World leaders in 1856
Everyone who held a state’s top posts at some point in 1856, 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 1856 →
Major powers in 1856
United StatesUnited States history
- President
- Franklin Pierce
United KingdomUnited Kingdom history
- Queen
- Victoria
- Prime minister
- Henry John Temple
Russian EmpireRussia history
- Emperor
- 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
- Tewodros II
Kingdom of Eswatini (Swaziland)
- King
- Mswati II
Kingdom of Rwanda
LiberiaLiberia history
- President
- Joseph Jenkins Roberts, then Stephen Allen Benson
Merina Kingdom
- Queen
- Ranavalona I
- Prime minister
- Rainivoninahitriniony
Morocco: Alaouite dynasty
- Sultan
- Abd al-Rahman
Orange Free StateSouth Africa history
- State President
- Jacobus Nicolaas Boshoff
Oyo EmpireNigeria history
- Alaafin
- Atiba Atobatele
Sultanate of Zanzibar
- Sultan
- Majid
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, then Rafael Campo
- Acting President
- Francisco Dueñas
Empire of BrazilBrazil history
- Emperor
- Pedro II
First Costa Rican RepublicCosta Rica history
- President
- Juan Mora Porras
HondurasHonduras history
- President
- José Santos Guardiola
Miskito CoastNicaragua history
NicaraguaNicaragua history
- Provisional President
- Patricio Rivas
- Usurper
- William Walker
Republic of BoliviaBolivia history
- President
- Jorge Córdova
Republic of EcuadorEcuador history
- President
- Francisco Robles
Republic of GuatemalaGuatemala history
- President
- Rafael Carrera
Republic of ParaguayParaguay history
- President
- Carlos Antonio López
Second Empire of HaitiHaiti history
- Emperor
- Faustin Soulouque
Second Federal Republic of MexicoMexico history
- President
- Ignacio Comonfort
State of VenezuelaVenezuela history
- President
- 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
Kedah SultanateMalaysia history
Khanate of KokandUzbekistan history
Kingdom of ChampasakLaos history
- King
- Kham Nai
Kingdom of Luang PhrabangLaos history
- King
- Chantharath
Konbaung dynasty
- King
- Mindon
Ottoman EmpireTurkey history
- Sultan
- Abdülmecid I
- Grand Vizier
- Mehmed Emin Âli Pasha, then Mustafa Reşid 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 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
- Pierre de Decker
Caucasian ImamateRussia history
- Imam
- Shamil
DenmarkDenmark history
- King
- Frederik VII
- Council president
- Peter Georg Bang, then Carl Christoffer Georg Andræ
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 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
- 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, then Justinus van der Brugghen
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
- Kaymakam
- Teodor Balș
Monaco
- Prince
- Charles III
Papal States
- Pope
- Pius IX
Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont
- Prince
- George Victor
Principality of WallachiaRomania history
- Prince
- Barbu Știrbei
- Kaymakam
- Alexandru II Ghica
Russian EmpireRussia history
- Emperor
- Alexander II
Saxe-Meiningen
- Duke
- Bernhard II
Second French EmpireFrance history
- Emperor
- Napoleon III
Sweden–Norway
- King
- Oscar I
- First Minister
- Jørgen Herman Vogt
SwitzerlandSwitzerland history
- President of the Confederation
- Jakob Stämpfli
United Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandUnited Kingdom history
- Queen
- Victoria
- Prime minister
- Henry John Temple