List of heads of state by diplomatic precedence
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Protocol holds that a head of state takes precedence over all other officials, and that heads of state rank in the order that they took office. The following list contains the heads of state for all United Nations member states and non-member observer states.
Commonwealth realms, other than the United Kingdom, each have a local governor-general appointed to represent the monarch in the realm's government. Governors-general are frequently accorded the status and privileges of a head of state at diplomatic events when considered as representing their absentee monarch, but not as heads of state themselves. The co-princes of Andorra each have a representative as well. Hereditary Prince Alois is permanent representative for exercising the sovereign powers due to Liechtenstein Prince Hans-Adam II.[1] They are included in the list and are highlighted in blue.
However, in many cases it is not this neutral principle but national rules of protocol that are acted upon, usually by an international event's host nation, as in many bilateral and even certain multilateral occasions. Various international organisations have a system for internal use. Even in the presence of one or more heads of state, certain occasions are governed by specific protocol, e.g. military. Thus in many cases precedence is given to monarchs over republican heads of state, mostly in monarchies; in some nations, the Pope (himself a monarchical head of state) ranks above secular heads of state, especially in Roman Catholic countries.
States recognised by the United Nations
Current
States with limited recognition
Current
| Title | Name | Assumed office | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Brahim Ghali | 12 July 2016 |  Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic |
| President | Vadim Krasnoselsky | 16 December 2016 |  Transnistria |
| President | Alan Gagloyev | 24 May 2022 |  South Ossetia |
| President | Lai Ching-te | 20 May 2024 |  Republic of China (Taiwan) |
| President | Badra Gunba | 19 November 2024[cc] |  Abkhazia |
| President | Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi | 12 December 2024 |  Somaliland |
| President | Tufan Erhürman[cd] | 24 October 2025 |  Northern Cyprus |
| Acting President | Albulena Haxhiu | 4 April 2026 |  Kosovo |
Disputed governments
The following heads of state represent governments that are recognized as legitimate by at least one UN member state.
Current
| Title | Name | Assumed office | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman of the Supreme Political Council | Mahdi al-Mashat | 25 April 2018 |  Yemen |
| President of the Coordination Council | Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya | 14 August 2020 |  Belarus |
| President of the National Assembly | Dinorah Figuera | 5 January 2023 |  Venezuela |
See also
Notes
- Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo was titled President of the Supreme Military Council until 25 August 1979.
- Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is the nephew of the previous president, Francisco Macías Nguema.
- Paul Biya was previously Prime Minister of Cameroon from 30 June 1975 – 6 November 1982.
- Hassanal Bolkiah has been Sultan of Brunei since 5 October 1967, but Brunei was a protectorate of the United Kingdom until 1 January 1984.
- Yoweri Museveni was titled Chairman of the National Resistance Council until 29 January 1986.
- The country was the Kingdom of Swaziland before 2018.
- Hereditary Prince Alois has been Regent for Hans-Adam II since 15 August 2004.
- Harald V was previously Prince-Regent from 1 June 1990 – 17 January 1991.
- Haakon was Prince-Regent from 25 November 2003 – 13 April 2004 and from 29 March 2005 – 7 June 2005.
- Isaias Afwerki has been the leader of Eritrea (initially titled Secretary-general of the Provisional Government) from 29 May 1991, but the country only became independent on 24 May 1993.
- Letsie III was previously King of Lesotho from 12 November 1990 – 25 January 1995.
- Denis Sassou Nguesso was previously President of the People's Republic of the Congo (as the country was named then) from 8 February 1979 – 31 August 1992.
- The monarch was titled Emir until 14 February 2002.
- The country was the State of Bahrain before 2002.
- Ismaïl Omar Guelleh is the nephew of the previous president, Hassan Gouled Aptidon.
- Paul Kagame was Acting President of Rwanda until 22 April 2000.
- Ilham Aliyev was previously Prime Minister of Azerbaijan from 4 August 2003 – 4 November 2003.
