This is a list of current state leaders ordered by their continuous tenure in a position of national leadership. For countries in which the head of state and head of government are separate, both offices are listed. For leaders who held the same office prior to their state's independence, the start of their tenure is used, not independence. For a list of heads of state taking dates of independence into account, see List of heads of state by diplomatic precedence.
Acting presidents are included in this list, but if a leader has non-consecutive terms, only the current period of service is listed.
States where head of state differs from head of government are mainly parliamentary systems. Often a leader holds both positions in presidential systems or dictatorships. Some states have semi-presidential systems where the head of government role is fulfilled by both the listed head of government and the head of state.
Acting Prime Minister: 9 August 1999 – 16 August 1999 Prime Minister: 16 August 1999 – 7 May 2000 Acting President: 31 December 1999 – 7 May 2000 President: 7 May 2000 – 7 May 2008 Prime Minister: 8 May 2008 – 7 May 2012 President: 7 May 2012 – present
^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 / Republic of the Congo from 8 February 1979 – 31 August 1992. Sassou Nguesso was the de facto head of state of the Republic of the Congo as a militia leader from 15 October 1997 – 25 October 1997.
^Daniel Ortega was a member (and during 4 March 1981 – 10 January 1985 the Coordinator) of the Junta of National Reconstruction of Nicaragua 18 July 1979 – 10 January 1985; he was President of Nicaragua from 10 January 1985 – 25 April 1990.
^Prime Minister Trudeau is the son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.
^ abcdefgThe Swiss Federal Council is a collective seven-member Head of State. The President of Switzerland serves solely in a primus inter pares capacity for one year.
^Andrew Holness was Prime Minister of Jamaica from 23 October 2011 – 5 January 2012.
^Azali Assoumani was Chief of Staff of the National Development Army (de facto leader of the Comoros) from 30 April 1999 – 6 May 1999, Head of State of the Comoros from 6 May 1999 – 21 January 2002, then the elected President from 6 May 2002 – 26 May 2006.
^Afioga Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II was Acting O le Ao o le Malo from 11 May 2007 – 20 June 2007.
^When Barbados had a monarch as head of state, the Governor-General of Barbados represented Elizabeth II, who was Queen of the country. Sandra Mason was Acting Governor-General of Barbados from 30 May 2012 – 1 June 2012.
^Julius Maada Bio was 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 Cuba was styled as President of the Council of State from 2 December 1976 – 10 October 2019, then as President of the Republic 10 October 2019 – present.
^The office of Head of Government of Cuba was styled as President of the Council of Ministers from 2 December 1976 – 21 December 2019, then as Prime Minister from 21 December 2019 – present.
^Željko Komšić was a Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 6 November 2006 – 17 November 2014, and served as the Chairman of the Presidency from 6 July 2007 – 6 March 2008, 6 July 2009 – 6 March 2010, 10 July 2011 – 10 March 2012, and 10 July 2013 – 10 March 2014.
^ abcIn Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Presidency is a Tripartite council, with the Chairman of the Presidency rotating every eight months.
^Robert Abela is the son of former president George Abela.
^Bouchraya Hammoudi Bayoun was Prime Minister of the Sahrawi Republic from 19 September 1993 – 8 September 1995 and 10 February 1999 – 29 October 2003.
^Andrey Belousov was acting as Prime Minister for Mikhail Mishustin from 30 April 2020 – 19 May 2020.
^As part of a ceasefire agreement, the office of Head of State of Libya consists of a Tripartite presidential council.
^The office of Prime Minister of Libya has been in dispute between Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh and Fathi Bashagha/Osama Hamada, the interim prime minister of the Government of National Stability supported by the Tobruk-based House of Representatives, since 3 March 2022.
^Albin Kurti was Prime Minister of Kosovo from 3 February 2020 – 3 June 2020.
^The office of Head of State of Yemen has been in dispute between Rashad Al-Alimi and the Leader of the Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, since 7 April 2022.
^Yoon Suk Yeol has been suspended from the office of President of South Korea from 14 December 2024 – present.
^Han Duck Soo was Acting Prime Minister of South Korea from 14 March 2006 – 19 April 2006, and Prime Minister of South Korea from 2 April 2007 – 29 February 2008. Han has been suspended from the offices of Prime Minister of South Korea and Acting President of South Korea from 27 December 2024 – present.
^Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was President of Somalia from 16 September 2012 – 16 February 2017.
^Hadi al-Bahra was President of the Syrian National Coalition from 9 July 2014 – 4 January 2015.
^Charlot Salwai was Prime Minister of Vanuatu from 11 February 2016 – 20 April 2020.
^Robert Fico was Prime Minister of Slovakia from 4 July 2006 – 8 July 2010 and 4 April 2012 – 22 March 2018.
^David Adeang is the son of former president Kennan Adeang.
^Donald Tusk was Prime Minister of Poland from 16 November 2007 – 22 September 2014.
^Andry Rajoelina was Head of State of Madagascar (as President of the High Transitional Authority) from 17 March 2009 – 25 January 2014, then the elected President from 19 January 2019 – 9 September 2023.
^Tshering Tobgay was Prime Minister of Bhutan from 27 July 2013 – 9 August 2018.
^The office of Prime Minister of Yemen has been in dispute since 10 August 2024 with Ahmad al-Rahawi, prime minister of the Supreme Political Council government.
^Shehbaz Sharif is the brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
^Shehbaz Sharif was Prime Minister of Pakistan from 11 April 2022 – 13 August 2023.
^Asif Ali Zardari is the widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
^Asif Ali Zardari was President of Pakistan from 9 September 2008 – 9 September 2013.
^Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah is the fifth son of Sheikh Abdullah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, and the grandson of Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the tenth Emir of Kuwait.
^Lai Ching-te was Premier of Taiwan from 8 September 2017 – 14 January 2019.
