List of longest-ruling non-royal national leaders since 1900

This list details national leaders since 1900 who ruled for 30 years or more, and were not self-described royalty. It also combines all national leader level offices held concurrently or consecutively by each individual.

Rank	Name	Country	Title	Term began	Term ended	Term length
1	Fidel Castro	Cuba	El Comandante First Secretary Prime Minister President	000000001959-01-08-00008 January 1959 ^[1]	000000002011-04-19-000019 April 2011 ^[1]	7004190940000000000♠52 years, 101 days
2	Kim Il-sung	North Korea	Chairman of the North Korea Bureau of the Communist Party of Korea Chairman of the Provisional People's Committee General Secretary Premier President ^{[Note 1]} Generalissimo	000000001945-12-17-000017 December 1945	000000001994-07-08-00008 July 1994	7004177350000000000♠48 years, 203 days
3	Chiang Kai-shek	China (1912–1949) Taiwan (1949–present)	Chairman of the National Government Premier Director-General of the Kuomintang Generalissimo President	000000001926-07-09-00009 July 1926 (1st time) 000000001928-01-03-00003 January 1928 (2nd time) 000000001932-03-06-00006 March 1932 (3rd time)	000000001927-08-14-000014 August 1927 (1st time) 000000001931-12-15-000015 December 1931 (2nd time) 000000001975-04-05-00005 April 1975 (3rd time)	48 years, 46 days (22 years, 265 days in Mainland China) (7003924700000000000♠25 years, 116 days on Taiwan)^{[Note 2]}
4	Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal	Mongolian People's Republic	General Secretary Prime Minister President	000000001940-04-08-00008 April 1940	000000001984-08-23-000023 August 1984	7004162080000000000♠44 years, 137 days
5	Paul Biya	Cameroon	Prime Minister President	000000001975-06-30-000030 June 1975	present	7004156690000000000♠42 years, 328 days
6	Omar Bongo	Gabon	President Vice-President	000000001966-11-12-000012 November 1966	000000002009-05-06-00006 May 2009	7004155160000000000♠42 years, 175 days
7	Muammar Gaddafi	Libyan Arab Republic Libyan Arab Jamahiriya	Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council Secretary General of the General People's Congress Prime Minister	000000001969-09-01-00001 September 1969	000000002011-10-20-000020 October 2011^{[Note 3]}	7004153890000000000♠42 years, 49 days
8	Enver Hoxha	Democratic Government of Albania People's Republic of Albania People's Socialist Republic of Albania	Prime Minister First Secretary	000000001944-10-24-000024 October 1944	000000001985-04-11-000011 April 1985	7004147790000000000♠40 years, 169 days
9	Mohamed Abdelaziz	Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic	General Secretary President	000000001976-08-30-000030 August 1976	000000002016-05-31-000031 May 2016	7004145190000000000♠39 years, 275 days
10	Francisco Franco	Spanish State	Generalísimo Head of State Caudillo Prime Minister	000000001936-10-01-00001 October 1936	000000001975-11-20-000020 November 1975	7004142940000000000♠39 years, 50 days
11	Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo	Equatorial Guinea	Chairman of the Supreme Military Council President	000000001979-08-03-00003 August 1979	present	7004141740000000000♠38 years, 294 days
12	Gnassingbé Eyadéma	Togo	Chairman of military junta President	000000001967-01-14-000014 January 1967	000000002005-02-05-00005 February 2005	7004139020000000000♠38 years, 22 days
13	José Eduardo dos Santos	People's Republic of Angola Angola	President and Chairman of the MPLA State President	000000001979-09-10-000010 September 1979	000000002017-09-26-000026 September 2017^{[Note 4]}	7004138960000000000♠38 years, 16 days
14	Éamon de Valera	Irish Republic Irish Free State Ireland	President of Dáil Éireann President of the Republic President of the Executive Council Taoiseach President	000000001919-04-01-00001 April 1919 (1st time) 000000001932-03-09-00009 March 1932 (2nd time) 000000001951-06-13-000013 June 1951 (3rd time) 000000001957-03-20-000020 March 1957 (4th time) 000000001959-06-25-000025 June 1959 (5th time)	000000001922-01-09-00009 January 1922 (1st time) 000000001948-02-18-000018 February 1948 (2nd time) 000000001954-06-02-00002 June 1954 (3rd time) 000000001959-06-23-000023 June 1959 (4th time) 000000001973-06-24-000024 June 1973 (5th time)	37 years, 347 days
15	Robert Mugabe	Zimbabwe	Prime Minister Party President and First Secretary State President	000000001980-04-18-000018 April 1980	000000002017-11-21-000021 November 2017	7004137310000000000♠37 years, 217 days
16	Ali Khamenei	Iran	President Supreme Leader	000000001981-10-13-000013 October 1981	present	7004133720000000000♠36 years, 223 days
17	Josip Broz Tito	Democratic Federal Yugoslavia Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia	General Secretary/President of the Presidency of the Central Committee Prime Minister President Marshal	000000001943-11-29-000029 November 1943	000000001980-05-04-00004 May 1980	7004133060000000000♠36 years, 157 days
