Longest Serving Leader of Every Country

Technically Kangxi was emperor longer than the answer for China however the first 6 years of his "rule" was under 4 different regents meaning he didn't have power as long as the answer de facto did. | Same for Mohammad Zahir Shah of Afghanistan who ceded power to his uncles for the first 20 years of his rule meaning he was not the longest serving.
Georgia has 2 answers as there is someone who is widely seen as the De Facto ruler outside of the role of the Prime Minister.
Germany is not including East Germany
Micronesia and Uruguay have 2 that were in power for the exact same amount of time, either is accepted.
Quiz by
funnyliv
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Last updated: October 29, 2025
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First submittedMarch 11, 2025
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Country
Years
Total Years
Position(s)
Answer
Abkhazia
1990-2005
14.1
Chairman of the Supreme Soviet / Chairman of Parliament / President
Vladislav Ardzinba
Afghanistan
1826-1839 1843-1863
36
Amīr ul-Mu'minīn
Dost Mohammad Khan
Albania
1944-1985
40.5
First Secretary of the Communist Party / First Secretary of the Labor Party
Enver Hoxha
Algeria
1999-2019
19.9
President
Abdelaziz Bouteflika
Andorra
1643-1715
72
Co-Prince
Louis XIV
Angola
1979-2017
38
President
José Eduardo dos Santos
Antigua and Barbuda
1981-1994
12.4
Prime Minister
Vere Bird
Argentina
1831-1832 1835-1852
18
Governor / Supreme Chief
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Armenia
2018-Now
>7
Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinyan
Australia
1939-1941 1949-1966
18.4
Prime Minister
Robert Menzies
Austria
1970-1983
13
Chancellor
Bruno Kreisky
Azerbaijan
2003-Now
>21
President
Ilham Aliyev
Bahamas
1973-1992
19
Prime Minister
Lynden Pindling
Bahrain
1869-1923
54
Hakim / Sheikh
Isa bin Ali al-Khalifa
Bangladesh
1996-2001 2009-2024
20.6
Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina
Barbados
1994-2008
13.4
Prime Minister
Owen Arthur
Belarus
1994-Now
>30
President / Chairman
Aleksandr Lukashenko
Belgium
1865-1909
44
King
Leopold II
Belize
2008-2020
12.8
Prime Minister
Dean Barrow
Benin
1975-1991 1996-2006
25.4
President
Mathieu Kérékou
Bhutan
1972-2006
34
Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King)
Jigme Singye Wangchuck
Bolivia
2006-2019
13
President
Evo Morales
Bosnia and Herzegovina
2006-2014 2018-Now
>14
Member of the Presidency
Željko Komšić
Botswana
1980-1998
17.7
President
Quett Masire
Brazil
1831-1889
58
Emperor (Dom)
Pedro II
Brunei
1598-1659
61
Sultan
Abdul Jalil al-Akbar
Bulgaria
1887-1918
31.2
Prince / Tsar
Ferdinand I
Burkina Faso
1987-2014
27
President
Blaise Compaoré
Burundi
2005-2020
14.8
President
Pierre Nkurunziza
Cabo Verde
1975-1991
15.7
President
Aristides Pereira
Cambodia
1984-1993 1998-2023
33.2
Prime Minister
Hun Sen
Cameroon
1982-Now
>42
President
Paul Biya
Canada
1921-1930 1935-1948
21.4
Prime Minister
William Lyon Mackenzie King
Central African Republic
1966-1979
13.7
President / Emperor
Jean-Bédel Bokassa (Bokassa I)
Chad
1991-2021
30.4
President
Idriss Déby
Chile
1973-1990
16.5
President
Augusto Pinochet
China
1735-1799
63.3
Emperor / Taishang Huang
Qiánlóng Dì
Colombia
1819-1830
11.2
President
Simón Bolívar
Comoros
1999-2006 2016-Now
>15
Chief of Staff of the National Development Army / Head of State / President
Azali Assoumani
Democratic Republic of the Congo
1965-1997
31.4
President
Mobutu Sese Seko
Republic of the Congo
1979-1992 1997-Now
>41
President
Denis Sassou Nguesso
Costa Rica
1948-1949 1953-1958 1970-1974
10
President
José Figueres Ferrer
Côte d'Ivoire
1960-1993
33.1
President
Félix Houphouët-Boigny
Croatia
2016-Now
>8
Prime Minister
Andrej Plenković
Cuba
1961-2008
46.7
