World leaders in 1888

Everyone who held a state’s top posts at some point in 1888, 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 1888 →

Major powers in 1888

United StatesUnited States history

President: Grover Cleveland

United KingdomUnited Kingdom history

Queen: Victoria
Prime minister: Robert Gascoyne-Cecil

Russian EmpireRussia history

Emperor: Alexander III

Qing dynastyChina history

Emperor: Guangxu

French Third RepublicFrance history

President: Marie François Sadi Carnot
President of the Council of ministers: Pierre Tirard, then Charles Floquet

German EmpireGermany history

Emperor: William I, then Frederick III, then Wilhelm II
Chancellor: Otto von Bismarck

Empire of JapanJapan history

Emperor: Meiji
Prime minister: Itō Hirobumi, then Kuroda Kiyotaka

Africa

Beylik of TunisTunisia history

Bey: Ali III ibn al-Husayn

Buganda

Kabaka: Mwanga II

Congo Free State

Sovereign: Leopold II of Belgium

Ethiopian Empire

Emperor: Yohannes IV

Khedivate of EgyptEgypt history

Khedive: Tewfik Pasha
Prime minister: Nubar Pasha, then Riaz Pasha

Kingdom of AshantiGhana history

Asantehene: Prempeh I

Kingdom of Eswatini (Swaziland)

King: Dlamini IV

Kingdom of Rwanda

King: Kigeli IV Rwabugiri

LiberiaLiberia history

President: Hilary R. W. Johnson

Merina Kingdom

Queen: Ranavalona III
Prime minister: Rainilaiarivony

Morocco: Alaouite dynasty

Sultan: Hassan I

Oyo EmpireNigeria history

Alaafin: Adeyemi I Alowolodu

Sultanate of Mwali

Queen/Sultan: Salima Machamba

Sultanate of Zanzibar

Sultan: Barghash, then Khalifa I

Americas

Argentine RepublicArgentina history

President: Miguel Juárez Celman

CanadaCanada history

Queen: Victoria
Prime minister: John A. Macdonald

El SalvadorEl Salvador history

President: Francisco Menéndez

Empire of BrazilBrazil history

Emperor: Pedro II

First Costa Rican RepublicCosta Rica history

President: Bernardo Soto Alfaro

HondurasHonduras history

President: Luis Bográn

Liberal Republic of ChileChile history

President: José Manuel Balmaceda

NicaraguaNicaragua history

President: Evaristo Carazo

Republic of BoliviaBolivia history

President: Gregorio Pacheco, then Aniceto Arce

Republic of ColombiaColombia history

President: Rafael Núñez

Republic of EcuadorEcuador history

President: Antonio Flores Jijón

Republic of ParaguayParaguay history

President: Patricio Escobar

Republic of PeruPeru history

Constitutional President: Andrés Avelino Cáceres

Second Dominican RepublicDominican Republic history

President: Ulises Heureaux

Second Haitian RepublicHaiti history

President: Lysius Salomon, then François Denys Légitime
Provisional President: Pierre Théoma Boisrond-Canal

