This list of current longest-ruling non-royal national leaders is a list of the current living longest-ruling heads of nation-states or national governments, excluding royalty, who have served ten years or longer, sorted by length of tenure. Heads of generally recognized sovereign states are ranked by number, while heads of sovereign states with limited international recognition are listed in italics and are not given a numbered rank.
The individuals on the list are not always the most powerful figure in their country's national government. Some are or have been at one time the most powerful figures in their country's national government but not necessarily continuously throughout the listed timespan. Some of them have held more than one national leadership-level office: presidency, prime minister-ship, or some other title implying or widely believed to confer national leadership. When more than one such office exists in a country, there may be uncertainty as to which member of the national government actually has the ultimate power. Therefore, this list combines all national level offices held concurrently or consecutively by each individual leader.
Rank | Image | Name | Age | Country | Office | Tenure began | Length of tenure |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
Paul Biya | 91 | ![]() |
Prime Minister, then President [a] | 30 June 1975 | 49 years, 4 days |
2 | ![]() |
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo | 82 | ![]() |
President [b] | 3 August 1979 | 44 years, 336 days |
3 | ![]() |
Ali Khamenei | 85 | ![]() |
President, then Supreme Leader [c] |
13 October 1981 | 42 years, 265 days |
4 | ![]() |
Denis Sassou Nguesso | 80 | ![]() |
President [d] | 8 February 1979 – 31 August 1992 (1st time) 25 October 1997 – present (2nd time) |
40 years, 92 days |
5 | ![]() |
Yoweri Museveni | 79 | ![]() |
President | 26 January 1986 | 38 years, 160 days |
6 | ![]() |
Emomali Rahmon | 71 | ![]() |
De facto Head of State, then President [e] |
19 November 1992 | 31 years, 228 days |
7 | Isaias Afwerki | 78 | ![]() |
President [f] | 24 May 1993 | 31 years, 41 days | |
8 | ![]() |
Alexander Lukashenko | 69 | ![]() |
President [g] | 20 July 1994 | 29 years, 350 days |
9 | ![]() |
Daniel Ortega | 78 | ![]() |
Acting Head of State, then President [h] |
4 March 1981 – 25 April 1990 (1st time) 10 January 2007 – present (2nd time) |
26 years, 228 days |
10 | ![]() |
Ismaïl Omar Guelleh | 76 | ![]() |
President | 8 May 1999 | 25 years, 57 days |
11 | ![]() |
Vladimir Putin | 71 | ![]() |
Prime Minister, then President [i] | 9 August 1999 – 7 May 2000 (1st term as Prime Minister) 8 May 2000 – 7 May 2008 (1st & 2nd terms as president) 8 May 2008 – 7 May 2012 (2nd term as Prime Minister) 7 May 2012 – present (3rd & 4th terms as president) |
24 years, 330 days |
12 | ![]() |
Paul Kagame | 66 | ![]() |
President | 22 April 2000 | 24 years, 73 days |
13 | ![]() |
Hage Geingob | 82 | ![]() |
Prime Minister, then President [j] | 21 March 1990 – 28 August 2002 (1st time) 4 December 2012 – present (2nd time) |
24 years, 7 days |
14 | ![]() |
Bashar al-Assad | 58 | ![]() |
President | 17 July 2000 | 23 years, 353 days |
15 | ![]() |
Ralph Gonsalves | 77 | ![]() the Grenadines |
Prime Minister | 29 March 2001 | 23 years, 97 days |
16 | ![]() |
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan | 70 | ![]() |
Prime Minister, then President [k] | 14 March 2003 | 21 years, 112 days |
17 | ![]() |
Ilham Aliyev | 62 | ![]() |
Prime Minister, then President [l] | 4 August 2003 | 20 years, 335 days |
18 | ![]() |
Shavkat Mirziyoyev | 66 | ![]() |
Prime Minister, then President [m] | 12 December 2003 | 20 years, 205 days |
19 | ![]() |
Sheikh Hasina | 76 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | 23 June 1996 – 15 July 2001 (1st time) 6 January 2009 – present (2nd time) |
20 years, 202 days |
20 | ![]() |
Roosevelt Skerrit | 52 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | 8 January 2004 | 20 years, 178 days |
– | ![]() |
Mahmoud Abbas | 88 | ![]() |
Prime Minister, then President [n] | 19 March 2003 – 6 September 2003 (1st time) 15 January 2005 – present (2nd time) |
19 years, 342 days |
21 | Lee Hsien Loong | 72 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | 12 August 2004 | 19 years, 327 days | |
22 | ![]() |
Faure Gnassingbé | 58 | ![]() |
President [o] | 5 February 2005 – 25 February 2005 (1st time) 4 May 2005 – present (2nd time) |
19 years, 81 days |
23 | ![]() |
Viktor Orbán | 61 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | 6 July 1998 – 27 May 2002 (1st time) 29 May 2010 – present (2nd time) |
17 years, 362 days |
24 | ![]() |
Alassane Ouattara | 82 | ![]() |
Prime Minister, then President [p] | 7 November 1990 – 9 December 1993 (1st time) 4 December 2010 – present (2nd time) |
16 years, 245 days |
25 | ![]() |
Macky Sall | 62 | ![]() |
Prime Minister, then President [q] | 21 April 2004 – 19 June 2007 (1st time) 2 April 2012 – present (2nd time) |
15 years, 153 days |
26 | ![]() |
Azali Assoumani | 65 | ![]() |
President [r] | 30 April 1999 – 21 January 2002 (1st time) 6 May 2002 – 26 May 2006 (2nd time) 26 May 2016 – present (3rd time) |
14 years, 326 days |
27 | ![]() |
Mark Rutte | 57 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | 14 October 2010 | 13 years, 264 days |
28 | ![]() |
Nguyễn Phú Trọng | 80 | ![]() |
General Secretary, formerly also President [s] |
19 January 2011 | 13 years, 167 days |
29 | ![]() |
Faustin-Archange Touadéra | 67 | ![]() |
Prime Minister, then President [t] | 22 January 2008 – 17 January 2013 (1st time) 30 March 2016 – present (2nd time) |
13 years, 92 days |
30 | ![]() |
Salva Kiir Mayardit | 72 | ![]() |
President [u] | 9 July 2011 | 12 years, 361 days |
31 | ![]() |
Michael D. Higgins | 83 | ![]() |
President | 11 November 2011 | 12 years, 236 days |
32 | ![]() |
Kim Jong-un | 41 | ![]() |
Supreme Leader [v] | 17 December 2011 | 12 years, 200 days |
33 | ![]() |
Alain Berset | 52 | ![]() |
President, formerly Federal Council Member [w] |
1 January 2012 | 12 years, 185 days |
34 | ![]() |
Sauli Niinistö | 75 | ![]() |
President | 1 March 2012 | 12 years, 125 days |
35 | ![]() |
Xi Jinping | 71 | ![]() |
General Secretary, then President [x] |
15 November 2012 | 11 years, 232 days |
36 | ![]() |
Nicolás Maduro | 61 | ![]() |
President [y] | 5 March 2013 | 11 years, 121 days |
37 | ![]() |
Pope Francis | 87 | ![]() |
Sovereign | 13 March 2013 | 11 years, 113 days |
38 | ![]() |
Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed | 72 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | 1 April 2013 | 11 years, 94 days |
39 | ![]() |
Edi Rama | 60 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | 15 September 2013 | 10 years, 293 days |
40 | ![]() |
Kokhir Rasulzoda | 65 | ![]() |
Prime Minister | 23 November 2013 | 10 years, 224 days |