World leaders in 1940

Everyone who held a state’s top posts at some point in 1940, 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 1940 →

Major powers in 1940

United StatesUnited States history

President: Franklin D. Roosevelt

United KingdomUnited Kingdom history

King: George VI
Prime minister: Neville Chamberlain, then Winston Churchill

Soviet UnionRussia history

General Secretary: Joseph Stalin
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet: Mikhail Kalinin
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars: Vyacheslav Molotov

Republic of China (1916–1949)China history

Premier: Chiang Kai-shek

French Third RepublicFrance history

President: Albert François Lebrun
President of the Council of ministers: Édouard Daladier, then Philippe Pétain

Vichy FranceFrance history

Chief of state: Philippe Pétain
Prime minister: Pierre Laval, then Pierre-Étienne Flandin

Nazi GermanyGermany history

Führer: Adolf Hitler
Chancellor: Adolf Hitler

Empire of JapanJapan history

Emperor: Hirohito
Prime minister: Nobuyuki Abe, then Mitsumasa Yonai, then Fumimaro Konoe

Africa

Beylik of TunisTunisia history

Bey: Ahmad II ibn Ali
Prime minister: Hédi Lakhoua

Ethiopian Empire

Emperor: Haile Selassie I

Kingdom of EgyptEgypt history

King: Farouk I
Prime minister: Aly Maher Pasha, then Hassan Sabry Pasha, then Hussein Serry Pasha

Kingdom of Rwanda

King: Mutara III Rudahigwa

LiberiaLiberia history

President: Edwin Barclay

Sultanate of Morocco: Alaouite dynasty

Sultan: Mohammed V

Sultanate of Zanzibar

Sultan: Khalifa II

Union of South AfricaSouth Africa history

King: George VI
Prime minister: Jan Smuts

Americas

Argentine RepublicArgentina history

President: Roberto María Ortiz

BoliviaBolivia history

Provisional President: Carlos Quintanilla
President: Enrique Peñaranda

CanadaCanada history

King: George VI
Prime minister: William Lyon Mackenzie King

EcuadorEcuador history

Acting President: Andrés Córdova, then Julio Enrique Moreno
President: Carlos Alberto Arroyo del Río

El SalvadorEl Salvador history

President: Maximiliano Hernández Martínez

First Costa Rican RepublicCosta Rica history

President: León Cortés Castro

GuatemalaGuatemala history

President: Jorge Ubico

HondurasHonduras history

President: Tiburcio Carías Andino

MexicoMexico history

President: Lázaro Cárdenas, then Manuel Ávila Camacho

NicaraguaNicaragua history

President: Anastasio Somoza García

PanamaPanama history

President: Arnulfo Arias

Presidential Republic (1925–1973) of ChileChile history

President: Pedro Aguirre Cerda

Republic of ColombiaColombia history

President: Eduardo Santos Montejo

Republic of CubaCuba history

Prime minister: Carlos Saladrigas Zayas

Republic of Haiti (1859–1957)Haiti history

President: Sténio Vincent

Republic of ParaguayParaguay history

President: José Estigarribia, then Higinio Moríñigo

Republic of PeruPeru history

Constitutional President: Manuel Prado y Ugarteche

United StatesUnited States history

President: Franklin D. Roosevelt

United States of VenezuelaVenezuela history

President: Eleazar López Contreras

UruguayUruguay history

President: Alfredo Baldomir

Vargas Era BrazilBrazil history

President: Getúlio Vargas

Asia

Emirate of Abu DhabiTurkey history

ruler: Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan

Emirate of AjmanTurkey history

ruler: Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi III

Emirate of DubaiTurkey history

ruler: Saeed bin Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum

Emirate of FujairahTurkey history

ruler: Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqi

Emirate of Nejd and HasaSaudi Arabia history

King: Ibn Saud

Emirate of Ras Al KhaimahTurkey history

ruler: Sultan bin Salim Al Qasimi

Emirate of SharjahTurkey history

ruler: Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi II

Emirate of TransjordanJordan history

Prime minister: Tawfik Abu al-Huda

Empire of JapanJapan history

Emperor: Hirohito
Prime minister: Nobuyuki Abe, then Mitsumasa Yonai, then Fumimaro Konoe

French Protectorate of CambodiaCambodia history

King: Sisowath Monivong

French Protectorate of Luang PhrabangLaos history

King of Luang Phrabang: Sisavang Vong

Hakims of BahrainBahrain history

Hakim: Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa

Imperial State of Iran: Pahlavi dynastyIran history

Shah: Reza Pahlavi

Kedah SultanateMalaysia history

Sultan: Abdul Hamid Halim Shah ll

Kingdom of AfghanistanAfghanistan history

King: Mohammed Zahir Shah
Prime minister: Mohammad Hashim Khan

Kingdom of IraqIraq history

Regent: 'Abd al-Ilah
King: Faisal II
Prime minister: Nuri al-Said, then Rashid Ali al-Gaylani

