List of openly LGBT heads of state and government
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 a national heads of state or government in Iceland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, San Marino, and Serbia.
Heads of state
Denotes incumbent head of state
| Name | Portrait | Country | National population (while in office) |
Office | Political party | Mandate start | Mandate end | Term length | Sexual orientation/ gender identity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paolo Rondelli | .jpg)
|
 San Marino
|
33,600
(2010 census) |
Captain Regent of San Marino | RETE Movement | 1 April 2022 | 1 October 2022 | 183 days | Gay[1] |
National heads of government
Denotes incumbent head of government
| Name | Portrait | Country | National population (while in office) |
Office | Political party | Mandate start | Mandate end | Term length | Sexual orientation/ gender identity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir | 
|
 Iceland |
315,556 (2011 census) | Prime Minister of Iceland | Social Democratic Alliance | 1 February 2009 | 23 May 2013 | 4 years, 111 days | Lesbian[2] |
| Elio Di Rupo | 
|
 Belgium |
11,209,044 (2015) | Prime Minister of Belgium | Socialist Party | 6 December 2011 | 11 October 2014 | 2 years, 309 days | Gay[3] |
| Xavier Bettel | 
|
 Luxembourg |
633,622 (2021 estimate) | Prime Minister of Luxembourg | Democratic Party | 4 December 2013 | Incumbent | 10 years, 272 days | Gay[4] |
| Leo Varadkar | 
|
 Ireland |
4,761,865 (2016 census) | Taoiseach (Prime Minister) |
Fine Gael | 14 June 2017 | 27 June 2020 | 3 years, 13 days | Gay[5] |
| Ana Brnabić | 
|
 Serbia |
6,926,705 (2020 estimate) | Prime Minister of Serbia | Serbian Progressive Party | 29 June 2017 | Incumbent | 7 years, 64 days | Lesbian[6] |
Sub-national
Denotes incumbent head of sub-national government
| Name | Portrait | Entity | Country | Office | Mandate start | Mandate end | Term length | Sexual orientation/ gender identity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Dunstan | 
|
 South Australia
|
 Australia
|
Premier | 1 June 1967 | 17 April 1968 | 321 days | Bisexual |
| 2 June 1970 | 15 February 1979 | 8 years, 258 days | ||||||
| Jerónimo Saavedra[a] | .jpg)
|
 Canary Islands
|
 Spain
|
President | 29 November 1982 | 4 July 1987 | 4 years, 217 days | Gay |
| 11 July 1991 | 2 April 1993 | 1 year, 265 days | ||||||
| Gustavo Álvarez Gardeazábal |  Valle del Cauca
|
 Colombia
|
Governor | 1 January 1998 | 27 July 1999 | 1 year, 207 days | Gay | |
| Elio Di Rupo |
|
 Wallonia
|
Belgium
|
Minister-President | 15 July 1999 | 4 April 2000 | 264 days | Gay |
| 6 October 2005 | 20 July 2007 | 1 year, 287 days | ||||||
| 13 September 2019 | Incumbent | 4 years, 354 days | ||||||
| Jan Franssen | .jpg)
|
 South Holland
|
 Netherlands
|
King's Commissioner | 3 May 2000 | 1 January 2014 | 13 years, 243 days | Gay |
| Jim McGreevey | .jpg)
|
 New Jersey
|
 United States
|
Governor | 15 January 2002 | 15 November 2004 | 2 years, 305 days | Gay |
| Nichi Vendola | 
|
 Apulia
|
 Italy
|
President | 4 April 2005 | 1 June 2015 | 10 years, 58 days | Gay |
| Clemens Cornielje | 
|
 Gelderland
|
Netherlands
|
King's Commissioner | 31 August 2005 | 6 February 2019 | 13 years, 159 days | Gay |
| Lynne Brown | 
|
Western Cape |  South Africa
|
Premier | 25 July 2008 | 6 May 2009 | 315 days | Lesbian |
| Allan Bell | 
|
 Isle of Man
|
Chief Minister | 11 October 2011 | 4 October 2016 | 4 years, 359 days | Gay | |
| Rosario Crocetta | 
|
 Sicily
|
Italy
|
President | 10 November 2012 | 18 November 2017 | 5 years, 8 days | Gay |
| Kathleen Wynne | 
|
 Ontario
|
 Canada
|
Premier | 11 February 2013 | 29 June 2018 | 5 years, 116 days | Lesbian |
| Andrew Barr | .jpg)
|
 Australian Capital Territory
|
Australia
|
Chief Minister | 11 December 2014 | Incumbent | 9 years, 265 days | Gay |
| Kate Brown | 
|
 Oregon
|
United States
|
Governor | 18 February 2015 | Incumbent | 9 years, 196 days | Bisexual |
| Wade MacLauchlan | .jpg)
|
 Prince Edward Island
|
Canada
|
Premier | 23 February 2015 | 9 May 2019 | 4 years, 75 days | Gay |
| Niluka Ekanayake |  Central Province
|
 Sri Lanka
|
Governor | 17 March 2016 | 11 April 2018 | 2 years, 25 days | Transgender woman | |
.PNG){kind=small} Sabaragamuwa Province
|
Governor | 12 April 2018 | 31 December 2018 | 263 days | ||||
| Arno Brok | .jpg)
|
 Friesland
|
Netherlands
|
King's Commissioner | 1 March 2017 | Incumbent | 7 years, 184 days | Gay |
| Eduardo Leite[7] | 
|
 Rio Grande do Sul
|
 Brazil
|
Governor | 1 January 2019 | 31 March 2022 | 3 years, 89 days | Gay |
| Fátima Bezerra | _(cropped).jpg)
|
 Rio Grande do Norte
|
Brazil
|
Governor | 1 January 2019 | Incumbent | 5 years, 244 days | Lesbian |
| Jared Polis | 
|
 Colorado
|
United States
|
Governor | 8 January 2019 | Incumbent | 5 years, 237 days | Gay |
| Gustavo Melella | 
|
 Tierra del Fuego
|
 Argentina
|
Governor | 17 December 2019 | Incumbent | 4 years, 259 days | Gay |
Others
Politicians who were closeted while in office and never officially came out or were outed only after their deaths or retirement include:
- Frederick the Great, King of Prussia between 1740 and 1786, was officially married to Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern, but he is considered to have been homosexual by most historians. He had many suspected relationships with men and wrote homoerotic poetry. He never came out, although he did not do much to hide it.[8] After his death, many historians tried to pass off his homosexuality as a rumor, but it is now it is widely accepted.
