Countries With the Oldest Leaders

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum became vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai in 2006 upon the death of his brother. His tenure in office has been marked by the transformation of the small Middle Eastern nation from an oil-dependent economy to one known for international trade and finance. The nation has also become a tourist destination. Under his leadership, Dubai has embarked on ambitious projects such as the construction of the world’s tallest building — the Burj Khalifa — and the Dubai Metro.

Keith Rowley became prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago in 2015. Rowley is a volcanologist who holds a doctorate in geology, with a focus on geochemistry. Prior to becoming PM, Rowley served in various government posts such as minister of agriculture and held government posts in planning and development, housing and trade, and industry. Trinidad and Tobago is one of the Caribbean’s richest nations because of its oil and natural gas reserves.

Benjamin Netanyahu has been prime minister of Israel since 2009 after having previously served as PM. He was the first Israeli PM born after the founding of the Jewish state. The former commando is the head of the Likud Party, which has taken a hard line against the Palestinians and Iran. Corruption charges have tainted his reputation and led to the formal announcement of charges against him last November. Netanyahu has dismissed the charges as a witch hunt. HIs trial has been postponed to May because of the coronavirus restrictions.

In 2016, Francisco Pascual Obama Asue became prime minister of Equatorial Guinea, a nation on Africa’s Atlantic coast that gained independence from Spain in 1968. The nation has been trying to improve reproductive health among women and reduce maternal mortality, issues that Asue addressed at a meeting of the West and Central Africa Regional Planning Meeting of the United Nations Population Fund.

Sebastián Piñera was elected president of Chile in 2017 to a four-year term that he began serving in March of 2018. He previously served as president of the South American nation from 2010 to 2014. Chilean law bars officials from serving consecutive terms as president. Piñera founded the credit card company Bancard in 1976, introducing credit cards to the nation, and Forbes magazine puts his personal worth at $2.6 billion, making him one of the richest leaders in the world.

Valentin Inzko has been the High representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2009. Prior to assuming the nation’s highest office, Inzko crafted an extensive diplomatic career. He was his nation’s European Union special representative and was also ambassador to Slovenia.

Ashraf Ghani was re-elected president of the mountainous and war-torn nation in 2019. Ghani was first elected president in 2014 in a tumultuous election against Abdullah Abdullah in a campaign in which each side accused the other of voting fraud. The two agreed to a power-sharing agreement with Ghani becoming president and Abdullah becoming chief executive officer, a new position. Prior to becoming president, Ghani worked at the World Bank. While serving President Hamid Karzai, he supervised the introduction of the new Afghan currency.

Hassan Rouhani was re-elected president of Iran in 2017 after first being elected in 2013. Prior to his election, Rouhani was Iran’s top nuclear negotiator and has written articles published in the West calling for a “constructive approach” to nuclear arms issues. Since the United States withdrew from the nuclear arms deal with Iran, Rouhani has said in 2019 that Iran will begin enriching uranium at a level above what had been permitted under the nuclear arms deal.

Christophe Joseph Marie Dabiré became prime minister of Burkina Faso in January 2019 following the resignation of Paul Kaba Thieba. No reason was given as to why Thieba stepped down. Critics of Thieba said he was failing to address terrorism concerns in the landlocked country. Dabiré has advocated for foreign investment in the nation’s gold and zinc mines.

Ruhakana Rugunda, who is a physician, became prime minister of Uganda in 2014. Among the issues Rugunda is dealing with is handling the influx of refugees from South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Somalia. Uganda has maintained an open-door policy for refugees fleeing civil strife and unrest.

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is among the world’s newest prime ministers, taking office on March 2. The new PM’s immediate challenge is addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. Politically, Yassin is battling opponents outside his party who claimed his government was illegitimate as well as opposition from within his own party.

Moses Nagamootoo has served as prime minister of the former British colony in South America since 2015. Nagamootoo, who has also been a writer, journalist, and lawyer, has been in politics for 59 years and is credited with bridging differences with competing factions.

Sheikh Hasina, one of the few women on the list of oldest leaders, was elected prime minister of Bangladesh in 2009 after having previously served from 1996 to 2001. She is the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a former Bangladeshi president who was an important figure in the nation’s separation from Pakistan in 1971. During Sheikh Hasina’s tenure, Bangladesh has provided shelter for Rohingya refugees fleeing genocide in Myanmar. Her government has also been accused of suppressing dissent and muzzling free speech.

Real estate mogul Donald Trump stunned the world by defeating Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential elections. Trump’s presidency has been marked by turmoil and divisiveness. The House of Representatives impeached Trump for charges of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power though the Senate did not convict him. Trump is dealing with one of the most serious crises in American history, the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. The COVID-19 pandemic is a threat not only to public health, but also to the U.S. economy.

Ralph Gonsalves became prime minister of the Caribbean nation in 2001 and has been PM longer than any other prime minister in the country’s history. Gonsalves has served three times as PM. In 2009, he backed a referendum led by his Unity Labour Party to abolish the nation’s constitutional monarchy of Queen Elizabeth II. That effort was defeated.

Keith Mitchell, who first became prime minister of Grenada in 1995, was re-elected as PM in 2013. Mitchell’s previous tenures as PM have been tumultuous. He made an official visit to Cuba in 1997 over objections from rival parties, and he signed an economic cooperation agreement with that country. In 2003, he became the target of corruption charges that were dismissed by a commission of inquiry in 2008.

Nicos Anastasiades was elected president of the Greek side of the Mediterranean island nation in 2013 with 57% of the vote as voters believed he could help Cyprus emerge from a financial crisis. Weeks after his election, Anastasiades and European leaders agreed to terms of a bailout. Anastasiades’ government was credited with preserving the nation’s financial system. He also entered into reunification talks with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 2015.

