World leaders in 1997

Everyone who held a state’s top posts at some point in 1997, 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 1997 →

Major powers in 1997

United StatesUnited States history

President: Bill Clinton

United KingdomUnited Kingdom history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: John Major, then Tony Blair

RussiaRussia history

President: Boris Yeltsin
Prime minister: Viktor Chernomyrdin

People's Republic of ChinaChina history

General Secretary; Paramount Leader: Jiang Zemin
President: Jiang Zemin
Premier: Li Peng

FranceFrance history

President: Jacques Chirac
Prime minister: Alain Juppé, then Lionel Jospin

Federal Republic of GermanyGermany history

President: Roman Herzog
Chancellor of reunified Germany: Helmut Kohl

JapanJapan history

Emperor: Akihito

Republic of IndiaIndia history

President: Shankar Dayal Sharma, then K. R. Narayanan
Prime minister: H. D. Deve Gowda, then I. K. Gujral

Africa

Arab Republic of EgyptEgypt history

President: Hosni Mubarak
Prime minister: Kamal Ganzouri

Central African Republic

President: Ange-Félix Patassé
Prime minister: Jean-Paul Ngoupandé, then Michel Gbezera-Bria

Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe

President: Miguel Trovoada
Prime minister: Raul Bragança Neto

Democratic Republic of the Congo

President: Laurent-Désiré Kabila

Equatorial Guinea

President: Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
Prime minister: Ángel Serafín Seriche Dougan

EritreaEritrea history

President: Isaias Afwerki

Federal Democratic Republic of EthiopiaEthiopia history

President: Negasso Gidada
Prime minister: Meles Zenawi

Federal Republic of Nigeria: Fourth RepublicNigeria history

Military Head of State: Sani Abacha

GabonGabon history

President: Omar Bongo
Prime minister: Paulin Obame-Nguema

Guinea-Bissau

President: João Bernardo Vieira
Prime minister: Manuel Saturnino da Costa, then Carlos Correia

Interim Government of SomaliaSomalia history

President: Ali Mahdi Muhammad
Prime minister: Umar Arteh Ghalib

Islamic Republic of MauritaniaMauritania history

President: Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya
Prime minister: Cheikh El Avia Ould Mohamed Khouna, then Mohamed Lemine Ould Guig

KenyaKenya history

President: Daniel arap Moi

Kingdom of Eswatini (Swaziland)

King: Mswati III
Prime minister: Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini

Kingdom of LesothoLesotho history

King: Letsie III

LiberiaLiberia history

Chairwoman of the Council of State: Ruth Perry
President: Charles Taylor

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

Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution: Muammar Gaddafi
Secretary-General: Muhammad az-Zanati
Prime minister: Muhammad Ahmad al-Mangoush

Madagascar: Third RepublicMadagascar history

Acting President: Norbert Ratsirahonana
President: Didier Ratsiraka
Prime minister: Norbert Ratsirahonana

NamibiaNamibia history

President: Sam Nujoma
Prime minister: Hage Geingob

People's Democratic Republic of AlgeriaAlgeria history

President: Liamine Zéroual

Republic of AngolaAngola history

President: José Eduardo dos Santos
Prime minister: Fernando José de França Dias Van-Dúnem

Republic of BeninBenin history

President: Mathieu Kérékou
Prime minister: Adrien Houngbédji

Republic of BotswanaBotswana history

President: Quett Masire

Republic of Burkina FasoBurkina Faso history

President: Blaise Compaoré
Prime minister: Kadré Désiré Ouedraogo

Republic of BurundiBurundi history

President: Pierre Buyoya
Prime minister: Pascal-Firmin Ndimira

Republic of CameroonCameroon history

President: Paul Biya
Prime minister: Peter Mafany Musonge

Republic of Cape VerdeCape Verde history

President: António Mascarenhas Monteiro
Prime minister: Carlos Veiga

Republic of ChadChad history

President: Idriss Déby
Prime minister: Nassour Guelendouksia Ouaido

Republic of DjiboutiDjibouti history

President: Hassan Gouled Aptidon
Prime minister: Barkat Gourad Hamadou

Republic of GhanaGhana history

President of the Fourth Republic: Jerry Rawlings

Republic of GuineaGuinea history

President: Lansana Conté
Prime minister: Sidya Touré

Republic of Ivory CoastIvory Coast history

President: Henri Konan Bédié
Prime minister: Daniel Kablan Duncan

Republic of MalawiMalawi history

President: Bakili Muluzi

Republic of MaliMali history

President: Alpha Oumar Konaré
Prime minister: Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta

Republic of MauritiusMauritius history

President: Cassam Uteem

Republic of MozambiqueMozambique history

President: Joaquim Chissano
Prime minister: Pascoal Mocumbi

Republic of RwandaRwanda history

President: Pasteur Bizimungu
Prime minister: Pierre-Célestin Rwigema

Republic of SenegalSenegal history

President: Abdou Diouf
Prime minister: Habib Thiam

Republic of Seychelles

President: France-Albert René

Republic of Sierra LeoneSierra Leone history

President: Ahmad Tejan Kabbah
Military Head of State: Johnny Paul Koroma

Republic of SomalilandSomalia history

President: Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal

Republic of South AfricaSouth Africa history

President: Nelson Mandela

Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville)

President: Pascal Lissouba, then Denis Sassou Nguesso
Prime minister: Charles David Ganao, then Bernard Kolélas

Republic of the GambiaGambia history

President: Yahya Jammeh

Republic of the NigerNiger history

President of the Republic: Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara
Prime minister: Amadou Cissé, then Ibrahim Hassane Mayaki

Republic of the SudanSudan history

President: Omar al-Bashir

Republic of TunisiaTunisia history

President: Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
Prime minister: Hamed Karoui

Republic of Uganda

President: Yoweri Museveni

Republic of ZambiaZambia history

President: Frederick Chiluba

Republic of Zimbabwe

President: Robert Mugabe

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

President: Mohamed Abdelaziz

Sultanate/ Kingdom of MoroccoMorocco history

King: Hassan II
Prime minister: Abdellatif Filali

Togolese RepublicTogo history

President: Gnassingbé Eyadéma
Prime minister: Kwassi Klutse

Union of the Comoros

Acting President: Mohamed Taki Abdoulkarim
Prime minister: Ahmed Abdou, then Nourdine Bourhane

United Republic of TanzaniaTanzania history

President: Benjamin Mkapa
Prime minister: Frederick Sumaye

Zaire

President: Mobutu Sese Seko
First state commissioner: Léon Kengo
Prime minister: Étienne Tshisekedi, then Likulia Bolongo

Americas

Antigua and Barbuda

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Lester Bird

ArgentinaArgentina history

President: Carlos Menem

BarbadosBarbados history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Owen Arthur

BelizeBelize history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Manuel Esquivel

BoliviaBolivia history

President: Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, then Hugo Banzer

CanadaCanada history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Jean Chrétien

Co-operative Republic of GuyanaGuyana history

President: Sam Hinds, then Janet Jagan
Prime minister: Sam Hinds, then Janet Jagan

ColombiaColombia history

President: Ernesto Samper Pizano

Dominica

Prime minister: Edison James

EcuadorEcuador history

President: Abdalá Bucaram
Interim President: Fabián Alarcón
Acting President: Rosalía Arteaga

El SalvadorEl Salvador history

President: Armando Calderón Sol

Federative Republic of BrazilBrazil history

President: Fernando Henrique Cardoso

Fourth Dominican RepublicDominican Republic history

President: Leonel Fernández

Grenada

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Keith Mitchell

GuatemalaGuatemala history

President: Álvaro Arzú

HondurasHonduras history

President: Carlos Roberto Reina

JamaicaJamaica history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: P. J. Patterson

MexicoMexico history

President: Ernesto Zedillo

NicaraguaNicaragua history

President: Violeta Chamorro, then Arnoldo Alemán

Oriental Republic of UruguayUruguay history

President: Julio María Sanguinetti

Republic of ChileChile history

President: Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle

Republic of Costa RicaCosta Rica history

President: José Figueres Olsen

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: Alberto Fujimori
Prime Minister: Alberto Pandolfi