United Mexican StatesMexico history

President: Porfirio Díaz

United StatesUnited States history

President: Grover Cleveland

United States of VenezuelaVenezuela history

Interim President: Hermógenes López
President: Juan Pablo Rojas Paúl

Asia

Aceh SultanateIndonesia history

Sultan: Alauddin Muhammad Da'ud Syah II

Bruneian EmpireBrunei history

Sultan: Hashim Jalilul Alam Aqamaddin

Emirate of Afghanistan: Barakzai dynastyAfghanistan history

Emir: Abdur Rahman Khan

Emirate of BukharaUzbekistan history

Amir: Abdul-Ahad bin Muzaffar al-Din

Empire of JapanJapan history

Emperor: Meiji
Prime minister: Itō Hirobumi, then Kuroda Kiyotaka

Hakims of BahrainBahrain history

Hakim: Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa

Joseon

King: Gojong

Kedah SultanateMalaysia history

Sultan: Abdul Hamid Halim Shah ll

Kingdom of ChampasakLaos history

King: Kham Souk

Negeri SembilanMalaysia history

Yamtuan: Antah, then Muhammad

Ottoman EmpireTurkey history

Sultan: Abdul Hamid II
Grand Vizier: Kâmil Pasha

Perak Sultanate: Siak dynastyMalaysia history

Sultan: Idris Murshidul Azzam Shah

QatarQatar history

Emir: Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani

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

ruler: Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan

Sheikhdom of AjmanUnited Arab Emirates history

ruler: Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi II

Sheikhdom of DubaiUnited Arab Emirates history

ruler: Rashid bin Maktoum

Sheikhdom of FujairahUnited Arab Emirates history

ruler: Hamad bin Abdullah Al Sharqi

Sheikhdom of KuwaitKuwait history

Sheikh: Abdullah II

Sheikhdom of Ras Al KhaimahUnited Arab Emirates history

ruler: Humaid bin Abdullah Al Qasimi

Sheikhdom of SharjahUnited Arab Emirates history

ruler: Saqr bin Khalid Al Qasimi

Sheikhdom of Umm Al QuwainUnited Arab Emirates history

ruler: Ahmad bin Abdullah Al Mualla

Sultanate of Muscat and Oman: Al Busaidi dynastyOman history

Sultan: Faisal

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: Marie François Sadi Carnot

Austria-Hungary: Archduchy/ Austrian Empire/ Kingdom of Hungary

Emperor and King: Franz Joseph I

BelgiumBelgium history

King: Leopold II
Prime minister: Auguste Beernaert

Bourbon Restoration of SpainSpain history

King: Alfonso XIII
Prime minister: Práxedes Mateo Sagasta

DenmarkDenmark history

King: Christian IX
Council president: Jacob Brønnum Scavenius Estrup

French Third RepublicFrance history

President: Marie François Sadi Carnot
President of the Council of ministers: Pierre Tirard, then Charles Floquet

German EmpireGermany history

Emperor: William I, then Frederick III, then Wilhelm II
Chancellor: Otto von Bismarck

Grand Duchy of Oldenburg

Grand Duke: Peter II

Kingdom of Bohemia

King: Francis Joseph

Kingdom of Croatia-SlavoniaCroatia history

King: Franz Joseph
Ban: Karoly Khuen-Héderváry

Kingdom of Galicia and LodomeriaUkraine history

King: Francis Joseph I

Kingdom of GreeceGreece history

King: George I
Prime minister: Charilaos Trikoupis

Kingdom of ItalyItaly history

King: Umberto I
Prime minister: Francesco Crispi

Kingdom of PortugalPortugal history

King: Luís I

Kingdom of RomaniaRomania history

King: Charles I
Prime minister: Theodor Rosetti

Kingdom of the NetherlandsNetherlands history

King: William III
Prime minister: Jan Heemskerk, then Æneas Mackay

Liechtenstein

Prince: Johann II

LuxembourgLuxembourg history

Grand Duke: William III
Prime minister: Édouard Thilges, then Paul Eyschen

Monaco

Prince: Charles III

Papal States

Pope: Leo XIII

Principality of BulgariaBulgaria history

Prince: Ferdinand I

Principality of MontenegroMontenegro history

President: Božo Petrović-Njegoš

Principality of Waldeck and Pyrmont

Prince: George Victor

Russian EmpireRussia history

Emperor: Alexander III

Sweden–Norway

King: Oscar II
Prime minister: Robert Themptander, then Ole Richter, then Johan Sverdrup, then Gillis Bildt, then Hans Georg Jacob Stang

SwitzerlandSwitzerland history

President of the Confederation: Wilhelm Hertenstein, then Bernhard Hammer

United Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandUnited Kingdom history

Queen: Victoria
Prime minister: Robert Gascoyne-Cecil

Oceania

Hawaiian KingdomUnited States history

King: Kalākaua

Kings of Uvea (Wallis)

Queen: Amelia Tokagahahau Aliki

Tuʻi Kanokupolu of TongaTonga history

King: George Tupou I/ Tāufaʻāhau
Prime minister: Shirley Waldemar Baker