Lists of state leaders by age

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 Hastings Banda, President of Malawi (right).

10 oldest serving state leaders

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 Born Age Position Assumed office
1Elizabeth II(1926-04-21)21 April 192694 years, 118 daysQueen of the United Kingdom[1]1952
2Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah(1929-06-16)16 June 192991 years, 62 daysEmir of Kuwait2006[2]
3Raúl Castro(1931-06-03)3 June 193189 years, 75 daysFirst Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba2011[3]
4Colville Young(1932-11-20)20 November 193287 years, 271 daysGovernor-General of Belize1993
5Paul Biya(1933-02-13)13 February 193387 years, 186 daysPresident of Cameroon1982[4]
6Michel Aoun(1935-02-18)18 February 193585 years, 181 daysPresident of Lebanon2016[5]
7Mahmoud Abbas(1935-11-15)15 November 193584 years, 276 daysPresident of the Palestinian National Authority,
President of the State of Palestine
2005
8Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa(1935-11-24)24 November 193584 years, 267 daysPrime Minister of Bahrain1971
9Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud(1935-12-31)31 December 193584 years, 230 daysKing of Saudi Arabia,
Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia[6]
2015
10Francis(1936-12-17)17 December 193683 years, 244 daysPope of the Holy See,
Sovereign of the Vatican City State
2013

10 oldest ever serving state leaders

Rank Name Position Last year in office
(reason term ended)
Age at end
1–3Giovanni Paolo LascarisGrand Master of the Knights Hospitaller1657 (death)97 years, 47 days
Abdul MominSultan of Brunei1885 (death)≥97 years[7]
Enrico DandoloDoge of Venice1205 (death)c. 97–98 years[8]
4Hastings BandaPresident of Malawi1994 (presidency for life revoked, lost reelection)96 years, 98 days
5Prem TinsulanondaRegent of Thailand2016 (term ended)96 years, 97 days
6George Tupou IKing of Tonga1893 (death)95 years, 76 days
7Mahathir MohamadPrime Minister of Malaysia2020 (resigned)94 years, 235 days
8Nicolò da PonteDoge of Venice1585 (death)94 years, 196 days
9Malietoa Tanumafili IIO le Ao o le Malo of Samoa2007 (death)94 years, 127 days
10Elizabeth IIQueen of the United Kingdom[1]Incumbent94 years, 118 days

Longest-lived state leaders

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

Top ten since 1800

Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum, the longest-lived state leader
Rank Name Position Birth Death Age
1Chau Sen Cocsal ChhumPrime Minister of Cambodia (1962)19052009103 years, 143 days
2Celâl BayarPrime Minister of Turkey (1937–1939)18831986103 years, 98 days
President of Turkey (1950–1960)
3Antoine PinayPrime Minister of France (1952–1953)18911994102 years, 348 days
4André Prunet-FochFrench Viguier in Andorra (1977–1980)19142017102 years, 211 days
5Naruhiko HigashikuniPrime Minister of Japan (1945)18871990102 years, 48 days
6Ek Yi OunPrime Minister of Cambodia (1958)19102013102 years, 1 day to 103 years, 364 days[9]
7Babiker AwadallaPrime Minister of Sudan (1969)19172019101 years, 321 days
8Willem DreesPrime Minister of the Netherlands (1948–1958)18861988101 years, 314 days
9Đỗ MườiChairman of the Council of Ministers of Vietnam (1988–1991)19172018101 years, 241 days
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (1991–1997)
10Zhang QunPremier of the Republic of China (1947–1948)18891990101 years, 219 days

