Lists of state leaders by age
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This article needs to be updated. (January 2024) |
This article contains various lists of state leaders organized by age, defined as heads of state and/or heads of government.
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 (right).
10 oldest serving state leaders
changePeople 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 | Born | Age | Position | Assumed office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Biya | 13 February 1933 | 91 years, 312 days | President of Cameroon | 1982[1] |
| 2 | Mahmoud Abbas | 15 November 1935 | 89 years, 36 days | President of the Palestinian National Authority, President of the State of Palestine |
2005 |
| 3 | Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud | 31 December 1935 | 88 years, 356 days | King of Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia[2] |
2015 |
| 4 | Francis | 17 December 1936 | 88 years, 4 days | Pope of the Holy See, Sovereign of the Vatican City State |
2013 |
| 5 | Harald V | 21 February 1937 | 87 years, 304 days | King of Norway | 1991 |
| 6 | Ali Khamenei | 19 April 1939 | 85 years, 246 days | Supreme Leader of Iran | 1989[3] |
| 8 | Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah | 27 September 1940 | 84 years, 85 days | Emir of Kuwait | 2023 |
| 9 | Michael D. Higgins | 18 April 1941 | 83 years, 247 days | President of Ireland | 2011 |
| 10 | Sergio Mattarella | 23 July 1941 | 83 years, 151 days | President of Italy | 2015 |
10 oldest serving state leaders of all time
change| Rank | Name | Position | Last year in office (reason term ended) |
Age at end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giovanni Paolo Lascaris | Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller | 1657 (death) | 97 years, 47 days |
| 1-2 | Enrico Dandolo | Doge of Venice | 1205 (death) | c. 97–98 years[4] |
| 3 | Abdul Momin | Sultan of Brunei | 1885 (death) | 97 years, 7 days |
| 4 | Elizabeth II | Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms[5] |
2022 (death) | 96 years, 140 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 |
Longest-lived state leaders
changeThe following lists are the top ten all-time state leaders and the top ten living.
Top ten since 1800
change
| 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, 211 days |
| 5 | Naruhiko Higashikuni | Prime Minister of Japan (1945) | 1887 | 1990 | 102 years, 48 days |
| 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 of Vietnam (1988–1991) | 1917 | 2018 | 101 years, 241 days |
| General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (1991–1997) | |||||
| 9 | Zhang Qun | Premier of the Republic of China (1947–1948) | 1889 | 1990 | 101 years, 219 days |
| 10 | Yasuhiro Nakasome | Prime Minister of Japan (1982–1987) | 1919 | 2020 | 101 years, 186 days |
Top ten living
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| Rank | Name | Position | Birth | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guillermo Rodríguez | President of Ecuador (1972–1976) | 4 November 1923 | 101 years, 47 days |
| 2 | Khamtai Siphandone | Prime Minister of Laos (1991–1998) | 8 February 1924 | 100 years, 317 days |
| Chairman of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (1992–2006) | ||||
| President of Laos (1998–2006) | ||||
| 3 | Tomiichi Murayama | Prime Minister of Japan (1994–1996) | 3 March 1924 | 100 years, 293 days |
| 4 | Jimmy Carter | President of the United States (1977–1981) | 1 October 1924 | 100 years, 81 days |
| 5 | Mahathir Mohamad | Prime Minister of Malaysia (1981–2003, 2018–2020) | 10 July 1925 | 99 years, 164 days |
| 6 | Mohammad Hasan Sharq | Prime Minister of Afghanistan (1989–1991) | 17 July 1925 | 99 years, 157 days |
| 7 | Abdoulaye Wade | President of Senegal (2000–2012) | 29 May 1926 | 98 years, 206 days |
| 8 | Valdas Adamkus | President of Lithuania (1998–2003; 2004–2009) | 3 November 1926 | 98 years, 48 days |
| 9 | Raif Dizdarević | President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia (1988–1989) | 9 December 1926 | 98 years, 12 days |
| 10 | Thanin Kraivichien | Prime Minister of Thailand (1976–1977) | 5 April 1927 | 97 years, 260 days |
20 youngest serving state leaders
change_(cropped).png)
| Rank | Name | Position | Birth | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kristrún Frostadóttir | Prime Minister of Iceland (since 2024) | 12 May, 1988 | 36 years, 223 days |
| 2 | Ibrahim Traore | President of Burkina Faso (since 2022) | 14 March 1988 | 36 years, 282 days |
| 3 | Daniel Noboa | President of Ecuador (since 2023) | 30 November 1987 | 37 years, 21 days |
| 4 | Milokjo Spajic | Prime Minister of Montenegro (since 2023) | 24 September 1987 | 37 years, 88 days |
| 5 | Simon Harris | Taoiseach (since 2024) | 17 October 1986 | 38 years, 65 days |
| 6 | Gabriel Boric | President of Chile (since 2022) | 11 February 1986 | 38 years, 314 days |
| 7 | Mohammed bin Salman | Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia (since 2022) | 31 August 1985 | 39 years, 112 days |
| 8 | Mahamat Déby | Chairman of the Transitional Military Council of Chad (since 2021) | 1 January 1984 | 40 years, 355 days |
| 9 | Kim Jong-un | Supreme Leader of North Korea[6] (since 2011) | 8 January 1983[7] | 41 years, 348 days[7] |
| 10 | Assimi Goïta | Interim President of Mali (since 2021)[8] | 1983 | 40 years, 356 days to 41 years, 355 days |
| 11 | Vjosa Osmani | President of Kosovo (since 2021) | 17 May 1982 | 42 years, 218 days |
| 12 | Serdar Berdimuhamedow | President of Turkmenistan (since 2022) | 22 September 1981 | 43 years, 90 days |
| 13 | Nayib Bukele | President of El Salvador (since 2019) | 24 July 1981 | 43 years, 150 days |
| 14 | Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani | Prime Minister of Qatar (since 2023) | 1 November 1980 | 44 years, 50 days |
| 15 | Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene | Prime Minister of Mongolia (since 2021) | 29 June 1980 | 44 years, 175 days |
| 16 | Tamim Al Thani | Emir of Qatar (since 2013) | 3 June 1980 | 44 years, 201 days |
| 17 | Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck | King of Bhutan (since 2006) | 21 February 1980 | 44 years, 304 days |
| 18 | Xavier Espot Zamora | Prime Minister of Andorra (since 2019) | 30 October 1979 | 45 years, 52 days |
10 youngest state leaders (since 1942)
changeLeaders 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 | Simeon II | Tsar of Bulgaria | 6 years, 73 days |
| 5 | Hussein | King of Jordan | 16 years, 271 days |
| 6 | Jigme Singye Wangchuck | King of Bhutan | 16 years, 256 days |
| 7 | Mswati III [9] | King of Eswatini [10] | 18 years, 6 days |
| 8 | Bhumibol Adulyadej | King of Thailand | 18 years, 186 days |
| 9 | Ntare V | King of Burundi | 18 years, 218 days |
| 10 | Jean-Claude Duvalier | President of Haiti | 19 years, 293 days |
Notes
change- ↑ Previously served as Prime Minister of Cameroon from 1975–1982.
- ↑ Since the reign of Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (1964–1975), the office of prime minister has been held by the king simultaneously.
- ↑ Previously served as President of Iran from 1981–1989.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 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.
- ↑ Previously Chairman of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People of Mali in 2020 and 2021.
- ↑ Began personal reign after a 3-year regency
- ↑ The country was called the Kingdom of Swaziland until 19 April 2018.