First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party / President of the Council / Prime Minister
Fidel Castro
Cyprus
1960-1977
16.6
President
Makarios III
Czech Republic
1993-1998
5
Prime Minister
Václav Klaus
Denmark
1588-1648
59.9
King
Christian IV
Djibouti
1999-Now
>25
President
Ismaïl Omar Guelleh
Dominica
2004-Now
>21
Prime Minister
Roosevelt Skerrit
Dominican Republic
1960-1962 1966-1978 1986-1996
23.6
President
Joaquín Balaguer
Ecuador
1934-1935 1944-1947 1952-1956 1960-1961 1968-1972
12.8
President
José María Velasco Ibarra
Egypt
1805-1848
43.2
Wāli / Pasha / Khedive
Muhammad Ali
El Salvador
1931-1944
11.9
Provisional President / President
Maximiliano Hernández Martínez
Equatorial Guinea
1979-Now
>45
President
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
Eritrea
1991-Now
>33
Secretary-General / President
Isaias Afwerki
Estonia
2005-2014
9
Prime Minister
Andrus Ansip
Eswatini
1986-Now
>38
iNgwenyama
Mswati III
Ethiopia
1930-1936 1941-1974
39
Negusa Nagast (Emperor)
Haile Selassie
Fiji
1970-1992
21
Prime Minister
Ratu Kamisese Mara
Finland
1972-1975 1977-1979 1982-1987
10
Prime Minister
Taisto Kalevi Sorsa
France
1643-1715
72
King / Count / Dauphin
Louis XIV
Gabon
1967-2009
41.5
President
Omar Bongo
Gambia
1970-1994
24.2
President
Dawda Jawara
Georgia
2013-2015 2021-2024 (2012-Now)
5 (>12)
Prime Minister / Chairman / Honorary Chairman / Oligarch
Irakli Garibashvili / Bidzina Ivanishvili (Possibly De Facto)
Germany
1871-1890
19
Imperial Chancellor
Otto von Bismarck
Ghana
1979-1979 1981-2001
19.3
Chairman of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council / Chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council / President
Jerry Rawlings
Greece
1955-1963 1974-1980
13.4
Prime Minister
Konstantinos Karamanlis
Grenada
1995-2008 2013-2022
22.4
Prime Minister
Keith Mitchell
Guatemala
1898-1920
22.2
President
Manuel Estrada Cabrera
Guinea
1958-1984
25.5
President
Ahmed Sékou Touré
Guinea-Bissau
1980-1999 2005-2009
21.9
Chairman of the Council of the Revolution / Chairman of the Council of State / President
João Bernardo Vieira
Guyana
1966-1985
19.2
Prime Minister / President
Forbes Burnham
Haiti
1818-1843
24.9
President
Jean-Pierre Boyer
Honduras
1924-1924 1933-1949
15.9
President
Tiburcio Carías Andino
Hungary
1956-1988
31.6
First Secretary of the Hungarian Working People's Party / First Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party / General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party
János József Kádár
Iceland
1991-2004
13.4
Prime Minister
Davíð Oddsson
India
1947-1964
16.8
Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru
Indonesia
1967-1998
31.2
President
Suharto
Iran
1527-1576
49
Shāh
Tahmâsb I
Iraq
1979-2003
23.7
President / Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council
Saddam Hussein
Ireland
1919-1922 1932-1948 1951-1954 1957-1959
24
President of Dáil Éireann / President of the Executive Council / President of the Irish Republic / Chairman of the Provisional Government / Taoiseach
Éamon de Valera
Israel
1996-1999 2009-Now
>17
Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu
Italy
1922-1943
20.7
Duce
Benito Mussolini
Jamaica
1992-2006
14
Prime Minister
P. J. Patterson
Japan
1787-1837
50.1
Seii Taishougun
Tokugawa Ienari
Jordan
1952-1999
46.5
King
Hussein I
Kazakhstan
1990-2019
28.9
President
Nūrsūltan Nazarbaev
Kenya
1978-2002
24.4
President
Daniel arap Moi
Kiribati
2003-2016
12.7
President
Anote Tong
Kosovo
2008-2014
6.9
Prime Minister
Hashim Thaçi
Kuwait
1977-1990 1991-2006
27.4
Emir / Sheikh
Jābir al-Ahmad al-Jābir as-Sabāh
Kyrgyzstan
1990-2005
14.4
President
Askar Akayev
Laos
1955-1992
37.7
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Party / General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party / Chairman of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party / President / Prime Minister