- William II, King of the Netherlands between 1840 and 1849 and head of government until the constitutional reform of 1848, was either gay or bisexual; he had been blackmailed because of his sexual orientation.[9][10]
- Ludwig II, King of Bavaria between 1864 and 1886. Ludwig never married nor had any known mistresses. His diary, private letters, and other documents reveal his strong homosexual desires,[11] which he struggled to suppress to remain true to the teachings of the Catholic Church.[12] Throughout his reign, Ludwig had a succession of close friendships with men, including his aide-de-camp the Bavarian prince Paul von Thurn und Taxis, his chief equerry and master of the horse, Richard Hornig, the Hungarian theater actor Josef Kainz, and courtier Alfons Weber.[11][13] Letters from Ludwig reveal that the quartermaster of the royal stables, Karl Hesselschwerdt, acted as his male procurer.[14][15][16]
- Richard Hatfield, Premier of the province of New Brunswick between 1970 and 1987, never officially came out during his lifetime; his sexual orientation only began to be discussed on the record in media and biographical sources after his death.[17][18][19][20][21]
- Canaan Banana, the first President of Zimbabwe between 1980 and 1987, was found to be either gay or bisexual in 1997, despite his denial. After a highly publicized trial, he was convicted in 1998 of 11 counts of sodomy and "unnatural acts", for which he was imprisoned for six months.[22][23][24][25][26]
See also
- List of the first openly LGBT holders of political offices
- List of current heads of state and government
- List of current vice presidents and designated acting presidents
- List of current state leaders by date of assumption of office
References
- ^ Anarte, Enrique (2022-01-12). "Tiny European states play catch up on LGBT+ equality". news.trust.org. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
- ^ Gunnarsson, Valur (30 January 2009). "Iceland to elect world's first openly gay PM". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
- ^ Vander Taelen, Luckas (10 December 2011). "Can Belgium's new prime minister keep living the dream?". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
- ^ Gayle, Damien (15 May 2015). "Luxembourg's prime minister first EU leader to marry same-sex partner". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
- ^ Dunne, Seán (2 June 2017). "Varadkar set to be 'first openly gay Irish PM', say world headlines". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
- ^ "Srbija ima novu vladu. Ana Brnabić postala premijerka. (Serbia has a new government. Ana Brnabić becomes prime minister". Dirketno.hr. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
- ^ "Eduardo Leite, governador do RS, fala sobre homossexualidade em entrevista a Bial: 'Eu sou gay. E tenho orgulho disso'". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2021-07-02.
- ^ Blanning, T. C. W. (2016). Frederick the Great: King of Prussia. New York. ISBN 978-1-4000-6812-8. OCLC 918986371.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Koning Willem II gechanteerd wegens homoseksualiteit".
- ^ Hermans, Dorine and Hooghiemstra, Daniela: Voor de troon wordt men niet ongestrafd geboren, ooggetuigen van de koningen van Nederland 1830–1890, ISBN 978-90-351-3114-9, 2007.
- ^ a b McIntosh 1982, pp. 153–159.
- ^ McIntosh 1982, pp. 155–158.
- ^ Oliver Hilmes, Ludwig II.: Der Unzeitgemäße König, Siedler Verlag, 2013, passim.
- ^ Holzschuh, Robert, Das Paradies verlorene Ludwigs II': Die persönliche Tragödie des Märchenkönigs, Eichborn 2001, passim
- ^ Przybilla, Olaf 'Auf vermintem Terrain', Welt, 9.11. 2001, [1]
- ^ 31. Antiquaria Peregrina, Antiquariatsmesse Ludwigsburg, 2017, p62 [2]
- ^ Warren Kinsella, "Not everyone loves a parade". Toronto Sun, June 26, 2011.
- ^ "Definitely out now". Perceptions, September 14, 1994.
- ^ Richard Starr, Richard Hatfield: The Seventeen Year Saga. Goodread Biography, 1988. ISBN 0887801536.
- ^ Politician Pays Price For Life On The Edge, Chicago Tribune
- ^ "Gay politicians come out of the closet and into the cabinet". The Globe and Mail, November 13, 2009.
- ^ Mark Steyn (17 November 2003). "Zimbabwe's Banana left legacy of disgrace". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Essays in Honor of Bernth Lindfors, Volume 2, Barbara Harlow, Africa World Press, 2002, page 210
- ^ Zim's presidential rape scandal, Mail and Guardian, 28 February 1997
- ^ Taylor, Rebecca. 'They say that power corrupts – and it does'. The Guardian. 23 January 2002.
- ^ McNeil Jr, Donald G. (27 November 1998). "Zimbabwe's Ex-President Convicted of Sodomy". The New York Times (Archives). Retrieved 8 July 2007.