Lists of state leaders by age

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Fuad II of Egypt 1952.jpg Dr HK Banda, first president of Malawi.jpg
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 currently serving state leaders[edit]

Mahathir Mohamad, currently the oldest-serving state leader

People currently serving as head of state and/or head of government, or a representative of a head of state.

Rank Name Born Age Position Assumed office
1 Mahathir Mohamad (1925-07-10)10 July 1925 94 years, 135 days Prime Minister of Malaysia 2018[1]
2 Elizabeth II (1926-04-21)21 April 1926 93 years, 215 days Queen of the United Kingdom and 15 other countries 1952
3 Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (1929-06-16)16 June 1929 90 years, 159 days Emir of Kuwait 2006
4 Sir Colville Young (1932-11-20)20 November 1932 87 years, 2 days Governor-General of Belize 1993
5 Paul Biya (1933-02-13)13 February 1933 86 years, 282 days President of Cameroon 1982[2]
6 Michel Aoun (1935-02-18)18 February 1935 84 years, 277 days President of Lebanon 2016[3]
7 Mahmoud Abbas (1935-11-15)15 November 1935 84 years, 7 days President of the Palestinian National Authority,
President of the State of Palestine
2005
8 Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (1935-12-31)31 December 1935 83 years, 326 days King of Saudi Arabia,
Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia [4]
2015
9 Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa (1936-11-24)24 November 1936 82 years, 363 days Prime Minister of Bahrain 1971
10 Francis (1936-12-17)17 December 1936 82 years, 340 days Pope of the Holy See,
Sovereign of the Vatican City State
2013

10 oldest ever serving state leaders[edit]

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[5]
Enrico Dandolo Doge of Venice 1205 (death) c. 97-98 years[6]
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 Nicolò da Ponte Doge of Venice 1585 (death) 94 years, 196 days
8 Mahathir Mohamad Prime Minister of Malaysia Incumbent 94 years, 135 days
9 Malietoa Tanumafili II O le Ao o le Malo of Samoa 2007 (death) 94 years, 127 days
10 Robert Mugabe President of Zimbabwe 2017 (resignation) 93 years, 273 days

Longest-lived state leaders[edit]

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

Top ten since 1800[edit]

Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum, the longest-lived state leader
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 Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni Prime Minister of Japan (1945) 1887 1990 102 years, 48 days
5 Ek Yi Oun Prime Minister of Cambodia (1958) 1910 2013 102 years, 1 day to 103 years, 364 days[7]
6 Babiker Awadalla Prime Minister of Sudan (1969) 1917 2019 101 years, 321 days
7 Willem Drees Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1948–1958) 1886 1988 101 years, 314 days
8 Đỗ Mười Chairman of the Council of Ministers (1991–1997) 1917 2018 101 years, 241 days
General Secretary of the Communist Party (1988–1991)
9 Zhang Qun Premier of the Republic of China (1947–1948) 1889 1990 101 years, 219 days
10 Yasuhiro Nakasone Prime Minister of Japan (1982–1987) 1918 Alive 101 years, 179 days

Top ten living[edit]

Yasuhiro Nakasone, the oldest living state leader
Rank Name Position Birth Age
1 Yasuhiro Nakasone Prime Minister of Japan (1982–1987) (1918-05-27)27 May 1918 101 years, 179 days
2 Hyun Soong-jong Prime Minister of South Korea (1992–1993) (1919-01-26)26 January 1919 100 years, 300 days
3 Hau Pei-tsun Premier of the Republic of China (1990–1993) (1919-08-08)8 August 1919 100 years, 106 days
4 Javier Pérez de Cuéllar Prime Minister of Peru (2000–2001) (1920-01-19)19 January 1920 99 years, 307 days
5 Tun Tin Prime Minister of Burma (1988) (1920-10-02)2 October 1920 99 years, 51 days
6 Mustafa Ben Halim Prime Minister of Libya (1954–1957) (1921-01-29)29 January 1921 98 years, 297 days
7 Francisco Morales Bermúdez Prime Minister of Peru (1975) (1921-10-04)4 October 1921 98 years, 49 days
President of Peru (1975–1980)
8 Luis Echeverría President of Mexico (1970–1976) (1922-01-17)17 January 1922 97 years, 309 days
9 Lee Teng-hui President of the Republic of China (1988–2000) (1923-01-15)15 January 1923 96 years, 311 days
10 Khamtai Siphandon Prime Minister of Laos (1991–1998) (1924-02-08)8 February 1924 95 years, 287 days
Chairman of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (1992–2006)
President of Laos (1998–2006)

10 youngest serving state leaders[edit]

Oleksiy Honcharuk, currently the youngest-serving state leader
Rank Name Position Birth Age
1 Oleksiy Honcharuk Prime Minister of Ukraine (since 2019) 7 July 1984 35 years, 138 days
2 Kim Jong-un Supreme Leader of North Korea (since 2011) 8 January 1983 36 years, 318 days
3 Nayib Bukele President of El Salvador (since 2019) 24 July 1981 38 years, 121 days
4 Jacinda Ardern Prime Minister of New Zealand (since 2017) 26 July 1980 39 years, 119 days
5 Fritz-William Michel Prime Minister of Haiti (since 2019) 23 July 1980 39 years, 122 days
6 Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Emir of Qatar (since 2013) 3 June 1980 39 years, 172 days
7 Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck King of Bhutan (since 2006) 21 February 1980 39 years, 274 days
8 Carlos Alvarado Quesada President of Costa Rica (since 2018) 14 January 1980 39 years, 312 days
9 Xavier Espot Zamora Head of Government of Andorra (since 2019) 30 October 1979 40 years, 23 days
10 Leo Varadkar Taoiseach of Ireland (since 2017) 18 January 1979 40 years, 308 days

10 youngest state leaders (since 1945)[edit]

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 [8] King of Eswatini 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[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Previously served as Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1981–2003.
  2. ^ Previously served as Prime Minister of Cameroon from 1975–1982.
  3. ^ Previously served as President of the Council of Ministers 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. ^ Born "before 21 May 1788", exact date unknown; died on May 30, 1885
  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.) Dandalo died on June 1, 1205, so he was 97 or 98 at death if indeed born in 1107.
  7. ^ The dates of birth and death for Ek are unknown.
  8. ^ Began personal reign after a 3-year regency