World leaders in 1989

Everyone who held a state’s top posts at some point in 1989, 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 1989 →

Major powers in 1989

United StatesUnited States history

President: Ronald Reagan, then George H. W. Bush

United KingdomUnited Kingdom history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Margaret Thatcher

Soviet UnionRussia history

General Secretary: Mikhail Gorbachev
Chairman of the Supreme Soviet: Mikhail Gorbachev
Chairman of the Council of Ministers: Nikolai Ryzhkov

People's Republic of ChinaChina history

Paramount Leader: Deng Xiaoping
General Secretary: Zhao Ziyang
General Secretary; Paramount Leader: Jiang Zemin
President: Yang Shangkun
Premier: Li Peng

FranceFrance history

President: François Mitterrand
Prime minister: Michel Rocard

East GermanyGermany history

Chairmen of the State Council: Erich Honecker, then Egon Krenz, then Manfred Gerlach
Chairman: Willi Stoph, then Hans Modrow

West GermanyGermany history

President of West Germany: Richard von Weizsäcker
Chancellor of West Germany: Helmut Kohl

JapanJapan history

Emperor: Hirohito, then Akihito
Prime minister: Noboru Takeshita, then Sōsuke Uno, then Toshiki Kaifu

Republic of IndiaIndia history

President: R. Venkataraman
Prime minister: Rajiv Gandhi, then V. P. Singh

Africa

Arab Republic of EgyptEgypt history

President: Hosni Mubarak
Prime minister: Atef Sedky

Central African Republic

President: André Kolingba

CiskeiSouth Africa history

President: Lennox Sebe

Democratic Republic of MadagascarMadagascar history

President of Supreme Revolutionary Council: Didier Ratsiraka

Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe

President: Manuel Pinto da Costa

Equatorial Guinea

President: Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
Prime minister: Cristino Seriche Bioko

Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros

President: Ahmed Abdallah

Federal Republic of Nigeria: Fourth RepublicNigeria history

Military Head of State: Ibrahim Babangida

GabonGabon history

President: Omar Bongo
Prime minister: Léon Mébiame

Guinea-Bissau

President: João Bernardo Vieira

Islamic Republic of MauritaniaMauritania history

Chairman of the Military Committee for National Salvation: Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya
Prime minister: Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya

KenyaKenya history

President: Daniel arap Moi

Kingdom of Eswatini (Swaziland)

King: Mswati III
Prime minister: Obed Dlamini

Kingdom of LesothoLesotho history

King: Moshoeshoe II

LiberiaLiberia history

president: Samuel Doe

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

Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution: Muammar Gaddafi

Mauritius (Commonwealth realm)Mauritius history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Anerood Jugnauth

People's Democratic Republic of AlgeriaAlgeria history

President: Chadli Bendjedid
Prime minister: Kasdi Merbah, then Mouloud Hamrouche

People's Democratic Republic of EthiopiaEthiopia history

President: Mengistu Haile Mariam
Prime minister: Fikre Selassie Wogderess
Acting Prime minister: Hailu Yimenu

People's Republic of AngolaAngola history

President: José Eduardo dos Santos

People's Republic of BeninBenin history

President: Mathieu Kérékou

People's Republic of MozambiqueMozambique history

President: Joaquim Chissano
Prime minister: Mário da Graça Machungo

People's Republic of the Congo

Prime minister: Ange Édouard Poungui, then Alphonse Poaty-Souchlaty

Republic of BotswanaBotswana history

President: Quett Masire

Republic of Burkina FasoBurkina Faso history

President: Blaise Compaoré

Republic of BurundiBurundi history

President: Pierre Buyoya
Prime minister: Adrien Sibomana

Republic of CameroonCameroon history

President: Paul Biya

Republic of Cape VerdeCape Verde history

President: Aristides Pereira
Prime minister: Pedro Pires

Republic of ChadChad history

President: Hissène Habré

Republic of DjiboutiDjibouti history

President: Hassan Gouled Aptidon
Prime minister: Barkat Gourad Hamadou

Republic of GhanaGhana history

Military Head of State: Jerry Rawlings

Republic of GuineaGuinea history

President: Lansana Conté

Republic of Ivory CoastIvory Coast history

President: Félix Houphouët-Boigny

Republic of MalawiMalawi history

President: Hastings Banda

Republic of MaliMali history

President: Moussa Traoré

Republic of RwandaRwanda history

President: Juvénal Habyarimana

Republic of Seychelles

President: France-Albert René

Republic of Sierra LeoneSierra Leone history

President: Joseph Saidu Momoh

Republic of South AfricaSouth Africa history

State President: P. W. Botha, then F. W. de Klerk

Republic of the GambiaGambia history

President: Dawda Jawara

Republic of the NigerNiger history

Prime minister: Mamane Oumarou

Republic of the SudanSudan history

President: Ahmed al-Mirghani, then Omar al-Bashir
Prime minister: Sadiq al-Mahdi

Republic of TunisiaTunisia history

President: Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
Prime minister: Hédi Baccouche, then Hamed Karoui