Kraisorn Brahmavihara
Latvia
1918-1921 1925-1926 1931-1931 1934-1940
9.9
Prime Minister
Kārlis Ulmanis
Lebanon
1955-1956 1958-1970 1975-1976 1984-1987
13.3
Prime Minister
Rashid Karami
Lesotho
1966-1986
19.3
Prime Minister / Chief
Joseph Leabua Jonathan
Liberia
1944-1971
27.6
President
William Tubman
Libya
1969-2011
42
Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council / Secretary General of the General People's Congress / Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution
Mu'ammar Qaḏḏāfī
Liechtenstein
1858-1929
70.2
Prince / Duke / Count
Johann II
Lithuania
1999-2000 2008-2012
5
Prime Minister
Andrius Kubilius
Luxembourg
1888-1915
27.1
President of the Government / Minister of State
Paul Eyschen
Madagascar
1975-1993 1997-2002
23.2
President
Didier Ratsiraka
Malawi
1966-1994
27.9
President
Hastings Banda
Malaysia
1981-2003 2018-2020
24.1
Prime Minister
Mahathir bin Mohamad
Maldives
1978-2008
30
President
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom
Mali
1968-1991
22.3
President
Moussa Traoré
Malta
1987-1996 1998-2004
15
Prime Minister
Eddie Fenech Adami
Marshall Islands
1979-1996
17.1
President / Iroijlaplap
Amata Kabua
Mauritania
1984-2005
20.6
President
Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed al-Taya
Mauritius
1968-1982
14.3
Prime Minister
Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
Mexico
1876-1880 1884-1911
30.3
President
Porfirio Díaz
Micronesia
1979-1987 and 2007-2015
8
President
Tosiwo Nakayama / Manny Mori
Moldova
2001-2008
7
Prime Minister
Vasile Tarlev
Monaco
1949-2005
56
Prince
Rainier III
Mongolia
1952-1984
32
First Secretary of the Central Committee / Chairman of the Council of Ministers / General Secretary of the Central Committee / Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Great Khural
Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal
Montenegro
2006-2006 2008-2010 2012-2016
7.3
Prime Minister
Milo Đukanović
Morocco
1961-1999
38.4
King
Hassan II bin Muhammad
Mozambique
1986-2005
18.2
President
Joaquim Chissano
Myanmar
1962-1988
26.1
Chairman of the Union Revolutionary Council / Prime Minister / President / Chairman of the Burma Socialist Programme Party
Ne Win
Namibia
1990-2005
15
President
Sam Nujoma
Nauru
1968-1976 1978-1989
19.8
President
Hammer DeRoburt
Nepal
1846-1856 1857-1877
29.5
Prime Minister / Maharaja / Supreme Commander-in-Chief
Jung Bahadur Rana
Netherlands
1815-1840
25.6
King
Willem I
Nicaragua
1979-1990 2007-Now
>28
Coordinator of the Junta of National Reconstruction / President / Co-president
Daniel Ortega
Niger
1974-1987
13.6
President / General
Seyni Kountché
Nigeria
1976-1979 1999-2007
11.6
Head of State / President / Chief
Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́
North Korea
1945-1946 1948-1994
46.7
Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Korea / First Secretary of the North Korean Branch Bureau of the Communist Party of Korea / First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of North Korea / Chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea / General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea / Chairman of the National Defence Commission of the Central People's Committee / Chairman of the National Defence Commission
Kim Il-Sung
North Macedonia
2006-2016
9.4
Prime Minister
Nikola Gruevski
Northern Cyprus
1975-2005
30.2
President
Rauf Denktaş
Norway
872-930 or 1219-1263
58 or 44
King
Haraldr Hárfagri / Hákon IV Hákonarson
Oman
1804-1856
52
Imam / Sultan / Sayyid
Saʿīd bin Sulṭān al-Busaidi
Pakistan
1958-1969
10.4
Chief Martial Law Administrator / President
Mohammad Ayub Khan
Palau
2001-2009 2013-2021
16
President
Thomas Remengesau Jr.
