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	First Secretary Prime Minister President Maximum Leader	000000001959-02-16-000016 February 1959 ^[1]	000000002011-04-19-000019 April 2011 ^[1]	7009164635200000000♠52 years, 62 days
2	Chiang Kai-shek	Republic of China (1912–1949) Republic of China on Taiwan (1949–present)	Chairman of the National Government Premier of the Republic/Director-General of the Kuomintang Generalissimo President	000000001926-07-09-00009 July 1926 (1st time) 000000001932-03-06-00006 March 1932 (2nd time) 000000001950-03-01-00001 March 1950 (3rd time)	000000001931-12-15-000015 December 1931 (1st time) 000000001949-01-21-000021 January 1949 (2nd time) 000000001975-04-05-00005 April 1975 (3rd time)	7009153809280000000♠48 years, 270 days (7008711201600000000♠22 years, 196 days in Mainland China) (7008791964000000000♠25 years, 35 days on Taiwan)^{[Note 1]}
3	Kim Il-sung	North Korea	General Secretary Premier President ^{[Note 2]} Generalissimo	000000001948-09-09-00009 September 1948	000000001994-07-08-00008 July 1994	7009144618480000000♠45 years, 302 days
4	Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal	Mongolian People's Republic	General Secretary Prime Minister President	000000001940-04-08-00008 April 1940	000000001984-08-23-000023 August 1984	7009140037120000000♠44 years, 137 days
5	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]}	7009132965280000000♠42 years, 49 days
6	Omar Bongo	Gabon	President	000000001967-12-02-00002 December 1967	000000002009-05-06-00006 May 2009	7009130725360000000♠41 years, 155 days
7	Paul Biya	Cameroon	Prime Minister President	000000001975-06-30-000030 June 1975	present	7009130172400000000♠41 years, 91 days
8	Enver Hoxha	People's Republic of Albania People's Socialist Republic of Albania	Prime Minister First Secretary	000000001944-10-22-000022 October 1944	000000001985-04-11-000011 April 1985	7009127707840000000♠40 years, 171 days
9	Mohamed Abdelaziz	Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic	General Secretary President	000000001976-08-30-000030 August 1976	000000002016-05-31-000031 May 2016	7009125450640000000♠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	7009123506640000000♠39 years, 50 days
11	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
12	Gnassingbé Eyadéma	Togo	President	000000001967-04-14-000014 April 1967	000000002005-02-05-00005 February 2005	7009119329200000000♠37 years, 297 days
13	Kaisôn Phomvihān	Sam Neua, Kingdom of Laos Lao People's Democratic Republic	General Secretary/Party Chairman Prime Minister President	000000001955-03-22-000022 March 1955^{[Note 4]}	000000001992-11-21-000021 November 1992	7009118871280000000♠37 years, 244 days (7008535593600000000♠16 years, 355 days after the establishment of LPDR)
14	Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo	Equatorial Guinea	Chairman of the Supreme Military Council President	000000001979-08-03-00003 August 1979	present	7009117255600000000♠37 years, 57 days
15	José Eduardo dos Santos	People's Republic of Angola Angola	Party President State President	000000001979-09-10-000010 September 1979	present	7009116927280000000♠37 years, 19 days
16	Robert Mugabe	Zimbabwe	Prime Minister President	000000001980-04-18-000018 April 1980	present	7009115024320000000♠36 years, 164 days
17	Josip Broz Tito	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	7009114963840000000♠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	7009114315840000000♠36 years, 82 days
19	Todor Zhivkov	People's Republic of Bulgaria	General Secretary Prime Minister	000000001954-03-04-00004 March 1954	000000001989-11-17-000017 November 1989	7009112680720000000♠35 years, 258 days
20	Ali Khamenei	Iran	President Supreme Leader	000000001981-10-13-000013 October 1981	present	7009110337120000000♠34 years, 352 days
21	Alfredo Stroessner	Paraguay	President	000000001954-08-15-000015 August 1954	000000001989-02-03-00003 February 1989	7009108781920000000♠34 years, 172 days
22	Ali Abdullah Saleh	North Yemen Yemen	President	000000001978-07-18-000018 July 1978	000000002012-02-25-000025 February 2012	7009106058160000000♠33 years, 222 days
23	Mao Zedong	Shaan-Gan-Ning, Republic of China People's Republic of China	Party Chairman State Chairman Paramount Leader	000000001943-03-20-000020 March 1943^{[Note 5]}	000000001976-09-09-00009 September 1976	7009105634800000000♠33 years, 173 days (7008850219200000000♠26 years, 344 days after the establishment of PRC)