18	António de Oliveira Salazar	Second Portuguese Republic	President of the Council of Ministers	000000001932-07-05-00005 July 1932	000000001968-09-25-000025 September 1968	7004132310000000000♠36 years, 82 days
19	Todor Zhivkov	People's Republic of Bulgaria	General Secretary Prime Minister Chairman of the State Council	000000001954-03-04-00004 March 1954	000000001989-11-17-000017 November 1989	7004130420000000000♠35 years, 258 days
20	Alfredo Stroessner	Paraguay	President	000000001954-05-04-00004 May 1954	000000001989-02-03-00003 February 1989	7004126940000000000♠34 years, 275 days
21	Félix Houphouët-Boigny	Côte d'Ivoire	Prime Minister President	000000001959-05-01-00001 May 1959	000000001993-12-07-00007 December 1993	7004126390000000000♠34 years, 220 days
22	Nursultan Nazarbayev	Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic Kazakhstan	Chairman of the Kazakh SSR Council of Ministers First Secretary of the Kazakh SSR Communist Party Chairman of the Kazakh SSR Supreme Soviet/President of the Kazakh SSR President	000000001984-03-22-000022 March 1984^{[Note 5]}	present	7004124810000000000♠34 years, 63 days (7003965600000000000♠26 years, 159 days after independence)
23	Denis Sassou Nguesso	People's Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo	President of the Central Committee State President	000000001979-02-08-00008 February 1979 (1st time) 000000001997-10-25-000025 October 1997 (2nd time)	000000001992-08-31-000031 August 1992 (1st time) present (2nd time)	7004124690000000000♠34 years, 51 days
24	Ali Abdullah Saleh	North Yemen Yemen	President of North Yemen President	000000001978-06-24-000024 June 1978	000000002012-02-25-000025 February 2012	7004122750000000000♠33 years, 222 days^{[Note 6]} (7003794900000000000♠21 years, 279 days after unification)
25	Hun Sen	People's Republic of Kampuchea State of Cambodia Cambodia	Prime Minister	000000001984-12-31-000031 December 1984	present	7004121970000000000♠33 years, 144 days
26	Yoweri Museveni	Uganda	President	000000001986-01-26-000026 January 1986	present	7004118060000000000♠32 years, 118 days
27	Dawda Jawara	The Gambia	Prime Minister President	000000001962-06-12-000012 June 1962	000000001994-07-22-000022 July 1994	7004117280000000000♠32 years, 40 days
28	Phạm Văn Đồng	North Vietnam Vietnam	Prime Minister	000000001955-09-20-000020 September 1955	000000001987-06-18-000018 June 1987	7004115940000000000♠31 years, 271 days
29	János Kádár	Hungarian People's Republic	General Secretary Prime Minister	000000001956-10-25-000025 October 1956	000000001988-05-27-000027 May 1988	7004115370000000000♠31 years, 215 days
30	Habib Bourguiba	Tunisia	Prime Minister President	000000001956-04-11-000011 April 1956	000000001987-11-07-00007 November 1987	7004115320000000000♠31 years, 210 days
31	Lee Kuan Yew	Singapore	Prime Minister	000000001959-06-05-00005 June 1959	000000001990-11-28-000028 November 1990	7004114990000000000♠31 years, 176 days (as Prime Minister) (7004189780000000000♠51 years, 350 days as a Member of the Cabinet)^{[Note 7]}
32	Mobutu Sese Seko	Democratic Republic of the Congo Zaire	President	000000001965-11-24-000024 November 1965	000000001997-05-16-000016 May 1997	7004114960000000000♠31 years, 173 days
33	Hastings Kamuzu Banda	Malaŵi	Prime Minister President	000000001963-02-01-00001 February 1963	000000001994-05-21-000021 May 1994	7004114320000000000♠31 years, 109 days
34	Rafael Trujillo	Dominican Republic	President Generalísimo	000000001930-03-03-00003 March 1930	000000001961-05-30-000030 May 1961	7004114110000000000♠31 years, 88 days
35	Suharto	Indonesia	President	000000001967-03-12-000012 March 1967	000000001998-05-21-000021 May 1998	7004113930000000000♠31 years, 70 days
36	Urho Kekkonen	Finland	Prime Minister President	000000001950-03-17-000017 March 1950 (1st time) 000000001954-10-20-000020 October 1954 (2nd time)	000000001953-11-17-000017 November 1953 (1st time) 000000001982-01-27-000027 January 1982 (2nd time)	30 years, 342 days
37	Joseph Stalin	Soviet Union	General Secretary Premier Marshal	000000001922-04-03-00003 April 1922	000000001953-03-05-00005 March 1953	7004112940000000000♠30 years, 336 days
38	Porfirio Díaz	Mexico	President	000000001876-11-28-000028 November 1876 (1st time) 000000001877-02-17-000017 February 1877 (2nd time) 000000001884-12-01-00001 December 1884 (3rd time)	000000001876-12-06-00006 December 1876 (1st time) 000000001880-12-01-00001 December 1880 (2nd time) 000000001911-05-25-000025 May 1911 (3rd time)	30 years, 106 days
39	Abdou Diouf	Senegal	Prime Minister President	000000001970-02-26-000026 February 1970	000000002000-04-01-00001 April 2000	7004109920000000000♠30 years, 35 days
40	Maumoon Abdul Gayoom	Maldives	President	000000001978-11-11-000011 November 1978	000000002008-11-11-000011 November 2008	7004109580000000000♠30 years, 0 days

