (1st time)
12 August 2010 – present (2nd time)		 17 years, 290 days
22.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan  Turkey Prime Minister, then President[15] 14 March 2003 17 years, 106 days
23.
Ilham Aliyev  Azerbaijan Prime Minister, then President[16] 4 August 2003 16 years, 329 days
24.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev  Uzbekistan Prime Minister, then President[17] 12 December 2003 16 years, 199 days
25.
Sheikh Hasina  Bangladesh Prime Minister 23 June 1996 – 15 July 2001 (1st time)
6 January 2009 – present (2nd time)		 16 years, 196 days
26.
Roosevelt Skerrit  Dominica Prime Minister 8 January 2004 16 years, 172 days
–
Mahmoud Abbas  Palestine Prime Minister, then President[18] 19 March 2003 – 6 September 2003 (1st time)
15 January 2005 – present (2nd time)		 15 years, 336 days
27.
Lee Hsien Loong  Singapore Prime Minister 12 August 2004 15 years, 321 days
28.
Tommy Remengesau  Palau President 1 January 2001 – 15 January 2009 (1st time)
17 January 2013 – present (2nd time)		 15 years, 177 days
29.
Faure Gnassingbé  Togo President[19] 5 February 2005 – 25 February 2005 (1st time)
4 May 2005 – present (2nd time)		 15 years, 75 days
30.
Angela Merkel  Germany Federal Chancellor 22 November 2005 14 years, 219 days
31.
Benjamin Netanyahu  Israel Prime Minister 18 June 1996 – 6 July 1999 (1st time)
31 March 2009 – present (2nd time)		 14 years, 106 days
32.
Viktor Orbán  Hungary Prime Minister 6 July 1998 – 27 May 2002 (1st time)
29 May 2010 – present (2nd time)		 13 years, 356 days
33.
Raúl Castro  Cuba First Secretary, formerly
President and
Prime Minister[20]		 31 July 2006 13 years, 333 days
34.
Frank Bainimarama  Fiji Acting Head of State, then
Prime Minister[21]		 29 May 2000 – 13 July 2000 (1st time)
5 December 2006 – present (2nd time)		 13 years, 251 days
35.
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow  Turkmenistan President[22] 21 December 2006 13 years, 190 days
36.
Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta  Mali Prime Minister, then President[23] 4 February 1994 – 15 February 2000 (1st time)
4 September 2013 – present (2nd time)		 12 years, 309 days
37.
Alassane Ouattara  Côte d'Ivoire Prime Minister, then President[24] 7 November 1990 – 9 December 1993 (1st time)
4 December 2010 – present (2nd time)		 12 years, 239 days
38.
Dean Barrow  Belize Prime Minister 8 February 2008 12 years, 141 days
39.
Mahinda Rajapaksa  Sri Lanka Prime Minister[25] 6 April 2004 – 19 November 2005 (1st term as Prime Minister)
19 November 2005 – 9 January 2015 (Term as President)
26 October 2018 – 15 December 2018 (2nd disputed term as Prime Minister)[26]
21 November 2019 – present (3rd term as Prime Minister)		 11 years, 183 days
40.
Ueli Maurer   Switzerland Federal Council Member,
formerly President[27]		 1 January 2009 11 years, 179 days
41.
Macky Sall  Senegal Prime Minister, then President[28] 21 April 2004 – 19 June 2007 (1st time)
2 April 2012 – present (2nd time)		 11 years, 147 days
42.
Miloš Zeman  Czech Republic Prime Minister, then President[29] 22 July 1998 – 15 July 2002 (1st time)
8 March 2013 – present (2nd time)		 11 years, 105 days
–
Hashim Thaçi  Kosovo Prime Minister, then President[30] 17 February 2008 – 9 December 2014 (1st time)
7 April 2016 – present (2nd time)		 11 years, 12 days
43.
Azali Assoumani  Comoros President[31] 30 April 1999 – 21 January 2002 (1st time)
6 May 2002 – 26 May 2006 (2nd time)
26 May 2016 – present (3rd time)		 10 years, 320 days
44.
