World leaders in 1855
Everyone who held a state’s top posts at some point in 1855, in the order they held them. Names are from Wikipedia’s list of state leaders and appear only where the person’s Wikidata record agrees on the post and the years. What happened in 1855 →
Major powers in 1855
United StatesUnited States history
- President
- Franklin Pierce
United KingdomUnited Kingdom history
- Queen
- Victoria
- Prime minister
- George Hamilton-Gordon, then Henry John Temple
Russian EmpireRussia history
- Emperor
- Nicholas I, then Alexander II
Qing dynastyChina history
- Emperor
- Xianfeng
Second French EmpireFrance history
- Emperor
- Napoleon III
Tokugawa shogunate of JapanJapan history
- Emperor
- Kōmei
Africa
BasutolandLesotho history
- King or Paramount Chief
- Moshoeshoe I
Beylik of TunisTunisia history
- Grand vizier
- Mustapha Khaznadar
Ethiopian Empire
- Emperor
- Sahle Dengel, then Tewodros II
Kingdom of Eswatini (Swaziland)
- King
- Mswati II
Kingdom of Rwanda
LiberiaLiberia history
- President
- Joseph Jenkins Roberts
Merina Kingdom
- Queen
- Ranavalona I
- Prime minister
- Rainivoninahitriniony
Morocco: Alaouite dynasty
- Sultan
- Abd al-Rahman
Orange Free StateSouth Africa history
- Acting State President
- Jacobus Johannes Venter
- State President
- Jacobus Nicolaas Boshoff
Oyo EmpireNigeria history
- Alaafin
- Atiba Atobatele
Americas
Argentine ConfederationArgentina history
- President
- Justo José de Urquiza
Conservative Republic of ChileChile history
- President
- Manuel Montt
El SalvadorEl Salvador history
- President
- José María San Martín
Empire of BrazilBrazil history
- Emperor
- Pedro II
First Costa Rican RepublicCosta Rica history
- President
- Juan Mora Porras
HondurasHonduras history
- President
- José Trinidad Cabañas
- Acting President
- José Santiago Bueso
Miskito CoastNicaragua history
NicaraguaNicaragua history
- President
- Fruto Chamorro
- Acting President
- José María Estrada
- Provisional President
- Patricio Rivas
Oriental Republic of UruguayUruguay history
- Triumvir, President, disputed
- Venancio Flores
Republic of BoliviaBolivia history
- President
- Manuel Isidoro Belzu, then Jorge Córdova
Republic of GuatemalaGuatemala history
- President
- Rafael Carrera
Republic of ParaguayParaguay history
- President
- Carlos Antonio López
Republic of PeruPeru history
- President
- José Rufino Echenique
Second Empire of HaitiHaiti history
- Emperor
- Faustin Soulouque
Second Federal Republic of MexicoMexico history
- Dictator-President
- Santa Anna
- President
- Martín Carrera, then Rómulo Díaz de la Vega, then Juan Álvarez, then Ignacio Comonfort
State of VenezuelaVenezuela history
- President
- José Gregorio Monagas, then José Tadeo Monagas
United StatesUnited States history
- President
- Franklin Pierce
Asia
Aceh SultanateIndonesia history
Bruneian EmpireBrunei history
- Sultan
- Abdul Momin
Emirate of Afghanistan: Barakzai dynastyAfghanistan history
Emirate of BukharaUzbekistan history
Emirate of NejdSaudi Arabia history
Johor SultanateIndonesia history
- Sultan
- Ali
Kedah SultanateMalaysia history
Khanate of KokandUzbekistan history
Kingdom of Luang PhrabangLaos history
- King
- Chantharath
Konbaung dynasty
- King
- Mindon
Ottoman EmpireTurkey history
- Sultan
- Abdülmecid I
- Grand Vizier
