Lists of state leaders by age

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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 Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms (right).

This article contains various lists of state leaders organized by age, defined as heads of state and/or heads of government.

Oldest serving state leaders[edit]

Top ten currently serving[edit]

Elizabeth II, currently the oldest serving state leader

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.

Rank Name Position Assumed office Born Age
1 Elizabeth II Queen of the United Kingdom
and other Commonwealth realms[1]		 1952 (1926-04-21)21 April 1926 96 years, 111 days
2 Paul Biya President of Cameroon 1982[2] (1933-02-13)13 February 1933 89 years, 178 days
3 Michel Aoun President of Lebanon 2016[3] (1933-09-30)30 September 1933 88 years, 314 days
4 Mahmoud Abbas President of the Palestinian National Authority,
President of the State of Palestine		 2005 (1935-11-15)15 November 1935 86 years, 268 days
5 Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud King of Saudi Arabia,
Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia[4]		 2015 (1935-12-31)31 December 1935 86 years, 222 days
6 Francis Pope of the Holy See,
Sovereign of the Vatican City State		 2013 (1936-12-17)17 December 1936 85 years, 236 days
7 Harald V King of Norway 1991 (1937-02-21)21 February 1937 85 years, 170 days
8 Cornelius A. Smith Governor-General of the Bahamas 2019 (1937-04-07)7 April 1937 85 years, 125 days
9 Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Emir of Kuwait 2020 (1937-06-25)25 June 1937 85 years, 46 days
10 Ali Khamenei Supreme Leader of Iran 1989[5] (1939-04-19)19 April 1939 83 years, 113 days

Top ten of all time[edit]

  Currently in office
Rank Name Position Last year in office
(reason term ended) 		Age at end
1–2 Giovanni Paolo Lascaris Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller 1657 (death) 97 years, 47 days
Enrico Dandolo Doge of Venice 1205 (death) c. 97–98 years[6]
3 Abdul Momin Sultan of Brunei 1885 (death) 96 years, 148 days or 97 years, 8 days[7]
4 Elizabeth II Queen of the United Kingdom
and other Commonwealth realms[1]		 Incumbent 96 years, 111 days
5 Hastings Banda President of Malawi 1994 (presidency for life revoked, defeated in re-election) 96 years, 98 days
6 Prem Tinsulanonda Regent of Thailand 2016 (term ended) 96 years, 97 days
7 George Tupou I King of Tonga 1893 (death) 95 years, 76 days
8 Mahathir Mohamad Prime Minister of Malaysia 2020 (resigned) 94 years, 235 days
9 Nicolò da Ponte Doge of Venice 1585 (death) 94 years, 196 days
10 Malietoa Tanumafili II O le Ao o le Malo of Samoa 2007 (death) 94 years, 127 days

Youngest serving state leaders[edit]

Top ten currently serving[edit]

Gabriel Boric, the youngest serving state leader
Rank Name Position Assumed office Born Age
1 Gabriel Boric President of Chile 2022 11 February 1986 36 years, 180 days
2 Dritan Abazović Prime Minister of Montenegro 2022 25 December 1985 36 years, 228 days
3 Sanna Marin Prime Minister of Finland 2019 16 November 1985 36 years, 267 days
4 Mahamat Déby President of the Transitional Military Council of Chad 2021 1 January 1984 38 years, 221 days
5 Kim Jong-un Supreme Leader of North Korea[8] 2011 8 January 1983[9] 39 years, 214 days[9]
5–6 Assimi Goïta Interim President of Mali[10] 2021 1983 38 years, 222 days to
39 years, 221 days
7 Irakli Garibashvili Prime Minister of Georgia[11] 2021 28 June 1982 40 years, 43 days
8 Serdar Berdimuhamedow President of Turkmenistan 2022 22 September 1981 40 years, 322 days
9 Nayib Bukele President of El Salvador 2019 24 July 1981 41 years, 17 days
10 Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba Transitional President of Burkina Faso 2022 2 January 1981 41 years, 220 days
President of the Patriotic Movement for
Safeguard and Restoration of Burkina Faso		 2022

Top ten since 1935[edit]

