World leaders in 1979

Everyone who held a state’s top posts at some point in 1979, 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 1979 →

Major powers in 1979

United StatesUnited States history

President: Jimmy Carter

United KingdomUnited Kingdom history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: James Callaghan, then Margaret Thatcher

Soviet UnionRussia history

General Secretary: Leonid Brezhnev
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet: Leonid Brezhnev
Chairman of the Council of Ministers: Alexei Kosygin

People's Republic of ChinaChina history

Chairman: Hua Guofeng
Paramount Leader: Deng Xiaoping
NPC Standing Committee Chairman: Ye Jianying
Premier: Hua Guofeng

FranceFrance history

President: Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Prime minister: Raymond Barre

East GermanyGermany history

Chairmen of the State Council: Erich Honecker
Chairman: Willi Stoph

West GermanyGermany history

President: Walter Scheel, then Karl Carstens
Chancellor: Helmut Schmidt

JapanJapan history

Emperor: Hirohito
Prime minister: Masayoshi Ōhira

Republic of IndiaIndia history

President: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
Prime minister: Morarji Desai, then Charan Singh

Africa

Arab Republic of EgyptEgypt history

President: Anwar Sadat
Prime minister: Mustafa Khalil

Central African Republic

Emperor of the Central African Empire: Jean-Bédel Bokassa
President: David Dacko
Prime minister of the Central African Empire: Henri Maïdou
Prime minister: Bernard Ayandho

Democratic Republic of MadagascarMadagascar history

President of Supreme Revolutionary Council: Didier Ratsiraka

Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe

President: Manuel Pinto da Costa

Democratic Republic of the SudanSudan history

President: Gaafar Nimeiry
Prime minister: Gaafar Nimeiry

Derg: Provisional Military Government of Socialist EthiopiaEthiopia history

Chairmen: Mengistu Haile Mariam

Equatorial Guinea

President: Francisco Macías Nguema, then Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo

Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros

President: Ahmed Abdallah
Prime minister: Salim Ben Ali

Federal Republic of Nigeria: Fourth RepublicNigeria history

Military Head of State: Olusegun Obasanjo
President of the Second Republic: Shehu Shagari

French Upper Volta/ Republic of Upper VoltaBurkina Faso history

President: Sangoulé Lamizana
Prime minister: Joseph Conombo

GabonGabon history

President: Omar Bongo
Prime minister: Léon Mébiame

Guinea-Bissau

President: Luís Cabral
Prime minister: João Bernardo Vieira

Islamic Republic of MauritaniaMauritania history

Chairman of the Military Committee for National Recovery: Mustafa Ould Salek
Chairman of the Military Committee for National Salvation: Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Louly
Prime minister: Ahmed Ould Bouceif, then Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla
Acting Prime minister: Ahmed Salim Ould Sidi

KenyaKenya history

President: Daniel arap Moi

Kingdom of Eswatini (Swaziland)

King: Sobhuza II
Prime minister: Maphevu Dlamini

Kingdom of LesothoLesotho history

King: Moshoeshoe II

LiberiaLiberia history

President: William R. Tolbert Jr.

Libyan Arab Republic / Socialist People's Libyan Arab JamahiriyaLibya history

Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution: Muammar Gaddafi
Secretary-General: Abdul Ati al-Obeidi
Prime minister: Abdul Ati al-Obeidi, then Jadallah Azzuz at-Talhi

Mauritius (Commonwealth realm)Mauritius history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Seewoosagur Ramgoolam

People's Democratic Republic of AlgeriaAlgeria history

Interim President: Rabah Bitat
President: Chadli Bendjedid
Prime minister: Mohamed Ben Ahmed Abdelghani

People's Republic of AngolaAngola history

President: Agostinho Neto, then José Eduardo dos Santos
Interim President: Lúcio Lara

People's Republic of BeninBenin history

President: Mathieu Kérékou

People's Republic of MozambiqueMozambique history

President: Samora Machel

People's Republic of the Congo

President: Joachim Yhombi-Opango

Republic of BotswanaBotswana history

President: Seretse Khama

Republic of BurundiBurundi history

President: Jean-Baptiste Bagaza

Republic of CameroonCameroon history

President: Ahmadou Ahidjo
Prime minister: Paul Biya

Republic of Cape VerdeCape Verde history

President: Aristides Pereira
Prime minister: Pedro Pires

Republic of ChadChad history

President: Goukouni Oueddei, then Lol Mahamat Choua
Prime minister: Hissène Habré

Republic of DjiboutiDjibouti history

President: Hassan Gouled Aptidon
Prime minister: Barkat Gourad Hamadou

Republic of GhanaGhana history

Military Head of State: Fred Akuffo, then Jerry Rawlings
President of the Third Republic: Hilla Limann

