List of current longest ruling non-royal leaders

This list of current longest ruling non-royal national leaders is a list of the 50 current longest ruling heads of nation-states or national governments, who are not royalty

Royal family

A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...

, sorted by length of tenure.

The individuals on the list were not necessarily the most powerful figure in their country's national government throughout the listed timespan. Some of them have held more than one national leadership level office: presidency, prime ministership, 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 greatest power. This list combines all national leader level offices held concurrently or consecutively by each individual.

Rank	Name	Country	Office	Tenure Began
1.	Paul Biya Paul Biya Paul Biya is a Cameroonian politician who has been the President of Cameroon since 6 November 1982. A native of Cameroon's south, Biya rose rapidly as a bureaucrat under President Ahmadou Ahidjo in the 1960s, serving as Secretary-General of the Presidency from 1968 to 1975 and then as Prime...	Cameroon	Prime Minister, then President	30 June 1975
2.	Mohamed Abdelaziz Mohamed Abdelaziz Mohamed Abdelaziz is the 3rd and current Secretary General of the Polisario Front and President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic since 1976...	Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic	President and General Secretary	30 August 1976
3.	Ali Abdullah Saleh Ali Abdullah Saleh Field Marshal Ali Abdullah Saleh is the first President of the Republic of Yemen. Saleh previously served as President of the Yemen Arab Republic from 1978 until 1990, at which time he assumed the office of chairman of the Presidential Council of a post-unification Yemen. He is the...	Yemen Arab Republic/ Yemen	President	18 July 1978
4.	Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is an Equatoguinean politician who has been President of Equatorial Guinea since 1979. He ousted his uncle, Francisco Macías Nguema, in an August 1979 military coup and has overseen Equatorial Guinea's emergence as an important oil producer, beginning in the 1990s...	Equatorial Guinea	President	3 August 1979
5.	José Eduardo dos Santos José Eduardo dos Santos José Eduardo dos Santos is an Angolan politician who has been the second and current President of Angola since 1979. As President, José Eduardo dos Santos is also the commander in chief of the Angolan Armed Forces and president of the MPLA , the party that has been ruling Angola since...	Angola	President	10 September 1979
6.	Robert Mugabe Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...	Zimbabwe	Prime Minister, then President	18 April 1980
7.	Ali Khamenei Ali Khamenei Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hoseyni Khāmene’i is the Supreme Leader of Iran and the figurative head of the Muslim conservative establishment in Iran and Twelver Shi'a marja...	Iran	President, then Supreme Leader	13 October 1981
8.	Hun Sen Hun Sen Hun Sen is the current Prime Minister of Cambodia.He has been the sole leader of the Cambodian People's Party , which has governed Cambodia since the Vietnamese-backed overthrow of the Khmer Rouge in 1979...	/ Cambodia	Prime Minister	14 January 1985
9.	Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Museveni Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is a Ugandan politician and statesman. He has been President of Uganda since 26 January 1986.Museveni was involved in the war that deposed Idi Amin Dada, ending his rule in 1979, and in the rebellion that subsequently led to the demise of the Milton Obote regime in 1985...	Uganda	President	26 January 1986
10.	Blaise Compaoré Blaise Compaoré Blaise Compaoré has been the President of Burkina Faso since 1987 following a coup d'état that ousted then-President Thomas Sankara. In 2011, a mutiny by soldiers over unpaid housing allowances forced him to flee the capital for his hometown...	Burkina Faso	President	15 October 1987
11.	Nursultan Nazarbayev Nursultan Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev has served as the President of Kazakhstan since the nation received its independence in 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union...	Kazakhstan	First Secretary, then President	22 June 1989
12.	Islam Karimov	Uzbekistan	First Secretary, then President	23 June 1989
13.	Omar al-Bashir Omar al-Bashir Lieutenant General Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir is the current President of Sudan and the head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister...	Sudan	President	30 June 1989
14.	Idriss Déby Idriss Déby General Idriss Déby Itno is the President of Chad and the head of the Patriotic Salvation Movement. Déby is of the Bidyat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group. He added "Itno" to his surname in January 2006.-Rise to power:...	Chad	President	2 December 1990