Jean-Claude Duvalier (seated), the youngest non-royal state leader since 1900
  Currently in office
Rank Name Position Assumed office Age when assuming office
1 Fuad II King of Egypt 1952 192 days
2 Gyanendra King of Nepal 1950[12] 3 years, 123 days
3 Faisal II King of Iraq 1939 3 years, 337 days
4 Simeon II Tsar of Bulgaria 1943 6 years, 73 days
5 Jigme Singye Wangchuck King of Bhutan 1972 16 years, 256 days
6 Hussein King of Jordan 1952 16 years, 271 days
7 Mswati III King of Eswatini[13] 1986 18 years, 6 days[14]
8 Bhumibol Adulyadej King of Thailand 1946 18 years, 186 days
9 Ntare V King of Burundi 1966 18 years, 218 days
10 Jean-Claude Duvalier President of Haiti 1971 19 years, 293 days

Longest-lived state leaders[edit]

The following lists are the top ten all-time state leaders and the top ten living.

Top ten living[edit]

Khamtai Siphandone, the oldest-living state leader
Main article: List of oldest living state leaders
Rank Name Position Born Age
1 Khamtai Siphandone Prime Minister of Laos (1991–1998) (1924-02-08)8 February 1924 98 years, 183 days
Chairman of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (1992–2006)
President of Laos (1998–2006)
2 Tomiichi Murayama Prime Minister of Japan (1994–1996) (1924-03-03)3 March 1924 98 years, 160 days
3 Jimmy Carter President of the United States (1977–1981) (1924-10-01)1 October 1924 97 years, 313 days
4 Lubomír Štrougal Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia (1970–1988) (1924-10-19)19 October 1924 97 years, 295 days
5 Guillermo Rodríguez President of Ecuador (1972–1976) (1924-11-04)4 November 1924 97 years, 279 days
6 Ali Hassan Mwinyi President of Tanzania (1985–1995) (1925-05-08)8 May 1925 97 years, 94 days
National Chairman of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (1990–1992)
7 Giorgio Napolitano President of Italy (2006–2015) (1925-06-29)29 June 1925 97 years, 42 days
8 Mahathir Mohamad Prime Minister of Malaysia (1981–2003, 2018–2020) (1925-07-10)10 July 1925 97 years, 31 days
9 Mohammad Hasan Sharq Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Afghanistan (1988–1989) (1925-07-17)17 July 1925 97 years, 24 days
10 Arnaldo Forlani Prime Minister of Italy (1980–1981) (1925-12-08)8 December 1925 96 years, 245 days

Top ten since 1800[edit]

Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum, the longest-lived state leader
Rank Name Position Born 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, 211 days
5 Naruhiko Higashikuni Prime Minister of Japan (1945) 1887 1990 102 years, 48 days
1–6 Ek Yi Oun Prime Minister of Cambodia (1958) 1910 2013 102 years, 1 day to 103 years, 364 days[15]
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

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b In 1952, Princess Elizabeth acceded as the monarch of seven Commonwealth realms. She currently reigns as Queen of 15 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.
  2. ^ Previously served as Prime Minister of Cameroon from 1975–1982.
  3. ^ Previously served as Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1988–1990.
  4. ^ Since the reign of Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (1964–1975), the office of prime minister has been held by the king simultaneously.
  5. ^ Previously served as President of Iran from 1981–1989.
  6. ^ 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.) As Dandalo died on June 1, 1205, he was 97 or 98 at death if indeed born in 1107.
  7. ^ Born "before 21 May 1788", exact date unknown; died on May 30, 1885, his age should be between 96 years, 148 days or 97 years, 8 days.
  8. ^ 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: General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea, President of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK, and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the DPRK.
  9. ^ a b Kim's year of birth has been the subject of dispute. North Korean authorities and state-run media have stated Kim's birth date is 8 January 1982, but South Korean intelligence officials believe the actual date is a year later. Until 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department had claimed that his year of birth is 1984.
  10. ^ Previously Chairman of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People of Mali in 2020 and 2021.
  11. ^ Previously Prime Minister of Georgia from 2013–2015.
  12. ^ Gyanendra's first occupation of the throne was in 1950; he was dethroned in the 1951 Nepalese revolution.
  13. ^ The country was called the Kingdom of Swaziland until 19 April 2018.
  14. ^ Began personal reign after a 3-year regency
  15. ^ The dates of birth and death for Ek are unknown.
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