Notes[edit]

^ The late Kim Il-sung has been designated "Eternal President of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" and the post of President has formally not been filled since his death on 8 July 1994. However, effectively his son Kim Jong-il and grandson Kim Jong-un have succeeded him as dictators.
^ After the first time Chiang Kai-shek stepped down in December 1931, his power was shared by Hu Hanmin, Wang Jingwei, and Lin Sen among others. After the second time he left his state position in January 1949, Chiang was succeed by then Vice President Li Zongren. However, Chiang was still the de facto leader of Mainland China until he and the Kuomintang moved to Taiwan in December 1949.
^ For purposes of this article, 20 October 2011 is considered to be the date that Gaddafi left office. Other dates might have been chosen.
- On 15 July 2011, at a meeting in Istanbul, more than 30 governments, including the United States, withdrew recognition from Gaddafi's government and recognised the National Transitional Council (NTC) as the legitimate government of Libya.
- On 23 August 2011, during the Battle of Tripoli, Gaddafi lost effective political and military control of Tripoli after his compound was captured by rebel forces.
- On 25 August 2011, the Arab League proclaimed the anti-Gaddafi National Transitional Council to be "the legitimate representative of the Libyan state".
- On 20 October 2011, Gaddafi was captured and killed near his hometown of Sirte.
- In a ceremony on 23 October 2011, officials of the interim National Transitional Council declared, "We declare to the whole world that we have liberated our beloved country, with its cities, villages, hill-tops, mountains, deserts and skies."
^ Dos Santos has been President of the ruling MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) from 20 September 1979 – present.
^ Nazarbayev declared the independence of Kazakhstan from the Soviet Union on 16 December 1991.
^ Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi served as Acting President from 4 June 2011 – 23 September 2011 and again from 23 November 2011 – 27 February 2012.
^ After leaving office as Prime Minister, Lee was given the emeritus positions of Senior Minister (1990–2004) and Minister Mentor (2004–2011). Lee still had effective influence in the Cabinet until 2011.

