World leaders in 1881
Everyone who held a state’s top posts at some point in 1881, 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 1881 →
Major powers in 1881
United StatesUnited States history
- President
- Rutherford B. Hayes, then James A. Garfield, then Chester A. Arthur
United KingdomUnited Kingdom history
- Queen
- Victoria
- Prime minister
- William Ewart Gladstone
Russian EmpireRussia history
- Emperor
- Alexander II, then Alexander III
Qing dynastyChina history
- Emperor
- Guangxu
French Third RepublicFrance history
- President
- Jules Grévy
- President of the Council of ministers
- Jules Ferry, then Léon Gambetta
German EmpireGermany history
- Emperor
- William I
- Chancellor
- Otto von Bismarck
Empire of JapanJapan history
- Emperor
- Meiji
Africa
Beylik of TunisTunisia history
- Grand vizier
- Mustapha Ben Ismaïl, then Mohammed Khaznadar
Ethiopian Empire
- Emperor
- Yohannes IV
Khedivate of EgyptEgypt history
- Khedive
- Tewfik Pasha
- Prime minister
- Riaz Pasha, then Mohamed Sherif Pasha
Kingdom of AshantiGhana history
- Asantehene
- Mensa Bonsu
Kingdom of Eswatini (Swaziland)
- King
- Dlamini IV
Kingdom of Rwanda
LiberiaLiberia history
- President
- Anthony W. Gardner
Merina Kingdom
- Queen
- Ranavalona II
- Prime minister
- Rainilaiarivony
Morocco: Alaouite dynasty
- Sultan
- Hassan I
Oyo EmpireNigeria history
- Alaafin
- Adeyemi I Alowolodu
Sultanate of Zanzibar
- Sultan
- Barghash
Americas
Argentine RepublicArgentina history
- President
- Julio Argentino Roca
CanadaCanada history
- Queen
- Victoria
- Prime minister
- John A. Macdonald
El SalvadorEl Salvador history
- President
- Rafael Zaldívar
Empire of BrazilBrazil history
- Emperor
- Pedro II
HondurasHonduras history
- President
- Marco Aurelio Soto
Liberal Republic of ChileChile history
- President
- Aníbal Pinto, then Domingo Santa María
NicaraguaNicaragua history
- President
- Joaquín Zavala
Republic of BoliviaBolivia history
- President
- Narciso Campero
Republic of ParaguayParaguay history
- President
- Bernardino Caballero
Republic of PeruPeru history
- Provisional President of the Republic
- Francisco García Calderón
Second Dominican RepublicDominican Republic history
- President
- Fernando Arturo de Meriño
Second Haitian RepublicHaiti history
- President
- Lysius Salomon
United Mexican StatesMexico history
- President
- Manuel González Flores
United StatesUnited States history
- President
- Rutherford B. Hayes, then James A. Garfield, then Chester A. Arthur
Asia
Aceh SultanateIndonesia history
Bruneian EmpireBrunei history
- Sultan
- Abdul Momin
Emirate of Afghanistan: Barakzai dynastyAfghanistan history
Emirate of BukharaUzbekistan history
Empire of JapanJapan history
- Emperor
- Meiji
Hakims of BahrainBahrain history
Joseon
- King
- Gojong
Kedah SultanateMalaysia history
Kingdom of ChampasakLaos history
- King
- Kham Souk
Konbaung dynasty
- King
- Thibaw
Negeri SembilanMalaysia history
- Yamtuan
- Antah
Ottoman EmpireTurkey history
- Sultan
- Abdul Hamid II
- Grand Vizier
- Mehmed Said Pasha
QatarQatar history
Qing dynastyChina history
- Emperor
- Guangxu
Rattanakosin Kingdom of SiamThailand history
- King
- Chulalongkorn
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 FujairahUnited Arab Emirates history
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
- Zainal Abidin III
Yogyakarta SultanateIndonesia history
- Sultan
- Hamengkubuwono VII
Europe
Andorra
- Episcopal Co-Prince
- Salvador Casañas y Pagés
- French Co-Prince
- Jules Grévy
Austria-Hungary: Archduchy/ Austrian Empire/ Kingdom of Hungary
- Emperor and King
- Franz Joseph I
BelgiumBelgium history
- King
- Leopold II
- Prime minister
- Walthère Frère-Orban
Bourbon Restoration of SpainSpain history
- King
- Alfonso XII
- Prime minister
- Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, then Práxedes Mateo Sagasta
DenmarkDenmark history
- King
- Christian IX
- Council president
- Jacob Brønnum Scavenius Estrup
French Third RepublicFrance history
- President
- Jules Grévy
- President of the Council of ministers
- Jules Ferry, then Léon Gambetta
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
Kingdom of Galicia and LodomeriaUkraine history
- King
- Francis Joseph I
Kingdom of GreeceGreece history
- King
- George I
- Prime minister
- Alexandros Koumoundouros
Kingdom of ItalyItaly history
- King
- Umberto I
- Prime minister
- Benedetto Cairoli, then Agostino Depretis
Kingdom of PortugalPortugal history
- King
- Luís I
- Prime minister
- António Rodrigues Sampaio
Kingdom of RomaniaRomania history
- King
- Charles I
- Prime minister
- Ion C. Brătianu, then Dimitrie Brătianu
Kingdom of the NetherlandsNetherlands history
- King
- William III
- Prime minister
- Theo van Lynden van Sandenburg
Liechtenstein
- Prince
- Johann II
LuxembourgLuxembourg history
- Grand Duke
- William III
- Prime minister
- Félix de Blochausen
Monaco
- Prince
- Charles III
Papal States
- Pope
- Leo XIII
Principality of MontenegroMontenegro history
- President
- Božo Petrović-Njegoš
Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont
- Prince
- George Victor
Russian EmpireRussia history
- Emperor
- Alexander II, then Alexander III
San Marino
- Captains Regent
- Domenico Fattori
Sweden–Norway
- King
- Oscar II
- Prime minister
- Otto Richard Kierulf, then Arvid Posse, then Christian August Selmer
SwitzerlandSwitzerland history
- President of the Confederation
- Numa Droz
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
- Prime minister
- Ion C. Brătianu
Oceania
Hawaiian KingdomUnited States history
- King
- Kalākaua
Kings of Uvea (Wallis)
Tuʻi Kanokupolu of TongaTonga history
- Prime minister
- Shirley Waldemar Baker