Borut Pahor  Slovenia Prime Minister, then President[32] 21 November 2008 – 10 February 2012 (1st time)
22 December 2012 – present (2nd time)		 10 years, 270 days
45.
Ali Bongo Ondimba  Gabon President 16 October 2009 10 years, 256 days
46.
Mahamadou Issoufou  Niger Prime Minister, then President[33] 17 April 1993 – 28 September 1994 (1st time)
7 April 2011 – present (2nd time)		 10 years, 247 days
–
Arayik Harutyunyan  Artsakh Prime Minister, then President[34] 14 September 2007 – 25 September 2017 (1st time)
21 May 2020 – present (2nd time)		 10 years, 49 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 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
  5. Was Acting Prime Minister of the Vietnam-occupation one-Party state called the People's Republic of Kampuchea from 26 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.
  6. Was President of the Council of State of Chad from 2 December 1990 to 4 March 1991
  7. Was 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 and 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, on which date Kazakhstan declared independence from the Soviet Union. He has an emeritus position as permanent Chairman of the Kazakh National Security Council from 12 July 2018 to the present.
  8. Was Chairman of the Supreme Assembly (Speaker of Parliament) of Tajikistan – de facto head of state – from 19 November 1992 to 16 November 1994
  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 the Vice President of Rwanda and Commander in Chief of the Rwandan Patriotic Army while he was the Acting Head of State from 19 July 1994 to 22 April 2000.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. Was Prime Minister of Namibia from 21 March 1990 to 28 August 2002 and 4 December 2012 to 21 March 2015
  14. 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.
  15. Was Prime Minister of Turkey from 14 March 2003 to 28 August 2014
  16. Was Acting President of Azerbaijan from 6 August 2003 to 31 October 2003
  17. Was Prime Minister of Uzbekistan from 12 December 2003 to 14 December 2016, and Acting President from 8 September 2016 to 14 December 2016.
  18. Was Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority from 19 March 2003 to 6 September 2003
  19. 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.
  20. 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 office than the Presidency of Cuba.
  21. 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.
  22. Was Acting President of Turkmenistan from 21 December 2006 to 14 February 2007
  23. Was Prime Minister of Mali from 4 February 1994 to 15 February 2000
  24. 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.
  25. Was Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 6 April 2004 to 19 November 2005, President of Sri Lanka from 19 November 2005 to 9 January 2015, then the disputed Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (with Ranil Wickremesinghe) from 26 October 2018 to 15 December 2018.
  26. The office of Prime Minister was disputed between Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe from 26 October 2018 to 15 December 2018.
  27. The Swiss Federal Council is a collective seven-member head of state. Maurer previously served as chairperson of the Federal Council, i.e. the President of the Swiss Confederation, in the constitutional customary one-year period from 1 January to 31 December 2013 and 1 January to 31 December 2019. From 1 January to 31 December 2012 and 1 January to 31 December 2018, he was the deputy chairperson of the Federal Council, or Vice President of Switzerland.
  28. Was Prime Minister of Senegal from 21 April 2004 to 19 June 2007
  29. Was Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 22 July 1998 to 15 July 2002
  30. Was provisional Prime Minister of the mostly unrecognized Republic of Kosova from 2 April 1999 to 1 February 2000, Prime Minister of UN-administered Kosovo from 9 January 2008 to 17 February 2008, and Prime Minister of independent Kosovo from 17 February 2008 to 9 December 2014. Kosovo did not gain independence until 17 February 2008, being part of Serbia.
  31. Was Chief of Staff of the National Development Army (de facto leader of the Comoros) from 30 April 1999 to 6 May 1999, Head of State of the Comoros from 6 May 1999 to 21 January 2002, then the elected President from 6 May 2002 to 26 May 2006.
  32. Was Prime Minister of Slovenia from 21 November 2008 to 10 February 2012
  33. Was Prime Minister of Niger from 17 April 1993 to 28 September 1994
  34. Was Prime Minister of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh from 14 September 2007 to 25 September 2017. The country was called the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh until 10 March 2017.

See also
  • Rulers.org List of rulers throughout time and places
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