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b Depalma, Anthony (2011-08-03). "Fidel Castro News". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2011-10-20.

External links[edit]

Rulers.org List of rulers throughout time and places

[2] The late Kim Il-sung has been designated "Eternal President of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" and the post of President has formally not been filled since his death on 8 July 1994. However, effectively his son Kim Jong-il and grandson Kim Jong-un have succeeded him as dictators.

[3] After the first time Chiang Kai-shek stepped down in December 1931, his power was shared by Hu Hanmin, Wang Jingwei, and Lin Sen among others. After the second time he left his state position in January 1949, Chiang was succeed by then Vice President Li Zongren. However, Chiang was still the de facto leader of Mainland China until he and the Kuomintang moved to Taiwan in December 1949.

[4] For purposes of this article, 20 October 2011 is considered to be the date that Gaddafi left office. Other dates might have been chosen.

On 15 July 2011, at a meeting in Istanbul, more than 30 governments, including the United States, withdrew recognition from Gaddafi's government and recognised the National Transitional Council (NTC) as the legitimate government of Libya.

On 23 August 2011, during the Battle of Tripoli, Gaddafi lost effective political and military control of Tripoli after his compound was captured by rebel forces.

On 25 August 2011, the Arab League proclaimed the anti-Gaddafi National Transitional Council to be "the legitimate representative of the Libyan state".

On 20 October 2011, Gaddafi was captured and killed near his hometown of Sirte.

In a ceremony on 23 October 2011, officials of the interim National Transitional Council declared, "We declare to the whole world that we have liberated our beloved country, with its cities, villages, hill-tops, mountains, deserts and skies."

[4] On 15 July 2011, at a meeting in Istanbul, more than 30 governments, including the United States, withdrew recognition from Gaddafi's government and recognised the National Transitional Council (NTC) as the legitimate government of Libya.

[5] On 23 August 2011, during the Battle of Tripoli, Gaddafi lost effective political and military control of Tripoli after his compound was captured by rebel forces.

[6] On 25 August 2011, the Arab League proclaimed the anti-Gaddafi National Transitional Council to be "the legitimate representative of the Libyan state".

[7] On 20 October 2011, Gaddafi was captured and killed near his hometown of Sirte.

[8] In a ceremony on 23 October 2011, officials of the interim National Transitional Council declared, "We declare to the whole world that we have liberated our beloved country, with its cities, villages, hill-tops, mountains, deserts and skies."

[5] Dos Santos has been President of the ruling MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) from 20 September 1979 – present.

[6] Nazarbayev declared the independence of Kazakhstan from the Soviet Union on 16 December 1991.

[7] Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi served as Acting President from 4 June 2011 – 23 September 2011 and again from 23 November 2011 – 27 February 2012.

[8] After leaving office as Prime Minister, Lee was given the emeritus positions of Senior Minister (1990–2004) and Minister Mentor (2004–2011). Lee still had effective influence in the Cabinet until 2011.

[Castro-1] Depalma, Anthony (2011-08-03). "Fidel Castro News". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2011-10-20.

[1]

[Note 1]

[Note 2]

[Note 3]

[Note 4]

[Note 5]

[Note 6]

[Note 7]

List of longest-ruling non-royal national leaders since 1900

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Notes[edit]

References[edit]

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