Republic of SurinameSuriname history

President: Jules Wijdenbosch

Republic of Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago history

President: Noor Hassanali, then A. N. R. Robinson
Prime minister: Basdeo Panday

Republic of VenezuelaVenezuela history

President: Rafael Caldera

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Denzil Douglas

Saint Lucia

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Vaughan Lewis, then Kenny Anthony

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

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

The Bahamas

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Hubert Ingraham

Third Haitian RepublicHaiti history

President: René Préval
Prime minister: Rosny Smarth

United StatesUnited States history

President: Bill Clinton

Asia

Ba'athist IraqIraq history

President: Saddam Hussein
Prime minister: Saddam Hussein

BangladeshBangladesh history

President: Shahabuddin Ahmed
Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina

BhutanBhutan history

Druk Gyalpo: Jigme Singye Wangchuck

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri LankaSri Lanka history

President: Chandrika Kumaratunga
Prime minister: Sirimavo Bandaranaike

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 Emirate of AfghanistanAfghanistan history

Supreme leaders: Mullah Omar
Prime ministers: Mohammad Rabbani

Islamic Republic of IranIran history

Supreme Leader: Ali Khamenei
President: Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, then Mohammad Khatami

Islamic Republic of PakistanPakistan history

President: Farooq Leghari
Acting President: Wasim Sajjad
Acting Prime minister: Malik Meraj Khalid
Prime minister: Nawaz Sharif

IsraelIsrael history

President: Ezer Weizman
Prime minister: Benjamin Netanyahu

JapanJapan history

Emperor: Akihito

KazakhstanKazakhstan history

President: Nursultan Nazarbayev
Prime minister: Akejan Kajegeldin, then Nurlan Balgimbayev

Kingdom of CambodiaCambodia history

King: Norodom Sihanouk
First Prime minister: Norodom Ranariddh, then Ung Huot

Kingdom of JordanJordan history

King: Hussein
Prime minister: Abdul Karim al-Kabariti, then Abdelsalam al-Majali

Kingdom of NepalNepal history

King: Birendra
Prime minister: Sher Bahadur Deuba, then Lokendra Bahadur Chand

Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia history

King: Fahd

Kyrgyzstan

Prime minister: Apas Jumagulov

Lao People's Democratic RepublicLaos history

Chairman: Khamtai Siphandone
President: Nouhak Phoumsavanh
Prime minister: Khamtai Siphandone

LebanonLebanon history

President: Elias Hrawi
Prime minister: Rafic Hariri

MalaysiaMalaysia history

Yang di-Pertuan Agong: Ja'afar of Negeri Sembilan
Prime minister: Mahathir Mohamad

MongoliaMongolia history

President: Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat, then Natsagiin Bagabandi
Prime minister: Mendsaikhany Enkhsaikhan

New Order, IndonesiaIndonesia history

President: Suharto

North KoreaNorth Korea history

General Secretary: Kim Jong Il

Northern Alliance of AfghanistanAfghanistan history

President: Burhanuddin Rabbani

People's Republic of ChinaChina history

General Secretary; Paramount Leader: Jiang Zemin
President: Jiang Zemin
Premier: Li Peng

PhilippinesPhilippines history

President: Fidel V. Ramos

Protectorate of Brunei / Nation of BruneiBrunei history

Sultan: Hassanal Bolkiah

QatarQatar history

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

Republic of China: TaiwanTaiwan history

President: Lee Teng-hui
Premier: Lien Chan, then Vincent Siew

Republic of CyprusCyprus history

President: Glafcos Clerides

Republic of IndiaIndia history

President: Shankar Dayal Sharma, then K. R. Narayanan
Prime minister: H. D. Deve Gowda, then I. K. Gujral

Republic of TurkeyTurkey history

President: Süleyman Demirel
Prime minister: Necmettin Erbakan, then Mesut Yılmaz

Republic of YemenYemen history

Prime minister: Abdul Aziz Abdul Ghani, then Faraj Said Bin Ghanem

Second Republic of Maldives

President: Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

SingaporeSingapore history

President: Ong Teng Cheong
Prime minister: Goh Chok Tong

Socialist Republic of Vietnam (1976–present)Vietnam history

General Secretary: Đỗ Mười, then Lê Khả Phiêu
President: Lê Đức Anh, then Trần Đức Lương
Prime minister: Võ Văn Kiệt, then Phan Văn Khải

