Lists of state leaders by age
Since 1900, the youngest serving state leader has been 192-day-old Fuad II, King of Egypt (left), while the oldest has been 96-year-old Hastings Banda, President of Malawi (right).
This article contains various lists of state leaders organized by age, defined as heads of state and/or heads of government.
10 oldest serving state leaders
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.
10 oldest ever serving state leaders
| Rank | Name | Position | Last year in office (reason term ended) |
Age at end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | Giovanni Paolo Lascaris | Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller | 1657 (death) | 97 years, 47 days |
| Abdul Momin | Sultan of Brunei | 1885 (death) | ≥97 years[7] | |
| Enrico Dandolo | Doge of Venice | 1205 (death) | c. 97–98 years[8] | |
| 4 | Hastings Banda | President of Malawi | 1994 (presidency for life revoked, lost reelection) | 96 years, 98 days |
| 5 | Prem Tinsulanonda | Regent of Thailand | 2016 (term ended) | 96 years, 97 days |
| 6 | George Tupou I | King of Tonga | 1893 (death) | 95 years, 76 days |
| 7 | Mahathir Mohamad | Prime Minister of Malaysia | 2020 (resigned) | 94 years, 235 days |
| 8 | Nicolò da Ponte | Doge of Venice | 1585 (death) | 94 years, 196 days |
| 9 | Malietoa Tanumafili II | O le Ao o le Malo of Samoa | 2007 (death) | 94 years, 127 days |
| 10 | Elizabeth II | Queen of the United Kingdom[1] | Incumbent | 98 years, 124 days |
Longest-lived state leaders
The following lists are the top ten all-time state leaders and the top ten living.
Top ten since 1800
| Rank | Name | Position | Birth | Death | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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, 212 days |
| 5 | Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni | Prime Minister of Japan (1945) | 1887 | 1990 | 102 years, 48 days |
| 6 | Ek Yi Oun | Prime Minister of Cambodia (1958) | 1910 | 2013 | 102 years, 1 day to 103 years, 364 days[9] |
| 7 | Babiker Awadalla | Prime Minister of Sudan (1969) | 1917 | 2019 | 101 years, 321 days |
| 8 | Willem Drees | Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1948–1958) | 1886 | 1988 | 101 years, 314 days |
| 9 | 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) | |||||
| 10 | Zhang Qun | Premier of the Republic of China (1947–1948) | 1889 | 1990 | 101 years, 219 days |
Top ten living
| Rank | Name | Position | Birth | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mustafa Ben Halim | Prime Minister of Libya (1954–1957) | 29 January 1921 | 103 years, 207 days |
| 2 | Francisco Morales Bermúdez | Prime Minister of Peru (1975) | 4 October 1921 | 102 years, 324 days |
| President of Peru (1975–1980) | ||||
| 3 | Luis Echeverría | President of Mexico (1970–1976) | 17 January 1922 | 102 years, 219 days |
| 4 | Miloš Jakeš | General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (1987–1989) | 12 August 1922 | 102 years, 11 days |
| 5 | Francesc Badia Batalla | Episcopal Veguer in Andorra (1972–1993) | 10 January 1923 | 101 years, 226 days |
| 6 | Lee Teng-hui | President of the Republic of China (1988–2000) | 15 January 1923 | 101 years, 221 days |
| 7 | Khamtai Siphandon | Prime Minister of Laos (1991–1998) | 8 February 1924 | 100 years, 197 days |
| Chairman of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (1992–2006) | ||||
| President of Laos (1998–2006) | ||||
| 8 | Tomiichi Murayama | Prime Minister of Japan (1994–1996) | 3 March 1924 | 100 years, 173 days |
| 9 | Kenneth Kaunda | President of Zambia (1964–1991) | 28 April 1924 | 100 years, 117 days |
| 10 | Jimmy Carter | President of the United States (1977–1981) | 1 October 1924 | 99 years, 327 days |
10 youngest serving state leaders
_(cropped).jpg)
| Rank | Name | Position | Birth | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastian Kurz | Chancellor of Austria (since 2020)[10] | 27 August 1986 | 37 years, 362 days |
| 2 | Sanna Marin | Prime Minister of Finland (since 2019) | 16 November 1985 | 38 years, 281 days |
| 3 | Kim Jong-un | Supreme Leader of North Korea[11] (since 2011) | 8 January 1983 | 41 years, 228 days |
| 4 | Nayib Bukele | President of El Salvador (since 2019) | 24 July 1981 | 43 years, 30 days |
| 5 | Jacinda Ardern | Prime Minister of New Zealand (since 2017) | 26 July 1980 | 44 years, 28 days |
| 6 | Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani | Emir of Qatar (since 2013) | 3 June 1980 | 44 years, 81 days |
| 7 | Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck | King of Bhutan (since 2006) | 21 February 1980 | 44 years, 184 days |
| 8 | Carlos Alvarado Quesada | President of Costa Rica (since 2018) | 14 January 1980 | 44 years, 222 days |
| 9 | Xavier Espot Zamora | Head of Government of Andorra (since 2019) | 30 October 1979 | 44 years, 298 days |
| 10 | Leo Varadkar | Taoiseach of Ireland (since 2017) | 18 January 1979 | 45 years, 218 days |
10 youngest state leaders (since 1945)
Leaders still serving are highlighted in italicized bold.
| Rank | Name | Position | Age (when they took office) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fuad II | King of Egypt | 192 days |
| 2 | Gyanendra | King of Nepal | 3 years, 123 days |
| 3 | Faisal II | King of Iraq | 3 years, 337 days |
| 4 | Hussein | King of Jordan | 16 years, 271 days |
| 5 | Jigme Singye Wangchuck | King of Bhutan | 16 years, 256 days |
| 6 | Mswati III [12] | King of Eswatini [13] | 18 years, 6 days |
| 7 | Bhumibol Adulyadej | King of Thailand | 18 years, 186 days |
| 8 | Ntare V | King of Burundi | 18 years, 218 days |
| 9 | Jean-Claude Duvalier | President of Haiti | 19 years, 293 days |
| 10 | Baudouin | King of Belgium | 20 years, 313 days |
See also
Notes
- ^ a b In 1952, Princess Elizabeth acceded as the monarch of seven Commonwealth realms. She currently reigns as Queen of 16 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.
- ^ Previously served as Prime Minister of Kuwait from 2003–2006.
- ^ Previously served as Acting President and Acting Prime Minister of Cuba from 2006–2008, then as President and Prime Minister of Cuba from 2008–2018; and as Acting First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 2006–2011. Under the one-Party system, the position of First Secretary is a more important and powerful office than the Presidency of Cuba.
- ^ Previously served as Prime Minister of Cameroon from 1975–1982.
- ^ Previously served as President of the Council of Ministers of Lebanon from 1988–1990.
- ^ Since the reign of Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (1964–1975), the office of prime minister has been held by the king simultaneously.
- ^ Born "before 21 May 1788", exact date unknown; died on May 30, 1885
- ^ 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 c. 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.) Dandalo died on June 1, 1205, so he was 97 or 98 at death if indeed born in 1107.
- ^ The dates of birth and death for Ek are unknown.
- ^ Previously served as Chancellor of Austria from 2017–2019.
- ^ 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: Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK, and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the DPRK.
- ^ Began personal reign after a 3-year regency
- ^ The country was called the Kingdom of Swaziland until April 19, 2018.
This article includes a politicians-related list of lists.