Hassanal Bolkiah assumed the throne of the Asian nation in 1968 and named himself prime minister in 1984. Known for his flamboyant and profligate lifestyle in his younger days, the monarch has been the target of harsh criticism for his belief that homosexuality is a crime that is punishable by death.

President Dési Bouterse plans to run for re-election in May, even after he was convicted in December of homicide for the alleged execution of coup plotters. Bouterse is challenging the charges while he deals with an economic crisis in his country that has intensified because of the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi, who’s been prime minister of the Pacific island nation since 1998, has a credential few other world leaders can claim. Malielegaoi won the silver medal in target archery at the South Pacific Games in 2007. Samoa, a country of about 200,000 people, was governed by New Zealand until it voted for independence in 1961.

Daniel Ortega, the leader of the Sandinista guerrillas in Nicaragua during the 1970s, has been president of the Central American nation since 2007. He was first elected to the presidency in 1984. Following his election in 2007, Ortega backed programs to address hunger and illiteracy in Nicaragua and strove to create more private-sector jobs. Ortega was criticized for imposing restrictions on media coverage as well as drawing closer with Venezuela’s socialist president Hugo Chavez.

Aung San Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for defying the military junta that controlled Myanmar for decades. Since becoming the nation’s de facto leader in 2016, she has moved against her opponents and lost the support of activists who backed her. On her watch, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims were forced to leave Myanmar following a military crackdown.

Isaias Afwerki, one of the leaders of the Eritrean independence movement, was elected president of the east African nation in 1993. That same year, Afwerki was elected chairman of the National Assembly, which gave him control over the government’s executive and legislative branches. He also serves as commander in chief of the nation’s armed forces. Afwerki has been criticized for being heavy handed throughout his tenure, canceling the presidential election in 1997 and suppressing the media.

Rodrigo Duterte is the outspoken and controversial president of the Philippines. Born into a politically active family, Duterte’s father was the governor of the province Davao. Duterte represented Davao City for decades — as a prosecutor, vice mayor, mayor, and representative. He made international news for his endorsement of killing squads to target drug dealers, which helped his bid for the presidency in 2016.

In 2011, Nguyễn Phú Trọng was elected as General Secretary of The Communist Party of Vietnam, the most powerful office in Vietnam. He also was elected president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam seven years later. Trọng has intensified Vietnam’s anti-corruption campaign against businessmen and political officials and jailed dissidents.

Nana Akufo-Addo became president of the African nation on the Atlantic Coast in 2017. He comes from a prominent Ghanian family that was involved in the nation’s quest for independence. Akufo-Addo held a variety of government positions– such as attorney general, minister of justice, and foreign minister — before becoming president. He ran twice for president before winning in 2017.

Emmerson Mnangagwa became president of Zimbabwe in 2017, after serving as vice president to Robert Mugabe. Mugabe, who had been the only leader Zimbabwe had known since gaining independence, resigned after 37 years in power. Mnangagwa took over the presidency in what seemed like a military coup, but both the military and Mugabe insisted it was not.

Mnangagwa is divisive in the country because he has been accused of plotting attacks on supporters of his political opponents.

Muhammadu Buhari was elected to his second four-year term in 2019. In his campaign, he promised to root out corruption, using a broom to symbolize his pledge to clean up Nigeria. As he is in his 70s, speculations about his health have dogged Buhari. He often receives health treatments outside the country, refusing to say why. Buhari even had to fend off a rumor that he died and was replaced by a body double.

Adil Abdul-Mahdi is the prime minister of Iraq, at least for now. Following months of violent protests that left nearly 400 dead, Abdul-Mahdi said he would resign his post. Protesters were upset with his government over economic hardship and allegations of corruption. Abdul-Mahdi still serves as prime minister because Iraq’s political factions have been unable to come to a consensus on his replacement.

Peter Mutharika was first elected president of Malawi in 2014, when he was in his mid-70s. Mutharika faced questions about the legitimacy of his re-election victory in 2019. In February, a court ruled that the vote should be annulled and ordered a new election within 150 days.

One of just five world leaders in their 80s, Tom Thabane is serving his second term as Lesotho’s prime minister. Thabane first served in the role from 2012 to 2015. He regained the position after his successor lost in preliminary elections. Thabane said he planned to retire in July 2020, but he is facing his own no-confidence vote that could remove him from office before then. Lesotho’s courts are also determining whether Thabane should be charged with murder after his then-estranged wife Lipolelo was shot dead in 2017. An arrest warrant was issued for his current wife Maesaiah after she did not appear for questioning and may have fled the country.

Bounnhang Vorachith is General Secretary Of The Communist Party of Laos, ascending to that position in January 2016 and in effect becoming leader of the Asian nation. That same year, he also became president. The Laotian leadership has been criticized for imposing constraints on society and repressing democratic principles.

Salman, king and prime minister of Saudi Arabia, arrested three senior Saudi princes, including his younger brother, in 2017 to head off an apparent coup. The action appeared to benefit Salman’s son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the nation’s de facto leader who is the likely successor to the throne. During the elder Salman’s reign, women in Saudi Arabia gained the right to vote.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa is the prime minister of Bahrain. He has held that post since 1971, the year the small nation on the Arabian peninsula became independent from Great Britain. The sheikh is reportedly not in good health, and the nation is weighing his possible successors, including Crown Prince Salman.

Paul Biya has served as president of the African nation since 1982. He won his seventh seven-year term in 2018. Biya has been criticized as an absentee chief executive who has spent extensive time overseas, and his time as president has been marked by charges of corruption and erosion of democratic institutions. About 60% of Cameroon residents were born after Biya became president.