Republic of GuineaGuinea history

President: Ahmed Sékou Touré
Prime minister: Louis Lansana Beavogui

Republic of Ivory CoastIvory Coast history

President: Félix Houphouët-Boigny

Republic of MalawiMalawi history

President: Hastings Banda

Republic of MaliMali history

Head of State; President: Moussa Traoré

Republic of RwandaRwanda history

President: Juvénal Habyarimana

Republic of SenegalSenegal history

President: Léopold Sédar Senghor
Prime minister: Abdou Diouf

Republic of Seychelles

President: France-Albert René

Republic of Sierra LeoneSierra Leone history

President: Siaka Stevens

Republic of South AfricaSouth Africa history

State President: Balthazar Johannes Vorster, then Marais Viljoen
Prime minister: Pieter Willem Botha

Republic of the GambiaGambia history

President: Dawda Jawara

Republic of TunisiaTunisia history

President: Habib Bourguiba
Prime minister: Hedi Amara Nouira

Republic of Uganda

President: Idi Amin, then Godfrey Binaisa
Interim President: Yusuf Lule

Republic of ZambiaZambia history

President: Kenneth Kaunda
Prime minister: Daniel Lisulo

Rhodesia, unrecognised state

Prime minister: Ian Smith

Somali Democratic RepublicSomalia history

President: Siad Barre

Sultanate/ Kingdom of MoroccoMorocco history

King: Hassan II
Prime minister: Ahmed Osman, then Maati Bouabid

Togolese RepublicTogo history

President: Gnassingbé Eyadéma

United Republic of TanzaniaTanzania history

President: Julius Nyerere
prime minister: Edward Sokoine

Zaire

President: Mobutu Sese Seko
Prime minister: Mpinga Kasenda, then Bo-Boliko Lokonga

Zimbabwe Rhodesia

Prime minister: Abel Muzorewa

Americas

ArgentinaArgentina history

President of the Military Junta: Jorge Rafael Videla

BarbadosBarbados history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Tom Adams

BoliviaBolivia history

Chairman of the Military Junta: David Padilla
Acting President: Wálter Guevara, then Lidia Gueiler Tejada
President: Alberto Natusch

Brazilian Military regimeBrazil history

President: Ernesto Geisel, then João Figueiredo

CanadaCanada history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Pierre Trudeau, then Joe Clark

Civic-Military Dictatorship of UruguayUruguay history

Acting President: Aparicio Méndez

Co-operative Republic of GuyanaGuyana history

President: Arthur Chung
Prime minister: Forbes Burnham

ColombiaColombia history

President: Julio César Turbay Ayala

Dominica

Prime minister: Patrick John, then Oliver Seraphin

Duvalier dynasty, HaitiHaiti history

President for Life: Jean-Claude Duvalier

EcuadorEcuador history

President: Jaime Roldós Aguilera

El Stronato: ParaguayParaguay history

President: Alfredo Stroessner

Fourth Dominican RepublicDominican Republic history

President: Antonio Guzmán Fernández

Grenada

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Eric Gairy
de facto Prime minister: Maurice Bishop

HondurasHonduras history

Provisional President: Policarpo Paz García

JamaicaJamaica history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Michael Manley

MexicoMexico history

President: José López Portillo

Military Junta of PeruPeru history

President of the Revolutionary Government of the Armed Forces: Francisco Morales Bermúdez

NicaraguaNicaragua history

President: Anastasio Somoza Debayle
Acting President: Francisco Urcuyo

PanamaPanama history

President: Arístides Royo
Military Leader: Omar Torrijos

Republic of Costa RicaCosta Rica history

President: Rodrigo Carazo Odio

Republic of CubaCuba history

President of the Council of State: Fidel Castro
President of the Council of Ministers: Fidel Castro

Republic of PeruPeru history

Prime Minister: Pedro Richter Prada

Republic of SurinameSuriname history

President: Johan Ferrier
Prime minister: Henck Arron

Republic of Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago history

President: Ellis Clarke
Prime minister: Eric Williams

Republic of VenezuelaVenezuela history

President: Carlos Andrés Pérez, then Luis Herrera Campins

Saint Lucia

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: John Compton, then Allan Louisy

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Milton Cato

The Bahamas

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Lynden Pindling

United StatesUnited States history

President: Jimmy Carter

Asia

Ba'athist IraqIraq history

President: Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, then Saddam Hussein
Prime minister: Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, then Saddam Hussein