Palestine
1969-2004
>20
Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization / Acting President / President
Mahmoud Abbas
Panama
1968-1981
12.8
Maximum Leader of the Panamanian Revolution
Omar Torrijos
Papua New Guinea
1975-1980 1982-1985 2002-2010 2011-2011
16.3
Prime Minister
Michael Somare
Paraguay
1954-1989
35.5
President
Alfredo Stroessner
Peru
1908-1912 1919-1930
15.2
President / Provisional President
Augusto B. Leguía
Philippines
1965-1986
20.2
President
Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
Poland
1386-1434
48.3
King
Władysław II Jagiełło
Portugal
1385-1433
48.4
King / Lord
João I
Qatar
1972-1995
23.4
Emir / Sheikh
Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani
Romania
1965-1989
24.8
General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party / President / President of the State Council
Nicolae Ceaușescu
Russia
1533-1584
50.3
Grand Prince / Tsar
Ivan IV Vasilyevich
Rwanda
1994-Now
>30
Vice President / Minister of Defense / President
Paul Kagame
Saint Kitts and Nevis
1995-2015
19.6
Prime Minister
Denzil Douglas
Saint Lucia
1979-1979 1982-1996 2006-2007
15
Prime Minister
John Compton
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
2001-Now
>24
Prime Minister
Ralph Gonsalves
Samoa
1998-2021
22.5
Prime Minister
Tuilaʻepa Lupesoliai Neioti Aiono Saʻilele Malielegaoi
San Marino
1860-1908
48
Secretary for Foreign Affairs
Domenico Fattori
São Tomé and Príncipe
1975-1991 2011-2016
20.6
President
Manuel Pinto da Costa
Saudi Arabia
1902-1953
51.9
Imam / Emir / Sultan / King
Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman al-Saud
Senegal
1960-1980
20.3
President
Léopold Sédar Senghor
Serbia
2017-Now
>9.8
Prime Minister / President (De Facto Executive)
Aleksandar Vučić
Seychelles
1977-2004
27.1
Prime Minister
France-Albert René
Sierra Leone
1971-1985
14.6
President
Siaka Stevens
Singapore
1959-1990
31.5
Prime Minister
Lee Kuan Yew
Slovakia
2006-2010 2012-2018 2023-Now
>11
Prime Minister
Robert Fico
Slovenia
1992-2002
10.1
Prime Minister
Janez Drnovšek
Solomon Islands
2000-2001 2006-2007 2014-2017 2019-2024
11.1
Prime Minister
Manasseh Sogavare
Somalia
1969-1991
21.3
Chairman of the Supreme Revolutionary Council / President / General Secretary of the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party
Maxamed Siyaad Barre
South Africa
1966-1978
12.1
Prime Minister
Balthazar Vorster
South Korea
1961-1979
18.2
Chairman of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction / Acting President / President
Park Chung Hee
South Ossetia
2001-2011
10
President
Kokojty Ĝabejy fyrt Eduard
South Sudan
2011-Now
>13
President
Salva Kiir Mayardit
Spain
1621-1665
44.5
King / Count / Duke / Prince
Philip IV
Sri Lanka
1960-1965 1970-1977
11.8
Prime Minister
Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Sudan
1989-2019
29.8
Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation / President
Omar al-Bashir
Suriname
1991-1996 2000-2010
15
President
Ronald Venetiaan
Sweden
1319-1364
44.6
King
Magnus Eriksson
Switzerland
1863-1895
31.6
President / Member of the Swiss Federal Council
Karl Schenk
Syria
1971-2000
29.2
President
Hafez al-Assad
Taiwan
1948-1949 1950-1975
25.8
President
Chiang Kai-shek
Tajikistan
1992-Now
>31
Chairman of the Supreme Assembly / President
Emomali Rahmon
Tanzania
1962-1985
22.9
President
Julius Nyerere
Thailand
1868-1910
42.1
King
Chulalongkon (Rama V)
Timor-Leste