Republic of Uganda

President: Yoweri Museveni

Republic of ZambiaZambia history

President: Kenneth Kaunda
Prime minister: Kebby Musokotwane, then Malimba Masheke

Republic of Zimbabwe

President: Robert Mugabe

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, has limited recognition: Morocco claims Western SaharaMorocco history

President: Mohamed Abdelaziz

Senegambia ConfederationSenegal history

President: Abdou Diouf

Somali Democratic RepublicSomalia history

President: Siad Barre
Prime minister: Muhammad Ali Samatar

Sultanate/ Kingdom of MoroccoMorocco history

King: Hassan II
Prime minister: Azzeddine Laraki

Togolese RepublicTogo history

President: Gnassingbé Eyadéma

TranskeiSouth Africa history

Head of the Military Council: Bantu Holomisa

Union of the Comoros

Provisional President: Haribon Chebani
Acting President: Said Mohamed Djohar

United Republic of TanzaniaTanzania history

President: Ali Hassan Mwinyi
Prime minister: Joseph Warioba

Zaire

President: Mobutu Sese Seko
First state commissioner: Léon Kengo

Americas

Antigua and Barbuda

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Vere Bird

ArgentinaArgentina history

President: Raúl Alfonsín, then Carlos Menem

BarbadosBarbados history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Lloyd Erskine Sandiford

BelizeBelize history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Manuel Esquivel, then George Cadle Price

BoliviaBolivia history

President: Víctor Paz Estenssoro, then Jaime Paz Zamora

CanadaCanada history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Brian Mulroney

Co-operative Republic of GuyanaGuyana history

President: Desmond Hoyte

ColombiaColombia history

President: Virgilio Barco Vargas

Dominica

Prime minister: Eugenia Charles

EcuadorEcuador history

President: Rodrigo Borja Cevallos

El SalvadorEl Salvador history

President: José Napoleón Duarte, then Alfredo Cristiani

El Stronato: ParaguayParaguay history

President: Alfredo Stroessner

Federative Republic of BrazilBrazil history

President: José Sarney

Fourth Dominican RepublicDominican Republic history

President: Joaquín Balaguer

Grenada

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Herbert Blaize, then Ben Jones (Grenada)

GuatemalaGuatemala history

President: Vinicio Cerezo

HondurasHonduras history

President: José Azcona del Hoyo

JamaicaJamaica history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Edward Seaga

MexicoMexico history

President: Carlos Salinas de Gortari

Military Dictatorship of Chile (1973–1990)Chile history

President: Augusto Pinochet

NicaraguaNicaragua history

President: Daniel Ortega

Oriental Republic of UruguayUruguay history

President: Julio María Sanguinetti

PanamaPanama history

President: Guillermo Endara

Republic of Costa RicaCosta Rica history

President: Óscar Arias

Republic of CubaCuba history

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

Republic of PeruPeru history

Constitutional President: Alan García Pérez
Prime Minister: Armando Villanueva del Campo, then Luis Alberto Sánchez, then Guillermo Larco Cox

Republic of SurinameSuriname history

President: Ramsewak Shankar

Republic of Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago history

President: Noor Hassanali
Prime minister: A. N. R. Robinson

Republic of VenezuelaVenezuela history

President: Jaime Lusinchi, then Carlos Andrés Pérez

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Kennedy Simmonds

Saint Lucia

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: John Compton

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: James Fitz-Allen Mitchell

The Bahamas

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Lynden Pindling

Third Haitian RepublicHaiti history

President: Prosper Avril

United StatesUnited States history

President: Ronald Reagan, then George H. W. Bush

Asia

Ba'athist IraqIraq history

President: Saddam Hussein
Prime minister: Saddam Hussein

BangladeshBangladesh history

President: Hussain Muhammad Ershad
Prime minister: Moudud Ahmed, then Kazi Zafar Ahmed

BhutanBhutan history

Druk Gyalpo: Jigme Singye Wangchuck

Democratic Republic of AfghanistanAfghanistan history

General Secretary: Mohammad Najibullah
President: Mohammad Najibullah

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri LankaSri Lanka history

President: Junius Richard Jayewardene, then Ranasinghe Premadasa
Prime minister: Ranasinghe Premadasa, then Dingiri Banda Wijetunga