BangladeshBangladesh history

President: Ziaur Rahman
Prime minister: Shah Azizur Rahman

BhutanBhutan history

Druk Gyalpo: Jigme Singye Wangchuck

Democratic KampucheaCambodia history

General Secretary: Pol Pot
Prime minister: Pol Pot

Democratic Republic of AfghanistanAfghanistan history

General Secretary: Nur Muhammad Taraki, then Hafizullah Amin, then Babrak Karmal
Chairman: Nur Muhammad Taraki, then Hafizullah Amin, then Babrak Karmal
Chairman of the Council of Ministers: Nur Muhammad Taraki
Prime minister: Hafizullah Amin, then Babrak Karmal

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri LankaSri Lanka history

President: Junius Richard Jayewardene
Prime minister: Ranasinghe Premadasa

Emirate of AjmanUnited Arab Emirates history

ruler: Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi III

Emirate of Ras Al KhaimahUnited Arab Emirates history

ruler: Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi

Hakims of Bahrain/ State of BahrainBahrain history

Emir: Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa
Prime minister: Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa

Imperial State of IranIran history

Shah: Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

Islamic Republic of IranIran history

Supreme Leader: Ruhollah Khomeini
Prime minister: Mehdi Bazargan

Islamic Republic of PakistanPakistan history

President: Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq

IsraelIsrael history

President: Yitzhak Navon
Prime minister: Menachem Begin

JapanJapan history

Emperor: Hirohito
Prime minister: Masayoshi Ōhira

Kingdom of JordanJordan history

King: Hussein
Prime minister: Mudar Badran, then Abdelhamid Sharaf

Kingdom of NepalNepal history

King: Birendra
Prime minister: Kirti Nidhi Bista

Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia history

King: Khalid

Lao People's Democratic RepublicLaos history

General Secretary: Kaysone Phomvihane
President: Souphanouvong
Prime minister: Kaysone Phomvihane

LebanonLebanon history

President: Elias Sarkis
Prime minister: Selim Hoss

MalaysiaMalaysia history

Yang di-Pertuan Agong: Yahya Petra of Kelantan, then Ahmad Shah of Pahang
Prime minister: Hussein Onn

Mongolian People's Republic

Chairman: Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal

New Order, IndonesiaIndonesia history

President: Suharto

North KoreaNorth Korea history

General Secretary: Kim Il Sung
President: Kim Il Sung

North Yemen: Yemen Arab RepublicYemen history

President: Ali Abdullah Saleh

People's Republic of ChinaChina history

Chairman: Hua Guofeng
Paramount Leader: Deng Xiaoping
NPC Standing Committee Chairman: Ye Jianying
Premier: Hua Guofeng

PhilippinesPhilippines history

President: Ferdinand Marcos
Prime minister: Ferdinand Marcos

Protectorate of Brunei / Nation of BruneiBrunei history

Sultan: Hassanal Bolkiah

QatarQatar history

Emir: Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani
Prime minister: Khalifa bin Hamad

Republic of China: TaiwanTaiwan history

President: Chiang Ching-kuo
Premier: Sun Yun-suan

Republic of CyprusCyprus history

President: Spyros Kyprianou

Republic of IndiaIndia history

President: Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
Prime minister: Morarji Desai, then Charan Singh

Republic of TurkeyTurkey history

President: Fahri Korutürk
Prime minister: Bülent Ecevit, then Süleyman Demirel

Second Republic of Maldives

President: Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

SingaporeSingapore history

President: Benjamin Sheares
Prime minister: Lee Kuan Yew

Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma

Chairman: Ne Win
President: Ne Win

Socialist Republic of Vietnam (1976–present)Vietnam history

General Secretary: Lê Duẩn
President: Tôn Đức Thắng
Prime minister: Phạm Văn Đồng

South KoreaSouth Korea history

President: Park Chung Hee, then Choi Kyu-hah
Prime minister: Choi Kyu-hah

South Yemen: People's Democratic Republic of YemenYemen history

President: Abdul Fattah Ismail
Chairmen: Abdul Fattah Ismail
Prime minister: Ali Nasir Muhammad

State of KuwaitKuwait history

Emir: Jaber III
Prime minister: Saad Al-Abdullah

Sultanate of Oman: Al Busaidi dynastyOman history

Sultan: Qaboos bin Said

Syrian Arab RepublicSyria history

President: Hafez al-Assad
Prime minister: Muhammad Ali al-Halabi

ThailandThailand history

King: Bhumibol Adulyadej
Prime minister: Kriangsak Chamanan

Umm Al QuwainUnited Arab Emirates history

ruler: Ahmad bin Rashid Al Mualla

United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates history

President: Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Prime minister: Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum

Europe

Andorra

Episcopal Co-Prince: Joan Martí i Alanis
French Co-Prince: Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