15.	Meles Zenawi Meles Zenawi Meles Zenawi Asres is the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. Since 1985, he has been chairman of the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front , and is currently head of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front .Meles was born in Adwa, Tigray in Northern Ethiopia, to an Ethiopian father from...	Ethiopia	Interim President, then Prime Minister	28 May 1991
16.	Emomalii Rahmon	Tajikistan	President	19 November 1992
17.	Isaias Afewerki Isaias Afewerki Isaias Afewerki is the first and current President of Eritrea, attaining that status when he led the Eritrean People's Liberation Front to victory in May 1991, thus ending the 30-year old armed liberation struggle that the Eritrean people refer to as "Gedli".-Early life and rise to power:Afewerki...	Eritrea	President	24 May 1993
18.	Kim Jong-il Kim Jong-il Kim Jong-il, also written as Kim Jong Il, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim born 16 February 1941 or 16 February 1942 , is the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea...	North Korea	Supreme Leader	8 July 1994
19.	Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has been serving as the President of Belarus since 20 July 1994. Before his career as a politician, Lukashenko worked as director of a state-owned agricultural farm. Under Lukashenko's rule, Belarus has come to be viewed as a state whose conduct is out of line...	Belarus	President	20 July 1994
20.	Yahya Jammeh Yahya Jammeh Alhaji Dr. Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh is the President of The Gambia...	The Gambia	President	22 July 1994
21.	Jean-Claude Juncker Jean-Claude Juncker Jean-Claude Juncker is a Luxembourg politician, 23rd and current Prime Minister of Luxembourg, since 20 January 1995. He is the longest standing head of government of any European Union state...	Luxembourg	Prime Minister	20 January 1995
22.	Denzil Douglas Denzil Douglas Denzil Llewellyn Douglas has been Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis since July 1995. He leads the Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party. He is the longest serving Prime Minister Saint Kitts and Nevis has ever had....	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Prime Minister	7 July 1995
23.	Ólafur Ragnar Grimsson Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson is the fifth and current President of Iceland. He has served as President since 1996; he was unopposed in 2000, re-elected for a third term in 2004, and re-elected unopposed for a fourth term in 2008. He is the longest-serving left-wing president in the history of...	Iceland	President	1 August 1996
24.	Denis Sassou Nguesso Denis Sassou Nguesso Denis Sassou Nguesso is a Congolese politician who has been the President of Congo-Brazzaville since 1997; he was previously President from 1979 to 1992. During his first period as President, he headed the single-party regime of the Congolese Labour Party for 12 years...	Republic of the Congo	President	15 October 1997
25.	Pakalitha Mosisili Pakalitha Mosisili Bethuel Pakalitha Mosisili has been the Prime Minister of Lesotho since May 29, 1998. He led his party, the Lesotho Congress for Democracy , to a near-total victory in the 1998 election, and under his leadership the party also won majorities in the 2002 and 2007 elections...	Lesotho	Prime Minister	29 May 1998
26.	Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi is a Samoan politician who has been Prime Minister of Samoa since 1998.-Biography:Born at Lepa, Samoa, Malielegaoi is an economist by profession...	Samoa	Prime Minister	23 November 1998
27.	Hugo Chávez Frías	Venezuela	President	2 February 1999
28.	Abdelaziz Bouteflika Abdelaziz Bouteflika Abdelaziz Bouteflika is the ninth President of Algeria. He has been in office since 1999. He continued emergency rule until 24 February 2011, and presided over the end of the bloody Algerian Civil War in 2002...	Algeria	President	27 April 1999
29.	Ismail Omar Guelleh Ismail Omar Guelleh Ismaïl Omar Guelleh is the President of Djibouti. He succeeded his uncle, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, in 1999. He is often referred to in the region by his initials 'IOG'....	Djibouti	President	8 May 1999
30.	Vladimir Putin Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...	Russia	Prime Minister, then President Currently Prime Minister	9 August 1999
31.	Bharrat Jagdeo Bharrat Jagdeo Bharrat Jagdeo is a Guyanese politician who has been President of Guyana since 11 August 1999. Prior to his presidency he was Minister of Finance and became President after Janet Jagan resigned for health reasons; subsequently he won two elections, in 2001 and 2006.Jagdeo was born in Unity Village...	Guyana	President	9 August 1999
32.	Sam Hinds Sam Hinds Samuel Archibald Anthony Hinds is a Guyanese politician who has been Prime Minister of Guyana almost continuously since 1992...	Guyana	Prime Minister	11 August 1999
33.	Oqil Oqilov	Tajikistan	Prime Minister	20 December 1999
34.	Tarja Halonen Tarja Halonen Tarja Kaarina Halonen is the incumbent President of Finland. The first female to hold the office, Halonen had previously been a member of the parliament from 1979 to 2000 when she resigned after her election to the presidency...	Finland	President	1 March 2000