- Mustafa Reşid Pasha, then Mehmed Emin Âli Pasha
Perak Sultanate: Siak dynastyMalaysia history
- Sultan
- Abdullah Muhammad Shah I
Qing dynastyChina history
- Emperor
- Xianfeng
Rattanakosin Kingdom of SiamThailand history
- King
- Mongkut
Ryukyu Kingdom: Second Shō dynastyJapan history
- King
- Shō Tai
Selangor SultanateMalaysia history
- Sultan
- Muhammad Shah
Sheikhdom of Abu DhabiUnited Arab Emirates history
Sheikhdom of DubaiUnited Arab Emirates history
- ruler
- Saeed bin Butti
Sheikhdom of KuwaitKuwait history
- Sheikh
- Jaber I
Sheikhdom of SharjahUnited Arab Emirates history
Sheikhdom of Umm Al QuwainUnited Arab Emirates history
Terengganu SultanateMalaysia history
- Sultan
- Omar Riayat Shah
Tokugawa shogunate of JapanJapan history
- Emperor
- Kōmei
Yogyakarta SultanateIndonesia history
- Sultan
- Hamengkubuwono V, then Hamengkubuwono VI
Europe
Andorra
- Episcopal Co-Prince
- Josep Caixal i Estradé
- French Co-Prince
- Napoléon III
Anhalt-Bernburg
- Duke
- Alexander Karl
BelgiumBelgium history
- King
- Leopold I
- Prime minister
- Henri de Brouckère, then Pierre de Decker
Caucasian ImamateRussia history
- Imam
- Shamil
DenmarkDenmark history
- King
- Frederik VII
- Prime minister; Council president
- Peter Georg Bang
Duchy of Holstein
- Duke
- Frederik VII
Duchy of Limburg (1839–1867)
- Duke
- William III
Duchy of Nassau
- Duke
- Adolphe
Electorate of Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia
Grand Duchy of FinlandFinland history
- Grand Prince
- Nicholas I
Grand Duchy of Oldenburg
- Grand Duke
- Peter II
Kingdom of Bavaria
- King
- Maximilian II
Kingdom of Bohemia
- King
- Francis Joseph
Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg)Croatia history
- King
- Franz Joseph
Kingdom of Galicia and LodomeriaUkraine history
- King
- Francis Joseph I
Kingdom of GreeceGreece history
- King
- Otto
- Prime minister
- Alexandros Mavrokordatos, then Dimitrios Voulgaris
Kingdom of Lombardy–VenetiaItaly history
- King
- Francis Joseph I
Kingdom of PortugalPortugal history
- King
- Pedro V
- Prime minister
- João Carlos Saldanha de Oliveira e Daun
Kingdom of Sardinia, Duchy of SavoyItaly history
- King of Sardinia, Duke of Savoy
- Victor Emmanuel II
Kingdom of Spain (1810–1873)Spain history
- Queen
- Isabella II
Kingdom of the NetherlandsNetherlands history
- King
- William III
- Prime minister
- Floris Adriaan van Hall
Kingdom of the Two SiciliesItaly history
- King
- Ferdinand II
Liechtenstein
- Prince
- Aloys II
LuxembourgLuxembourg history
- Grand Duke
- William III
- Prime minister
- Charles-Mathias Simons
MoldaviaRomania history
- Prince
- Grigore Alexandru Ghica
Papal States
- Pope
- Pius IX
Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont
- Prince
- George Victor
Principality of WallachiaRomania history
- Prince
- Barbu Știrbei
Russian EmpireRussia history
- Emperor
- Nicholas I, then Alexander II
Saxe-Meiningen
- Duke
- Bernhard II
Second French EmpireFrance history
- Emperor
- Napoleon III
Sweden–Norway
- King
- Oscar I
- First Minister
- Nicolai Johan Lohmann Krog, then Jørgen Herman Vogt
SwitzerlandSwitzerland history
- President of the Confederation
- Jonas Furrer
United Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandUnited Kingdom history
- Queen
- Victoria
- Prime minister
- George Hamilton-Gordon, then Henry John Temple