Top ten living

Mustafa Ben Halim, the oldest-living state leader
Rank Name Position Birth Age
1Mustafa Ben HalimPrime Minister of Libya (1954–1957)(1921-01-29)29 January 192199 years, 201 days
2Francisco Morales BermúdezPrime Minister of Peru (1975)(1921-10-04)4 October 192198 years, 318 days
President of Peru (1975–1980)
3Luis EcheverríaPresident of Mexico (1970–1976)(1922-01-17)17 January 192298 years, 213 days
4Khamtai SiphandonPrime Minister of Laos (1991–1998)(1924-02-08)8 February 192496 years, 191 days
Chairman of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (1992–2006)
President of Laos (1998–2006)
5Tomiichi MurayamaPrime Minister of Japan (1994–1996)(1924-03-03)3 March 192496 years, 167 days
6Kenneth KaundaPresident of Zambia (1964–1991)(1924-04-28)28 April 192496 years, 111 days
President of the United National Independence Party (1973–1991)
7Jimmy CarterPresident of the United States (1977–1981)(1924-10-01)1 October 192495 years, 321 days
8Lubomír ŠtrougalPrime Minister of Czechoslovakia (1970–1988)(1924-10-19)19 October 192495 years, 303 days
9Guillermo RodríguezPresident of Ecuador (1972–1976)(1924-11-04)4 November 192495 years, 287 days
10Ali Hassan MwinyiPresident of Tanzania (1985–1995)(1925-05-08)8 May 192595 years, 101 days
National Chairman of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (1985–1995)

10 youngest serving state leaders

Sebastian Kurz, the youngest serving state leader
Rank Name Position Birth Age
1Sebastian KurzChancellor of Austria (since 2020)[10]27 August 198633 years, 356 days
2Sanna MarinPrime Minister of Finland (since 2019)16 November 198534 years, 275 days
3Kim Jong-unSupreme Leader of North Korea[11] (since 2011)8 January 198337 years, 222 days
4Nayib BukelePresident of El Salvador (since 2019)24 July 198139 years, 24 days
5Jacinda ArdernPrime Minister of New Zealand (since 2017)26 July 198040 years, 22 days
6Tamim bin Hamad Al ThaniEmir of Qatar (since 2013)3 June 198040 years, 75 days
7Irfaan AliPresident of Guyana (since 2020)25 April 198040 years, 114 days
8Jigme Khesar Namgyel WangchuckKing of Bhutan (since 2006)21 February 198040 years, 178 days
9Carlos Alvarado QuesadaPresident of Costa Rica (since 2018)14 January 198040 years, 216 days
10Xavier Espot ZamoraHead of Government of Andorra (since 2019)30 October 197940 years, 292 days

10 youngest state leaders (since 1945)

Jean-Claude Duvalier (seated), the youngest non-royal state leader since 1945

Leaders still serving are highlighted in italicized bold.

Rank Name Position Age (when they took office)
1Fuad IIKing of Egypt192 days
2GyanendraKing of Nepal3 years, 123 days
3Faisal IIKing of Iraq3 years, 337 days
4HusseinKing of Jordan16 years, 271 days
5Jigme Singye WangchuckKing of Bhutan16 years, 256 days
6Mswati III [12]King of Eswatini [13]18 years, 6 days
7Bhumibol AdulyadejKing of Thailand18 years, 186 days
8Ntare VKing of Burundi18 years, 218 days
9Jean-Claude DuvalierPresident of Haiti19 years, 293 days
10BaudouinKing of Belgium20 years, 313 days

See also

Notes

  1. 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.
  2. Previously served as Prime Minister of Kuwait from 2003–2006.
  3. Previously served as Acting President and Acting Prime Minister of Cuba from 2006–2008, then as President and Prime Minister of Cuba from 2008–2018; and as Acting First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 2006–2011. Under the one-Party system, the position of First Secretary is a more important and powerful office than the Presidency of Cuba.
  4. Previously served as Prime Minister of Cameroon from 1975–1982.
  5. Previously served as President of the Council of Ministers of Lebanon from 1988–1990.
  6. Since the reign of Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (1964–1975), the office of prime minister has been held by the king simultaneously.
  7. Born "before 21 May 1788", exact date unknown; died on May 30, 1885
  8. 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.
  9. The dates of birth and death for Ek are unknown.
  10. Previously served as Chancellor of Austria from 2017–2019.
  11. 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: Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK, and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the DPRK.
  12. Began personal reign after a 3-year regency
  13. The country was called the Kingdom of Swaziland until April 19, 2018.
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