South KoreaSouth Korea history

President: Kim Young-sam
Prime minister: Goh Kun

State of KuwaitKuwait history

Emir: Jaber III
Prime minister: Saad Al-Abdullah

State of PalestinePalestine history

President: Yasser Arafat

Sultanate of Oman: Al Busaidi dynastyOman history

Sultan: Qaboos bin Said

Syrian Arab RepublicSyria history

President: Hafez al-Assad
Prime minister: Mahmoud Zuabi

TajikistanTajikistan history

President: Emomali Rahmon
Prime minister: Yahyo Azimov

ThailandThailand history

King: Bhumibol Adulyadej
Prime minister: Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, then Chuan Leekpai

Turkish Republic of Northern CyprusCyprus history

President: Rauf Denktaş

Turkmenistan

President: Saparmurat Niyazov

Union of Burma/Myanmar

Chairmen: Than Shwe
Prime minister: Than Shwe

United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates history

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

UzbekistanUzbekistan history

President: Islam Karimov
Prime minister: Utkir Tukhtamurodovich Sultonov

Europe

Abkhazia, has limited recognition: Georgia claims AbkhaziaGeorgia history

President: Vladislav Ardzinba
Prime minister: Gennadi Gagulia, then Sergei Bagapsh

Andorra

Episcopal Co-Prince: Joan Martí i Alanis
French Co-Prince: Jacques Chirac
Prime minister: Marc Forné Molné

ArmeniaArmenia history

President: Levon Ter-Petrosyan
Prime minister: Robert Kocharyan

AustriaAustria history

President: Thomas Klestil
Chancellor: Franz Vranitzky, then Viktor Klima

AzerbaijanAzerbaijan history

President: Heydar Aliyev
Prime minister: Artur Rasizade

BelgiumBelgium history

King: Albert II
Prime minister: Jean-Luc Dehaene

Bosnia and Herzegovina

High Representative: Carl Bildt, then Carlos Westendorp
Chairmen: Alija Izetbegović
Member: Alija Izetbegović, then Krešimir Zubak, then Momčilo Krajišnik

Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

President: Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, then Aslan Maskhadov

Czech Republic

President: Václav Havel
Prime minister: Václav Klaus

DenmarkDenmark history

Queen: Margrethe II
Prime minister: Poul Nyrup Rasmussen

Federal Republic of GermanyGermany history

President: Roman Herzog
Chancellor of reunified Germany: Helmut Kohl

FinlandFinland history

President: Martti Ahtisaari
Prime minister: Paavo Lipponen

France: Fifth RepublicFrance history

President: Jacques Chirac
Prime minister: Alain Juppé, then Lionel Jospin

GeorgiaGeorgia history

President: Eduard Shevardnadze
State minister: Niko Lekishvili

Greece: Third RepublicGreece history

President: Konstantinos Stephanopoulos
Prime minister: Costas Simitis

Hungary: Third RepublicHungary history

President: Árpád Göncz
Prime minister: Gyula Horn

IcelandIceland history

President: Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
Prime minister: Davíð Oddsson

ItalyItaly history

President: Oscar Luigi Scalfaro
Prime minister: Romano Prodi

Kingdom of SpainSpain history

King: Juan Carlos I
Prime minister: José María Aznar

Kingdom of the NetherlandsNetherlands history

Queen: Beatrix
Prime minister: Wim Kok

Liechtenstein

Prince: Hans-Adam II
Prime minister: Mario Frick

LuxembourgLuxembourg history

Grand Duke: Jean
Prime minister: Jean-Claude Juncker

Monaco

Prince: Rainier III
Minister of state: Paul Dijoud, then Michel Lévêque

NorwayNorway history

King: Harald V
Prime minister: Thorbjørn Jagland, then Kjell Magne Bondevik

Republic of AlbaniaAlbania history

President: Berisha, then Rexhep Meidani
Acting President: Gjinushi
Prime minister: Bashkim Fino, then Fatos Nano