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

Islamic Republic of IranIran history

Supreme Leader: Ruhollah Khomeini, then Ali Khamenei
President: Ali Khamenei, then Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Prime minister: Mir-Hossein Mousavi

Islamic Republic of PakistanPakistan history

President: Ghulam Ishaq Khan
Prime minister: Benazir Bhutto

IsraelIsrael history

President: Chaim Herzog
Prime minister: Yitzhak Shamir

JapanJapan history

Emperor: Hirohito, then Akihito
Prime minister: Noboru Takeshita, then Sōsuke Uno, then Toshiki Kaifu

Kingdom of JordanJordan history

King: Hussein
Prime minister: Zaid al-Rifai, then Zaid ibn Shaker, then Mudar Badran

Kingdom of NepalNepal history

King: Birendra

Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia history

King: Fahd

Lao People's Democratic RepublicLaos history

General Secretary: Kaysone Phomvihane
President: Souphanouvong
Acting President: Phoumi Vongvichit
Prime minister: Kaysone Phomvihane

LebanonLebanon history

Acting President, Disputed: Selim Hoss, then Michel Aoun
President, Disputed: René Moawad
Acting President: Selim Hoss
President: Elias Hrawi
Prime minister: Selim Hoss
Disputed Prime minister: Michel Aoun

MalaysiaMalaysia history

Yang di-Pertuan Agong: Iskandar of Johor, then Azlan Shah of Perak
Prime minister: Mahathir Mohamad

Mongolian People's Republic

Prime minister: Dumaagiin Sodnom

New Order, IndonesiaIndonesia history

President: Suharto

North KoreaNorth Korea history

General Secretary: Kim Il Sung
President: Kim Il Sung
Premier: Yon Hyong-muk

North Yemen: Yemen Arab RepublicYemen history

President: Ali Abdullah Saleh

People's Republic of ChinaChina history

Paramount Leader: Deng Xiaoping
General Secretary: Zhao Ziyang
General Secretary; Paramount Leader: Jiang Zemin
President: Yang Shangkun
Premier: Li Peng

People's Republic of KampucheaCambodia history

Prime minister: Hun Sen

PhilippinesPhilippines history

President: Corazon Aquino

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: Lee Teng-hui
Premier: Yu Kuo-hwa, then Lee Huan

Republic of CyprusCyprus history

President: George Vasiliou

Republic of IndiaIndia history

President: R. Venkataraman
Prime minister: Rajiv Gandhi, then V. P. Singh

Republic of TurkeyTurkey history

President: Kenan Evren, then Turgut Özal
Prime minister: Turgut Özal, then Yıldırım Akbulut
Acting Prime minister: Ali Bozer

Second Republic of Maldives

President: Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

SingaporeSingapore history

President: Wee Kim Wee
Prime minister: Lee Kuan Yew

Socialist Republic of Vietnam (1976–present)Vietnam history

Chairmen of the Council of State: Võ Chí Công
Chairmen of the Council of ministers: Đỗ Mười

South KoreaSouth Korea history

President: Roh Tae-woo

South Yemen: People's Democratic Republic of YemenYemen history

President: Ali Salem al-Beidh
Prime minister: Yasin Said Numan

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: Mahmoud Zuabi

ThailandThailand history

King: Bhumibol Adulyadej
Prime minister: Chatichai Choonhavan

Turkish Republic of Northern CyprusCyprus history

President: Rauf Denktaş

Union of Burma/Myanmar

Chairmen: Saw Maung
Prime minister: Saw Maung

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: François Mitterrand
Prime minister: Josep Pintat-Solans

AustriaAustria history

President: Kurt Waldheim
Chancellor: Franz Vranitzky

BelgiumBelgium history

King: Baudouin
Prime minister: Wilfried Martens

Czech and Slovak Federative Republic

President: Václav Havel
Prime minister: Marián Čalfa

Czechoslovak Socialist Republic

General Secretary: Miloš Jakeš, then Karel Urbánek
President: Gustáv Husák
Prime minister: Ladislav Adamec

DenmarkDenmark history

Queen: Margrethe II
Prime minister: Poul Schlüter

East GermanyGermany history

Chairmen of the State Council: Erich Honecker, then Egon Krenz, then Manfred Gerlach
Chairman: Willi Stoph, then Hans Modrow

FinlandFinland history

President: Mauno Koivisto
Prime minister: Harri Holkeri

France: Fifth RepublicFrance history

President: François Mitterrand
Prime minister: Michel Rocard

Greece: Third RepublicGreece history

President: Christos Sartzetakis
Prime minister: Andreas Papandreou, then Tzannis Tzannetakis
caretaker Prime minister: Ioannis Grivas, then Xenophon Zolotas