- Ilham Aliyev is the son of the previous president, Heydar Aliyev.
- Daniel Ortega was previously President of Nicaragua from 10 January 1985 – 25 April 1990 and then from 10 January 2007 – 18 February 2025.
- Co-Presidents of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo are married.
- Alassane Ouattara was previously Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire from 7 November 1990 – 9 December 1993.
- Tupou VI – then titled Prince 'Ulukalala Lavaka Ata – was previously Prime Minister of Tonga from 3 January 2000 – 11 February 2006.
- Vladimir Putin was previously President of Russia from 31 December 1999 – 7 May 2008, and Prime Minister of Russia from 9 August 1999 – 7 May 2000 and from 8 May 2008 – 7 May 2012.
- Following the 2026 United States strikes in Venezuela, in which president Nicolás Maduro was captured by and taken to the United States, Rodríguez was appointed acting president by order of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, having already served in a de facto capacity in the immediate aftermath of Maduro's capture. Both Rodríguez and Maduro have asserted that the latter remains the legal officeholder.
- Nicolás Maduro was Acting President of Venezuela until 19 April 2013, President of Venezuela from 19 April 2013 – 3 January 2026 and De jure President since 3 January 2026.The office of President of Venezuela has been in dispute between Delcy Rodríguez and Edmundo González of the Unitary Platform, since 3 January 2026.
- Chinese President is a ceremonial figurehead, while General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party holds the highest authority of Paramount leader. The presidency has been held simultaneously by the General Secretary since 1993.
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was previously Prime Minister of Turkey from 14 March 2003 – 28 August 2014.
- Faustin-Archange Touadéra was previously Prime Minister of the Central African Republic from 22 January 2008 – 17 January 2013.
- Azali Assoumani was previously President of the Comoros from 26 May 2001 – 26 May 2006.
- Shavkat Mirziyoyev was Interim President until 14 December 2016 and was previously Prime Minister of Uzbekistan from 12 December 2003 – 14 December 2016.
- Prem Tinsulanonda was Regent of Thailand from 13 October 2016 – 1 December 2016.
- Aleksandar Vučić was previously Prime Minister of Serbia from 27 April 2014 – 30 May 2017.
- The country was the People's Republic of Angola before 1992.
- Julis Maada Bio was previously Head of State of Sierra Leone (as Leader of the Supreme Council of State) from 16 January 1996 – 29 March 1996.
- The office of Head of State of Georgia has been disputed between Salome Zourabichvili and Mikheil Kavelashvili, since 29 December 2024.
- Félix Tshisekedi is the son of former Prime Minister Étienne Tshisekedi.
- Though Kim has held this office since 2016, the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly was the head of state until the 14th State Affairs Commission was formed.
- Abdelmadjid Tebboune was previously Prime Minister of Algeria from 25 May 2017 – 15 August 2017.
- Haitham bin Tariq is the cousin of the former Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
- Zoran Milanović was previously Prime Minister of Croatia from 23 December 2011 – 22 January 2016.
- Sadyr Japarov was previously Acting Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan from 6 October 2020 – 10 October 2020, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan from 10 October 2020 – 21 January 2021; and Acting President of Kyrgyzstan from 15 October 2020 – 14 November 2020. Japarov took a leave of absence from the office of Prime Minister from 14 November 2020 – 11 January 2021 to compete in the 2021 Kyrgyz presidential election; Artem Novikov acted for Japarov.
- Thongloun Sisoulith was previously Prime Minister of Laos from 20 April 2016 – 22 March 2021 and is the General Secretary of the People's Revolutionary Party since 15 January 2021.
- As President of the Transitional Military Council until 10 October 2022, and thereafter as Transitional President until 10 May 2024.
- Mahamat Déby is the son of the previous President, Idriss Déby.
- Assimi Goïta was Head of State of Mali (as Chairman of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People of Mali) from 19 August 2020 – 27 August 2020 and Acting Head of State of Mali from 27 August 2020 – 25 September 2020.
- Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh was previously Prime Minister of Mongolia from 4 October 2017 – 27 January 2021.
- Isaac Herzog is the son of President Chaim Herzog.
- Mamady Doumbouya was Head of State of Guinea (as Chairman of the National Committee of Reconciliation and Development of Guinea) from 5 September 2021 – 1 October 2021 and Interim President from 1 October 2021 – 17 January 2026.
- José Maria Neves was previously Prime Minister of Cape Verde from 1 February 2001 – 22 April 2016.
- Errol Charles was Acting Governor-General until 1 November 2024.
- Mohamed bin Zayed is the brother of the previous President, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
- José Ramos-Horta was previously Acting Prime Minister of Timor-Leste from 26 June 2006 – 10 July 2006, Prime Minister of Timor-Leste from 10 July 2006 – 19 May 2007, and President of Timor-Leste from 20 May 2007 – 11 February 2008 and from 17 April 2008 – 20 May 2012.
- Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was previously President of Somalia from 16 September 2012 – 16 February 2017.
- Bongbong Marcos is the son of former President and Prime Minister Ferdinand Marcos.
- As President of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration until 6 October 2022.
- Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was previously President of Brazil from 1 January 2003 – 31 December 2010.
- As President of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland until 26 March 2025.
- As Chairman of the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions from 30 August 2023 until 2 May 2025 and as Transitional President de facto from 30 August 2023 and de jure from 4 September 2023 until 3 May 2025.
- Hilda Heine was previously President of the Marshall Islands from 28 January 2016 – 13 January 2020.
- Asif Ali Zardari was previously President of Pakistan from 9 September 2008 – 9 September 2013.
- Peter Pellegrini was previously Prime Minister of Slovakia from 22 March 2018 – 21 March 2020.
- Min Aung Hlaing is Acting President of Myanmar due to his chairmanship of the National Defence and Security Council.
- Ahmed al-Sharaa was Head of State of Syria (as De facto Leader of Syria) from 8 December 2024 – 29 January 2025 and then President of Syria since 29 January 2025.
- The office of Head of State of Georgia has been disputed between Mikheil Kavelashvili and Salome Zourabichvili, since 29 December 2024.
- John Mahama was previously President of Ghana from 24 July 2012 – 7 January 2017.
- Donald Trump was previously President of the United States from 20 January 2017 – 20 January 2021.
- Co-Presidents of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo are married.
- It is the Holy See and not the Vatican City state that maintains diplomatic relations with states and participates in international organisations. The Holy See and the Vatican City state are two separate and distinct entities. Foreign embassies are accredited to the Holy See, not to the Vatican City state, and it is the Holy See that establishes treaties and concordats with other sovereign entities. Also it is the Holy See that has United Nations Observer status not the Vatican City state.
- Peter Mutharika was previously President of Malawi from 31 May 2014 – 28 June 2020.
- Peter Mutharika is the brother of President Bingu wa Mutharika.
- Michael Randrianirina has also served as president of the Council of the Presidency for the Re-Foundation of the Republic since 17 October 2025.
- Rodrigo Paz Pereira is the son of President Jaime Paz Zamora.
- Guy Parmelin was previously President of the Swiss Confederation from 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2021.
- Following the 2026 United States strikes in Venezuela, in which president Nicolás Maduro was captured by and taken to the United States, Rodríguez was appointed acting president by order of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, having already served in a de facto capacity in the immediate aftermath of Maduro's capture. Both Rodríguez and Maduro have asserted that the latter remains the legal officeholder.
- The office of President of Venezuela has been in dispute between Delcy Rodríguez and Edmundo González of the Unitary Platform, since 3 January 2026.
- Alix Didier Fils-Aimé is also Acting Prime Minister of Haiti since 10 November 2024.
- Denis Bećirović was previously Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 16 March 2024 – 16 November 2024.
- Badra Gunba was Acting President of Abkhazia until 2 April 2025.
- Tufan Erhürman was Prime Minister of Northern Cyprus from 2 February 2018 – 22 May 2019.