Republic of ArtsakhAzerbaijan history

President: Robert Kocharyan, then Leonard Petrosyan, then Arkadi Ghukasyan
President of the National Assembly: Arthur Tovmasyan, then Oleg Yesayan

Republic of BelarusBelarus history

President: Alexander Lukashenko
Prime minister: Sergey Ling

Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

President: Alija Izetbegović
Prime minister: Hasan Muratović

Republic of BulgariaBulgaria history

President: Zhelyu Zhelev, then Petar Stoyanov
Prime minister: Zhan Videnov, then Ivan Yordanov Kostov
Interim Prime minister: Stefan Sofiyanski

Republic of Croatia

Prime minister: Zlatko Mateša

Republic of EstoniaEstonia history

President: Lennart Meri
Prime minister: Tiit Vähi, then Mart Siimann

Republic of IrelandIreland history

President: Mary Robinson, then Mary McAleese
Taoiseach: John Bruton, then Bertie Ahern

Republic of KosovaKosovo history

President: Ibrahim Rugova
Prime minister: Bujar Bukoshi

Republic of LatviaLatvia history

President: Guntis Ulmanis
Prime minister: Andris Šķēle, then Guntars Krasts

Republic of LithuaniaLithuania history

President: Algirdas Brazauskas
Prime minister: Gediminas Vagnorius

Republic of Macedonia

President: Kiro Gligorov

Republic of MaltaMalta history

President: Ugo Mifsud Bonnici
Prime minister: Alfred Sant

Republic of MoldovaMoldova history

President: Mircea Snegur, then Petru Lucinschi
Prime minister: Andrei Sangheli, then Ion Ciubuc

Republic of PolandPoland history

President: Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Prime minister: Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, then Jerzy Buzek

Republic of RomaniaRomania history

President: Emil Constantinescu
Prime minister: Victor Ciorbea

RussiaRussia history

President: Boris Yeltsin
Prime minister: Viktor Chernomyrdin

San Marino

Captains Regent: Maurizio Rattini, then Gian Carlo Venturini

Slovakia

President: Michal Kováč
Prime minister: Vladimír Mečiar

Slovenia

President: Milan Kučan
Prime minister: Janez Drnovšek

South Ossetia, has limited recognition: Georgia claims South OssetiaGeorgia history

Head of state; President: Lyudvig Chibirov
Prime minister: Aleksandr Shavlokhov

SwedenSweden history

King: Carl XVI Gustaf
Prime minister: Göran Persson

SwitzerlandSwitzerland history

President of the Confederation: Arnold Koller

Third Republic of PortugalPortugal history

President: Jorge Sampaio
Prime minister: António Guterres

UkraineUkraine history

President: Leonid Kuchma
Prime minister: Pavlo Lazarenko, then Valeriy Pustovoitenko
Acting Prime minister: Vasyl Durdynets

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandUnited Kingdom history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: John Major, then Tony Blair

Vatican City

Sovereign: John Paul II
President of the Governorate: Rosalio José Castillo Lara

Yugoslavia: Federal Republic of Yugoslavia/ Serbia and Montenegro

President: Zoran Lilić, then Slobodan Milošević
Prime minister: Radoje Kontić

Oceania

AustraliaAustralia history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: John Howard

Federated States of Micronesia

President: Jacob Nena

Kiribati

President: Teburoro Tito

Marshall Islands

Acting President: Kunio Lemari
President: Imata Kabua

Nauru

President: Ruben Kun, then Kinza Clodumar

New ZealandNew Zealand history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Jim Bolger, then Jenny Shipley

Palau

President: Kuniwo Nakamura

Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Julius Chan, then Bill Skate
Acting Prime minister: John Giheno

Republic of FijiFiji history

President: Kamisese Mara
Prime minister: Sitiveni Rabuka

Solomon IslandsSolomon Islands history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Solomon Mamaloni, then Bartholomew Ulufa'alu

TongaTonga history

King: Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV
Prime minister: Baron Vaea

Tuvalu

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Bikenibeu Paeniu

VanuatuVanuatu history

President: Jean-Marie Léyé
Prime minister: Serge Vohor

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