Hungarian People's RepublicHungary history

Chairman: Brunó Ferenc Straub
Prime minister: Miklós Németh

Hungary: Third RepublicHungary history

Acting President: Mátyás Szűrös
Provisional Prime minister: Miklós Németh

IcelandIceland history

President: Vigdís Finnbogadóttir
Prime minister: Steingrímur Hermannsson

ItalyItaly history

President: Francesco Cossiga
Prime minister: Ciriaco De Mita, then Giulio Andreotti

Kingdom of SpainSpain history

King: Juan Carlos I
Prime minister: Felipe González

Kingdom of the NetherlandsNetherlands history

Queen: Beatrix
Prime minister: Ruud Lubbers

Liechtenstein

Prince: Franz Josef II, then Hans-Adam II
Prime minister: Hans Brunhart

LuxembourgLuxembourg history

Grand Duke: Jean
Prime minister: Jacques Santer

Monaco

Prince: Rainier III
Minister of state: Jean Ausseil

NorwayNorway history

King: Olav V
Prime minister: Gro Harlem Brundtland, then Jan P. Syse

People's Republic of BulgariaBulgaria history

General Secretary: Todor Zhivkov
Chairman of the State Council: Todor Zhivkov
Prime minister: Georgi Atanasov

People's Socialist Republic of AlbaniaAlbania history

First Secretary: Ramiz Alia
Chairman: Ramiz Alia
Prime minister: Adil Çarçani

Polish People's RepublicPoland history

First Secretary: Wojciech Jaruzelski, then Mieczysław Rakowski
Chairman; President: Wojciech Jaruzelski
Prime minister: Mieczysław Rakowski, then Czesław Kiszczak, then Tadeusz Mazowiecki

Republic of IrelandIreland history

President: Patrick Hillery
Taoiseach: Charles Haughey

Republic of MaltaMalta history

Acting President: Paul Xuereb
President: Ċensu Tabone
Prime minister: Eddie Fenech Adami

Republic of RomaniaRomania history

President: Ion Iliescu
Acting Prime minister: Petre Roman

San Marino

Captains Regent: Marino Vagnetti, then Gloriana Ranocchini

Socialist Republic of RomaniaRomania history

General Secretary: Nicolae Ceaușescu
President: Nicolae Ceaușescu
Prime minister: Constantin Dăscălescu

Soviet UnionRussia history

General Secretary: Mikhail Gorbachev
Chairman of the Supreme Soviet: Mikhail Gorbachev
Chairman of the Council of Ministers: Nikolai Ryzhkov

SwedenSweden history

King: Carl XVI Gustaf
Prime minister: Ingvar Carlsson

SwitzerlandSwitzerland history

President of the Confederation: Jean-Pascal Delamuraz

Third Republic of PortugalPortugal history

President: Mário Soares
Prime minister: Aníbal Cavaco Silva

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandUnited Kingdom history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Margaret Thatcher

Vatican City

Sovereign: John Paul II
President of the Governorate: Sebastiano Baggio

West GermanyGermany history

President of West Germany: Richard von Weizsäcker
Chancellor of West Germany: Helmut Kohl

Yugoslavia: Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

President of the Presidency: Raif Dizdarević, then Janez Drnovšek
Prime minister: Ante Marković

Oceania

AustraliaAustralia history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Bob Hawke

Federated States of Micronesia

President: John Haglelgam

Kiribati

President: Ieremia Tabai

Marshall Islands

President: Amata Kabua

Nauru

President: Hammer DeRoburt, then Kenos Aroi, then Bernard Dowiyogo

New ZealandNew Zealand history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: David Lange, then Geoffrey Palmer

Palau

President: Thomas Remengesau Sr., then Ngiratkel Etpison

Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea history

Queen: Elizabeth II

Republic of FijiFiji history

President: Penaia Ganilau
Prime minister: Kamisese Mara

Solomon IslandsSolomon Islands history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Ezekiel Alebua, then Solomon Mamaloni

TongaTonga history

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

Tuvalu

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Tomasi Puapua, then Bikenibeu Paeniu

VanuatuVanuatu history

President: Ati George Sokomanu, then Frederick Karlomuana Timakata
Prime minister: Walter Lini

Wallis and Futuna

King: Tomasi Kulimoetoke II

Western Samoa/ Independent State of Samoa

O le Ao o le Malo: Malietoa Tanumafili II
Prime minister: Tofilau Eti Alesana