World leaders in 1872
Everyone who held a state’s top posts at some point in 1872, 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 1872 →
Major powers in 1872
United StatesUnited States history
- President
- Ulysses S. Grant
United KingdomUnited Kingdom history
- Queen
- Victoria
- Prime minister
- William Ewart Gladstone
Russian EmpireRussia history
- Emperor
- Alexander II
Qing dynastyChina history
- Emperor
- Tongzhi
French Third RepublicFrance history
- President
- Adolphe Thiers
German EmpireGermany history
- Emperor
- William I
- Chancellor
- Otto von Bismarck
Empire of JapanJapan history
- Emperor
- Meiji
Africa
Beylik of TunisTunisia history
- Grand vizier
- Mustapha Khaznadar
Ethiopian Empire
- Emperor
- Yohannes IV
Khedivate of EgyptEgypt history
- Khedive
- Isma'il Pasha
Kingdom of Rwanda
LiberiaLiberia history
- President
- James Skivring Smith, then Joseph Jenkins Roberts
Merina Kingdom
- Queen
- Ranavalona II
- Prime minister
- Rainilaiarivony
Morocco: Alaouite dynasty
- Sultan
- Mohammed IV
Sultanate of Zanzibar
- Sultan
- Barghash
Americas
Argentine RepublicArgentina history
- President
- Domingo Faustino Sarmiento
CanadaCanada history
- Queen
- Victoria
- Prime minister
- John A. Macdonald
El SalvadorEl Salvador history
- President
- Santiago González
Empire of BrazilBrazil history
- Emperor
- Pedro II
HondurasHonduras history
- President
- José María Medina
- Provisional President
- Céleo Arias
Liberal Republic of ChileChile history
- President
- Federico Errázuriz Zañartu
NicaraguaNicaragua history
- President
- José Vicente Cuadra
Oriental Republic of UruguayUruguay history
- President
- Lorenzo Batlle y Grau
- Acting President
- Tomás Gomensoro Albín
Republic of BoliviaBolivia history
- Provisional President
- Agustín Morales
- President
- Tomás Frías Ametller
Republic of EcuadorEcuador history
- President
- Gabriel García Moreno
Republic of PeruPeru history
- President
- José Balta, then Manuel Pardo
- Supreme Leader of the Nation
- Tomás Gutiérrez
Second Haitian RepublicHaiti history
- President
- Jean-Nicolas Nissage Saget
United Mexican StatesMexico history
- President
- Benito Juárez, then Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada
United StatesUnited States history
- President
- Ulysses S. Grant
United States of ColombiaColombia history
- President
- Eustorgio Salgar, then Manuel Murillo Toro
United States of VenezuelaVenezuela history
- President
- Antonio Guzmán Blanco
Asia
Aceh SultanateIndonesia history
- Sultan
- Alauddin Mahmud Syah II
Bruneian EmpireBrunei history
- Sultan
- Abdul Momin
Emirate of Afghanistan: Barakzai dynastyAfghanistan history
- Emir
- Sher Ali Khan
Emirate of BukharaUzbekistan history
Empire of JapanJapan history
- Emperor
- Meiji
Hakims of BahrainBahrain history
Joseon
- King
- Gojong
Kedah SultanateMalaysia history
Khanate of KokandUzbekistan history
Kingdom of ChampasakLaos history
- King
- Kham Souk
Konbaung dynasty
- King
- Mindon
Ottoman EmpireTurkey history
- Sultan
- Abdülaziz
- Grand Vizier
- Mahmud Nedim Pasha, then Midhat Pasha, then Mehmed Rushdi Pasha
Qing dynastyChina history
- Emperor
- Tongzhi
Rattanakosin Kingdom of SiamThailand history
- King
- Chulalongkorn
Ryukyu Kingdom: Second Shō dynastyJapan history
- King
- Shō Tai
Selangor SultanateMalaysia history
- Sultan
- Abdul Samad
Sheikhdom of Abu DhabiUnited Arab Emirates history
Sheikhdom of AjmanUnited Arab Emirates history
Sheikhdom of DubaiUnited Arab Emirates history
- ruler
- Hasher bin Maktoum
Sheikhdom of KuwaitKuwait history
- Sheikh
- Abdullah II
Sheikhdom of Ras Al KhaimahUnited Arab Emirates history
Sheikhdom of SharjahUnited Arab Emirates history
Sheikhdom of Umm Al QuwainUnited Arab Emirates history
Surakarta SunanateIndonesia history
- Sultan
- Pakubuwono IX
Terengganu SultanateMalaysia history
- Sultan
- Omar Riayat Shah
Yogyakarta SultanateIndonesia history
- Sultan
- Hamengkubuwono VI
Europe
Andorra
- Episcopal Co-Prince
- Josep Caixal i Estradé
- French Co-Prince
- Adolphe Thiers
Austria-Hungary: Archduchy/ Austrian Empire/ Kingdom of Hungary
- Emperor and King
- Franz Joseph I
BelgiumBelgium history
- King
- Leopold II
- Prime minister
- Barthélémy de Theux de Meylandt
DenmarkDenmark history
- King
- Christian IX
- Council president
- Ludvig Holstein-Holsteinborg
French Third RepublicFrance history
- President
- Adolphe Thiers
German EmpireGermany history
- Emperor
- William I
- Chancellor
- Otto von Bismarck
Grand Duchy of Oldenburg
- Grand Duke
- Peter II
Kingdom of Bavaria
- King
- Ludwig II
Kingdom of Bohemia
- King
- Francis Joseph
Kingdom of Croatia-SlavoniaCroatia history
- King
- Franz Joseph
- Ban
- Koloman Bedeković, then Antun Vakanović
Kingdom of Galicia and LodomeriaUkraine history
- King
- Francis Joseph I
Kingdom of GreeceGreece history
- King
- George I
- Prime minister
- Thrasyvoulos Zaimis, then Dimitrios Voulgaris, then Epameinondas Deligeorgis
Kingdom of ItalyItaly history
- Prime minister
- Giovanni Lanza
Kingdom of PortugalPortugal history
- King
- Luís I
Kingdom of Spain (1810–1873)Spain history
- King
- Amadeo I
Kingdom of the NetherlandsNetherlands history
- King
- William III
- Prime minister
- Johan Rudolph Thorbecke, then Gerrit de Vries
Liechtenstein
- Prince
- Johann II
LuxembourgLuxembourg history
- Grand Duke
- William III
- Prime minister
- Emmanuel Servais
Monaco
- Prince
- Charles III
Papal States
- Pope
- Pius IX
Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont
- Prince
- George Victor
Russian EmpireRussia history
- Emperor
- Alexander II
Sweden–Norway
- King
- Charles XV/IV, then Oscar II
- First Minister
- Frederik Stang
SwitzerlandSwitzerland history
- President of the Confederation
- Emil Welti
United Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandUnited Kingdom history
- Queen
- Victoria
- Prime minister
- William Ewart Gladstone
United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia/ Romanian United Principalities/ RomaniaRomania history
- Domnitor
- Carol I
Oceania
Kings of Uvea (Wallis)
Malietoa dynasty
- Malietoa
- Malietoa Talavou Tonumaipe'a