World leaders in 1859
Everyone who held a state’s top posts at some point in 1859, 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 1859 →
Major powers in 1859
United StatesUnited States history
- President
- James Buchanan
United KingdomUnited Kingdom history
- Queen
- Victoria
- Prime minister
- Edward Smith-Stanley, then 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
- Stephen Allen Benson
Merina Kingdom
- Queen
- Ranavalona I
- Prime minister
- Rainivoninahitriniony
Morocco: Alaouite dynasty
- Sultan
- Abd al-Rahman, then Mohammed IV
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
- Miguel Santín del Castillo, then Gerardo Barrios
- Acting President
- Joaquín Eufrasio Guzmán, then José María Peralta
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
- President
- Tomás Martínez
Republic of BoliviaBolivia history
- Dictator for Life
- José María Linares
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
- Benito Juárez
Second Haitian RepublicHaiti history
- President
- Fabre Geffrard
State of VenezuelaVenezuela history
- President
- Julián Castro, then Manuel Felipe de Tovar
- Interim President
- Pedro Gual Escandón
United StatesUnited States history
- President
- James Buchanan
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
Kingdom of Luang PhrabangLaos history
- King
- Chantharath
Konbaung dynasty
- King
- Mindon
Ottoman EmpireTurkey history
- Sultan
- Abdülmecid I
- Grand Vizier
- Mehmed Emin Âli Pasha, then Kıbrıslı Mehmed Emin Pasha, then Mehmed Rushdi Pasha
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
- Abdul Samad
Sheikhdom of Abu DhabiUnited Arab Emirates history
Sheikhdom of DubaiUnited Arab Emirates history
- ruler
- Saeed bin Butti, then Hasher bin Maktoum
Sheikhdom of KuwaitKuwait history
Sheikhdom of SharjahUnited Arab Emirates history
Sheikhdom of Umm Al QuwainUnited Arab Emirates history
Sultanate of BanjarIndonesia history
- Sultan
- Hidayatullah II
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
Austria-Hungary: Archduchy/ Austrian Empire/ Kingdom of Hungary
- Chairmen of the ministers' conference
- Johann Bernhard von Rechberg und Rothenlöwen
BelgiumBelgium history
- King
- Leopold I
- Prime minister
- Charles Rogier
Caucasian ImamateRussia history
- Imam
- Shamil
DenmarkDenmark history
- King
- Frederik VII
- Council president
- Carl Christian Hall, then Carl Edvard Rotwitt
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
- Athanasios Miaoulis
Kingdom of Lombardy–VenetiaItaly history
- King
- Francis Joseph I
Kingdom of PortugalPortugal history
- King
- Pedro V
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
- Jan Jacob Rochussen
Kingdom of the Two SiciliesItaly history
- King
- Ferdinand II
Liechtenstein
- Prince
- Johann II
LuxembourgLuxembourg history
- Grand Duke
- William III
- Prime minister
- Charles-Mathias Simons
MoldaviaRomania history
- Prince
- Alexander John Cuza
Monaco
- Prince
- Charles III
Papal States
- Pope
- Pius IX
Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont
- Prince
- George Victor
Russian EmpireRussia history
- Emperor
- Alexander II
Saxe-Meiningen
- Duke
- Bernhard II
Second French EmpireFrance history
- Emperor
- Napoleon III
Sweden–Norway
- King
- Oscar I, then Charles XV/IV
- First Minister
- Hans Christian Petersen
SwitzerlandSwitzerland history
- President of the Confederation
- Jakob Stämpfli
United Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandUnited Kingdom history
- Queen
- Victoria
- Prime minister
- Edward Smith-Stanley, then Henry John Temple
Oceania
Kings of Uvea (Wallis)
- Queen
- Falakika Seilala
Malietoa dynasty
- Malietoa
- Moli