2007-2015 2023-Now
>9
Prime Minister
Xanana Gusmão
Togo
1967-2005
37.8
President
Gnassingbé Eyadéma
Tonga
1970-2006
36.3
Tupoutoʻa / King
Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV
Transnistria
1990-2011
20.1
Chairman of the Provisional Supreme Soviet / Chairman of the Republic / President
Igor Smirnov
Trinidad and Tobago
1962-1981
18.6
Prime Minister
Eric Williams
Tunisia
1956-1987
31.6
Prime Minister / Interim President / President
Habib Bourguiba
Türkiye
1520-1566
45.9
Sultan / Padishah / Caliph / 'Amīr al-Mu'minīn
Süleyman-ı Evvel
Turkmenistan
2006-2022 2023-Now
>17
Acting President / President / Chairman of the People's Council / National Leader of the Turkmen People
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow
Tuvalu
1981-1989
8.1
Prime Minister
Tomasi Puapua
Uganda
1986-Now
>39
President
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
Ukraine
1994-2005
10.5
President
Leonid Kuchma
United Arab Emirates
1971-2004
32.9
President
Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan
United Kingdom
1721-1742
20.9
First Lord of the Treasury / Chancellor of the Exchequer / Leader of the House of Commons / Earl
Robert Walpole
United States
1933-1945
12.1
President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Uruguay
1985-1990 1995-2000 and 2005-2010 2015-2020
10
President
Tabaré Vázquez / Julio María Sanguinetti
Uzbekistan
1990-2016
26.4
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan / President
Islam Karimov
Vanuatu
1980-1991
11.1
Prime Minister
Walter Lin̄i
Vatican City
1978-2005
26.5
Pope
John Paul II
Venezuela
1908-1935
27
De Facto Military Ruler / President
Juan Vicente Gómez
Vietnam
1945-1969
24
Chairman of Provisional Revolutionary Government of Democratic Republic of Vietnam / President of Provisional Coalition Government of Democratic Republic of Vietnam / President of United Resistance Government of Democratic Republic of Vietnam / Chairman of United National Government of Democratic Republic of Vietnam / Chairman of the Workers' Party of Vietnam Central Committee / First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Vietnam Central Committee / President
Hồ Chí Minh
Western Sahara
1976-2016
39.8
Secretary General / President
Mohamed Abdelaziz
Yemen
1978-2012
33.6
President
'Ali 'Abdullah Salih
Zambia
1964-1991
27
President
Kenneth Kaunda
Zimbabwe
1980-2017
37.6
Prime Minister / President
Robert Mugabe
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6 Comments
+1
Level 61
Mar 11, 2025
Fun! Thank you. What a massive quiz. Just one gripe - could you perhaps allow Gaddafi for Libya - as that's the normal spelling in English?
+2
Level 63
Mar 12, 2025
oh whoops I thought I already had that allowed, thank you !
+1
Level 70
Mar 12, 2025
Håkon IV was king of Norway 46 years.
+1
Level 63
Mar 13, 2025
I generally excluded leaders of countries that weren't sovereign for a long period of time before their current iteration so I excluded him because of Denmark-Norway but since it was a union I think it makes sense to still allow Hakon. I had thought Norway was more of a puppet state during the union but it seems like that wasn't the case according to more recent research, thank you ! I'm also going to accept Haraldr along with him since it's not known exactly how long he ruled.
+1
Level 79
May 7, 2025
For Park Chung-hee it should be til 1979
+1
Level 63
May 7, 2025
fixed, ty