35.	Paul Kagame Paul Kagame Paul Kagame is the sixth and current President of the Republic of Rwanda. He rose to prominence as the leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Front , whose victory over the incumbent government in July 1994 effectively ended the Rwandan genocide...	Rwanda	President	24 March 2000
36.	Abdoulaye Wade Abdoulaye Wade Abdoulaye Wade is the third and current President of Senegal, in office since 2000. He is also the Secretary-General of the Senegalese Democratic Party and has led the party since it was founded in 1974...	Senegal	President	1 April 2000
37.	Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad is the President of Syria and Regional Secretary of the Ba'ath Party. His father Hafez al-Assad ruled Syria for 29 years until his death in 2000. Al-Assad was elected in 2000, re-elected in 2007, unopposed each time.- Early Life :...	Syria	President	17 July 2000
38.	Joseph Kabila Joseph Kabila Joseph Kabila Kabange is a Congolese politician who has been President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since January 2001. He took office ten days after the assassination of his father, President Laurent-Désiré Kabila...		President	17 January 2001
39.	José Maria Neves José Maria Neves José Maria Pereira Neves on the island of Santiago , is the Prime Minister of Cape Verde.“José Maria Neves became interested in the politics and government of Cape Verde as a teen-ager.” “He was the leader of a nationalist youth organization during the country’s transition from Portuguese rule to...	Cape Verde	Prime Minister	1 February 2001
40.	Dileita Mohamed Dileita Dileita Mohamed Dileita Dileita Mohamed Dileita has been the Prime Minister of Djibouti since March 2001. He is the Vice-President of the main governing party, the People's Rally for Progress , and is the President of the governing coalition, the Union for a Presidential Majority .-Biography:Dileita was born in Tadjoura...	Djibouti	Prime Minister	4 March 2001
41.	Ralph Gonsalves Ralph Gonsalves Ralph Everard Gonsalves , also known as "Comrade Ralph", is the fourth and current Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and leader of the Unity Labour Party . Gonsalves became Prime Minister after his party won a majority government in the 2001 general election...	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Prime Minister	29 March 2001
42.	Girma Wolde-Giorgis Girma Wolde-Giorgis Girma Wolde-Giorgis is the current President of Ethiopia.- Political career :He was elected President on 8 October 2001, as a relative unknown and a surprise choice, by a unanimous vote of the Ethiopian Parliament. The Ethiopian presidency is largely a symbolic office with little power...	Ethiopia	President	8 October 2001
43.	Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...	Afghanistan	President	22 December 2001
44.	Georgi Parvanov Georgi Parvanov Georgi Sedefchov Parvanov is a President of Bulgaria, whose second and last mandate expires on January 22, 2012; he was elected after defeating his predecessor Petar Stoyanov in the second round of the presidential elections in November 2001 and he came into office on January 22, 2002...	Kingdom of Bulgaria	President	22 January 2002
45.	Amadou Toumani Touré Amadou Toumani Touré Amadou Toumani Touré is the president of Mali. He overthrew a military ruler, Moussa Traoré in 1991, then handed power to civilian authorities the next year...	Mali	President	8 June 2002
46.	Hu Jintao Hu Jintao Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...	People's Republic of China	General Secretary and President	15 November 2002
47.	Mwai Kibaki Mwai Kibaki Mwai Kibaki is the current and third President of the republic of Kenya.Kibaki was previously Vice President of Kenya for ten years from 1978–1988 and also held cabinet ministerial positions, including a widely acclaimed stint as Minister for Finance , Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for...	Kenya	President	30 December 2002
48.	Václav Klaus Václav Klaus Václav Klaus is the second President of the Czech Republic and a former Prime Minister .An economist, he is co-founder of the Civic Democratic Party, the Czech Republic's largest center-right political party. Klaus is a eurosceptic, but he reluctantly endorsed the Lisbon treaty as president of...	Czech Republic	President	7 March 2003
49.	Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdogan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003 and is chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party , which holds a majority of the seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Erdoğan served as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He graduated in 1981 from Marmara...	Turkey	Prime Minister	14 March 2003
50.	François Bozizé François Bozizé François Bozizé Yangouvonda is the President of the Central African Republic. He came to power in March 2003 after leading a rebellion against President Ange-Félix Patassé and ushered in a transitional period of government...	Central African Republic	President	15 March 2003

See also