24	Félix Houphouët-Boigny	Côte d'Ivoire	Prime Minister President	000000001960-08-07-00007 August 1960	000000001993-12-07-00007 December 1993	7009105194160000000♠33 years, 122 days
25	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)	7009102530880000000♠32 years, 179 days
26	Dawda Jawara	The Gambia	Prime Minister President	000000001962-06-12-000012 June 1962	000000001994-07-22-000022 July 1994	7009101329920000000♠32 years, 40 days
27	Phạm Văn Đồng	North Vietnam Vietnam	Prime Minister	000000001955-09-20-000020 September 1955	000000001987-06-18-000018 June 1987	7009100170000000000♠31 years, 271 days
28	Hun Sen	People's Republic of Kampuchea State of Cambodia Cambodia	Prime Minister	000000001985-01-14-000014 January 1985	present	7009100066320000000♠31 years, 259 days
29	János Kádár	Hungarian People's Republic	General Secretary Prime Minister	000000001956-10-25-000025 October 1956	000000001988-05-27-000027 May 1988	7008996861600000000♠31 years, 215 days
30	Habib Bourguiba	Tunisia	Prime Minister President	000000001956-04-11-000011 April 1956	000000001987-11-07-00007 November 1987	7008996429600000000♠31 years, 210 days
31	Lee Kuan Yew	Singapore	Prime Minister	000000001959-06-05-00005 June 1959	000000001990-11-28-000028 November 1990	7008993492000000000♠31 years, 176 days (as Prime Minister) (7009163967760000000♠51 years, 350 days as a Member of the Cabinet)^{[Note 6]}
32	Mobutu Sese Seko	Democratic Republic of the Congo Zaire	President	000000001965-11-24-000024 November 1965	000000001997-05-16-000016 May 1997	7008993232800000000♠31 years, 173 days
33	Hastings Kamuzu Banda	Malaŵi	Prime Minister President	000000001963-02-01-00001 February 1963	000000001994-05-21-000021 May 1994	7008987703200000000♠31 years, 109 days
34	Rafael Trujillo	Dominican Republic	President Generalísimo	000000001930-03-03-00003 March 1930	000000001961-05-30-000030 May 1961	7008985888800000000♠31 years, 88 days
35	Suharto	Indonesia	President	000000001967-03-12-000012 March 1967	000000001998-05-21-000021 May 1998	7008984333600000000♠31 years, 70 days
36	Joseph Stalin	Soviet Union	General Secretary Premier Marshal	000000001922-04-03-00003 April 1922	000000001953-03-05-00005 March 1953	7008975758400000000♠30 years, 336 days
37	Yoweri Museveni	Uganda	President	000000001986-01-26-000026 January 1986	present	7008968068800000000♠30 years, 247 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	7008949752000000000♠30 years, 35 days
40	Maumoon Abdul Gayoom	Maldives	President	000000001978-11-11-000011 November 1978	000000002008-11-11-000011 November 2008	7008946728000000000♠30 years, 0 days

Notes[edit]

^ For the first time Chiang Kai-shek stepped down in December 1931, his power was then shared by Hu Hanmin, Wang Jingwei, and Lin Sen among others. For the second time he left his state position in January 1949, Chiang was succeed by then Vice President Li Zongren. However, Chiang still the de facto leader of Mainland China until he moved to Taiwan in December 1949.
^ The late Kim Il-sung has been designated "Eternal President of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" and the post of President has not been filled since his death on July 8, 1994.
^ 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."
^ Phomvihān established the Lao People's Democratic Republic on December 2, 1975.
^ Mao established the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949.
^ 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] For the first time Chiang Kai-shek stepped down in December 1931, his power was then shared by Hu Hanmin, Wang Jingwei, and Lin Sen among others. For the second time he left his state position in January 1949, Chiang was succeed by then Vice President Li Zongren. However, Chiang still the de facto leader of Mainland China until he moved to Taiwan in December 1949.

[3] The late Kim Il-sung has been designated "Eternal President of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" and the post of President has not been filled since his death on July 8, 1994.

[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] Phomvihān established the Lao People's Democratic Republic on December 2, 1975.

[6] Mao established the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949.

[7] 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]

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

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

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