AustriaAustria history

President: Rudolf Kirchschläger
Chancellor: Bruno Kreisky

BelgiumBelgium history

King: Baudouin
Prime minister: Paul Vanden Boeynants, then Wilfried Martens

Czechoslovak Socialist Republic

General Secretary: Gustáv Husák
President: Gustáv Husák
Prime minister: Lubomír Štrougal

DenmarkDenmark history

Queen: Margrethe II
Prime minister: Anker Jørgensen

East GermanyGermany history

Chairmen of the State Council: Erich Honecker
Chairman: Willi Stoph

FinlandFinland history

President: Urho Kekkonen
Prime minister: Kalevi Sorsa, then Mauno Koivisto

France: Fifth RepublicFrance history

President: Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Prime minister: Raymond Barre

Greece: Third RepublicGreece history

President: Konstantinos Tsatsos
Prime minister: Konstantinos Karamanlis

Hungarian People's RepublicHungary history

Chairman: Pál Losonczi
Prime minister: György Lázár

IcelandIceland history

President: Kristján Eldjárn
Prime minister: Ólafur Jóhannesson, then Benedikt Sigurðsson Gröndal

ItalyItaly history

President: Sandro Pertini
Prime minister: Giulio Andreotti, then Francesco Cossiga

Kingdom of SpainSpain history

King: Juan Carlos I
Prime minister: Adolfo Suárez

Kingdom of the NetherlandsNetherlands history

Queen: Juliana
Prime minister: Dries van Agt

Liechtenstein

Prince: Franz Josef II
Prime minister: Hans Brunhart

LuxembourgLuxembourg history

Grand Duke: Jean
Prime minister: Gaston Thorn, then Pierre Werner

Monaco

Prince: Rainier III
Minister of state: André Saint-Mleux

NorwayNorway history

King: Olav V
Prime minister: Odvar Nordli

People's Republic of BulgariaBulgaria history

General Secretary: Todor Zhivkov
Chairman of the State Council: Todor Zhivkov
Prime minister: Stanko Todorov

People's Socialist Republic of AlbaniaAlbania history

First Secretary: Enver Hoxha
Chairman: Haxhi Lleshi
Prime minister: Mehmet Shehu

Polish People's RepublicPoland history

First Secretary: Edward Gierek
Prime minister: Piotr Jaroszewicz

Republic of IrelandIreland history

President: Patrick Hillery
Taoiseach: Jack Lynch, then Charles Haughey

Republic of MaltaMalta history

President: Anton Buttigieg
Prime minister: Dom Mintoff

San Marino

Captains Regent: Ermenegildo Gasperoni, then Marino Bollini, then Giuseppe Amici

Socialist Republic of RomaniaRomania history

General Secretary: Nicolae Ceaușescu
President: Nicolae Ceaușescu
Prime minister: Manea Mănescu, then Ilie Verdeț

Soviet UnionRussia history

General Secretary: Leonid Brezhnev
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet: Leonid Brezhnev
Chairman of the Council of Ministers: Alexei Kosygin

SwedenSweden history

King: Carl XVI Gustaf
Prime minister: Ola Ullsten, then Thorbjörn Fälldin

SwitzerlandSwitzerland history

President of the Confederation: Hans Hürlimann

Third Republic of PortugalPortugal history

President: António Ramalho Eanes
Prime minister: Carlos Alberto da Mota Pinto, then Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandUnited Kingdom history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: James Callaghan, then Margaret Thatcher

Vatican City

Sovereign: John Paul II

West GermanyGermany history

President: Walter Scheel, then Karl Carstens
Chancellor: Helmut Schmidt

Yugoslavia: Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

President of the Presidium: Josip Broz Tito
President: Josip Broz Tito

Oceania

AustraliaAustralia history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Malcolm Fraser

Dominion of FijiFiji history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Kamisese Mara

Federated States of Micronesia

President: Tosiwo Nakayama

Kiribati

President: Ieremia Tabai

Marshall Islands

President: Amata Kabua

Nauru

President: Hammer DeRoburt

New ZealandNew Zealand history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Robert Muldoon

Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Michael Somare

Solomon IslandsSolomon Islands history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Peter Kenilorea

TongaTonga history

King: Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV
Prime minister: Fatafehi Tu'ipelehake

Trust Territory of the Pacific IslandsUnited States history

High Commissioner: Adrian P. Winkel

Tuvalu

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Toaripi Lauti

Wallis and Futuna

King: Tomasi Kulimoetoke II

Western Samoa/ Independent State of Samoa

O le Ao o le Malo: Malietoa Tanumafili II
Prime minister: Tui Ātua Tupua Tamasese Efi