ManchukuoChina history

Emperor: Puyi
Prime minister: Zhang Jinghui

Mongolian People's RepublicMongolia history

Prime minister: Khorloogiin Choibalsan

Negeri SembilanMalaysia history

Yamtuan: Abdul Rahman

Nguyễn dynastyVietnam history

Emperor: Bảo Đại

North Yemen: Mutawakkilite Kingdom of YemenYemen history

King: Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din

PakualamanIndonesia history

Sultan: Pakualam VIII

Perak Sultanate: Siak dynastyMalaysia history

Sultan: Abdul Aziz al-Mu’tasim Billah Shah

PhilippinesPhilippines history

President: Manuel L. Quezon

Protectorate of BruneiBrunei history

Sultan: Ahmad Tajuddin

QatarQatar history

Emir: Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani

Republic of China (1916–1949)China history

Premier: Chiang Kai-shek

Republic of TurkeyTurkey history

President: İsmet İnönü
Prime minister: Refik Saydam

Selangor SultanateMalaysia history

Sultan: Hisamuddin

Sheikhdom of KuwaitKuwait history

Sheikh: Ahmad I

Siam/Thailand: Rattanakosin KingdomThailand history

King: Ananda Mahidol
Prime minister: Plaek Phibunsongkhram

Sultanate of Siak Sri IndrapuraIndonesia history

Sultan: Syarif Kasim II

Sultanate/ State of Muscat and OmanOman history

Sultan: Said III

Terengganu SultanateMalaysia history

Sultan: Sulaiman Badrul Alam Shah

Umm Al QuwainTurkey history

ruler: Ahmad bin Rashid Al Mualla

Yogyakarta SultanateIndonesia history

Sultan: Hamengkubuwono IX

Europe

Andorra

Episcopal Co-Prince: Justí Guitart i Vilardebó
French Co-Prince: Albert François Lebrun, then Philippe Pétain

BelgiumBelgium history

King: Leopold III
Prime minister: Hubert Pierlot

Fascist Italy (1922–1943)Italy history

King: Victor Emmanuel III
Prime Minister: Benito Mussolini

French Third RepublicFrance history

President: Albert François Lebrun
President of the Council of ministers: Édouard Daladier, then Philippe Pétain

Grand Duchy of LuxembourgLuxembourg history

Grand Duchess: Charlotte
Prime minister: Pierre Dupong

Italian protectorate of Albania (1939–1943)Albania history

King: Victor Emmanuel III
Prime minister: Shefqet Vërlaci

Kingdom of BulgariaBulgaria history

Tsar: Boris III
Prime minister: Georgi Kyoseivanov, then Bogdan Filov

Kingdom of DenmarkDenmark history

King: Christian X
Prime minister: Thorvald Stauning

Kingdom of Greece: 4th of August RegimeGreece history

King: George II
Prime minister: Ioannis Metaxas

Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)Hungary history

Regent: Miklós Horthy
Prime minister: Pál Teleki

Kingdom of IcelandIceland history

King: Christian X
Prime minister: Hermann Jónasson

Kingdom of ItalyItaly history

King: Victor Emmanuel III
Prime minister: Benito Mussolini

Kingdom of NorwayNorway history

King: Haakon VII
Prime minister: Johan Nygaardsvold

Kingdom of RomaniaRomania history

King: Carol II, then Michael I
Conducător: Ion Antonescu
Prime minister: Gheorghe Tătărescu, then Ion Gigurtu, then Ion Antonescu

Kingdom of Serbia / Yugoslavia: Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes / Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Prime minister: Dragiša Cvetković

Kingdom of SwedenSweden history

King: Gustaf V
Prime minister: Per Albin Hansson

Liechtenstein

Prince: Franz Josef II
Prime Minister: Josef Hoop

Monaco

Prince: Louis II
Minister of state: Émile Roblot

Nazi GermanyGermany history

Führer: Adolf Hitler
Chancellor: Adolf Hitler

NetherlandsNetherlands history

Queen: Wilhelmina
Prime minister: Dirk Jan de Geer, then Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy

Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia

State President: Emil Hácha
Prime minister: Alois Eliáš

Reichskommissariat Niederlande: German-occupied NetherlandsNetherlands history

Reichskommissar: Arthur Seyss-Inquart

Republic of EstoniaEstonia history

President: Konstantin Päts
Prime minister: Jüri Uluots

Republic of FinlandFinland history

President: Kyösti Kallio, then Risto Ryti
Prime minister: Risto Ryti

Republic of IrelandIreland history

President: Douglas Hyde
Taoiseach: Éamon de Valera

Republic of LatviaLatvia history

President: Kārlis Ulmanis
Prime minister: Kārlis Ulmanis

Republic of LithuaniaLithuania history

President: Antanas Smetona
de facto acting president: Antanas Merkys
Acting president: Justas Paleckis
Prime minister: Antanas Merkys

Second Portuguese RepublicPortugal history

President: Óscar Carmona
President of the Council of Minister: António de Oliveira Salazar

Soviet UnionRussia history

General Secretary: Joseph Stalin
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet: Mikhail Kalinin
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars: Vyacheslav Molotov

Spanish State (Francoist Spain)Spain history

Caudillo: Francisco Franco
Prime minister: Francisco Franco

SwitzerlandSwitzerland history

President of the Confederation: Marcel Pilet-Golaz

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandUnited Kingdom history

King: George VI
Prime minister: Neville Chamberlain, then Winston Churchill

Vatican City

Sovereign: Pius XII

Vichy FranceFrance history

Chief of state: Philippe Pétain
Prime minister: Pierre Laval, then Pierre-Étienne Flandin

Yugoslavia: Democratic Federal Yugoslavia

King: Peter II

Oceania

AustraliaAustralia history

King: George VI
Prime minister: Robert Menzies

Dominion of New ZealandNew Zealand history

King: George VI
Prime minister: Michael Joseph Savage, then Peter Fraser

Kingdom of Tonga (1900–70)Tonga history

King: Sālote Tupou III
Prime minister: Viliami Tungi Mailefihi