World leaders in 2002

Everyone who held a state’s top posts at some point in 2002, 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 2002 →

Major powers in 2002

United StatesUnited States history

President: George W. Bush

United KingdomUnited Kingdom history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime Minister: Tony Blair

RussiaRussia history

President: Vladimir Putin
Prime minister: Mikhail Kasyanov

ChinaChina history

General Secretary; paramount leader: Jiang Zemin, then Hu Jintao
President: Jiang Zemin
Premier: Zhu Rongji

FranceFrance history

President: Jacques Chirac
Prime minister: Lionel Jospin, then Jean-Pierre Raffarin

GermanyGermany history

President: Johannes Rau
Chancellor: Gerhard Schröder

JapanJapan history

Emperor: Akihito
Prime minister: Junichirō Koizumi

IndiaIndia history

President: K. R. Narayanan, then A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Prime minister: Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Africa

AlgeriaAlgeria history

President: Abdelaziz Bouteflika
Prime Minister: Ali Benflis

AngolaAngola history

President: José Eduardo dos Santos
Prime minister: Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos

BeninBenin history

President: Mathieu Kérékou

BotswanaBotswana history

President: Festus Mogae

Burkina FasoBurkina Faso history

President: Blaise Compaoré
Prime minister: Paramanga Ernest Yonli

BurundiBurundi history

President: Pierre Buyoya

CameroonCameroon history

President: Paul Biya
Prime minister: Peter Mafany Musonge

Cape VerdeCape Verde history

President: Pedro Pires
Prime minister: José Maria Neves

Central African Republic

President: Ange-Félix Patassé
Prime minister: Martin Ziguélé

ChadChad history

President: Idriss Déby
Prime minister: Nagoum Yamassoum, then Haroun Kabadi

Comoros

President: Azali Assoumani
Prime minister: Hamada Madi

Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa)Democratic Republic of the Congo history

President: Joseph Kabila

DjiboutiDjibouti history

President: Ismaïl Omar Guelleh
Prime minister: Dileita Mohamed Dileita

EgyptEgypt history

President: Hosni Mubarak
Prime minister: Atef Ebeid

Equatorial Guinea

President: Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
Prime minister: Cándido Muatetema Rivas

EritreaEritrea history

President: Isaias Afwerki

EthiopiaEthiopia history

President: Girma Wolde-Giorgis
Prime minister: Meles Zenawi

GabonGabon history

President: Omar Bongo

GambiaGambia history

President: Yahya Jammeh

GhanaGhana history

President: John Kufuor

GuineaGuinea history

President: Lansana Conté
Prime minister: Lamine Sidimé

Guinea-Bissau

President: Kumba Ialá
Prime minister: Alamara Nhassé, then Mário Pires

Ivory CoastIvory Coast history

President: Laurent Gbagbo
Prime minister: Pascal Affi N'Guessan

KenyaKenya history

President: Daniel arap Moi, then Mwai Kibaki

LesothoLesotho history

King: Letsie III
Prime minister: Pakalitha Mosisili

LiberiaLiberia history

President: Charles Taylor

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution: Muammar Gaddafi
Prime minister: Imbarek Shamekh

Madagascar

President: Didier Ratsiraka, then Marc Ravalomanana
Prime minister: Tantely Andrianarivo, then Jacques Sylla

MalawiMalawi history

President: Bakili Muluzi

MaliMali history

President: Alpha Oumar Konaré, then Amadou Toumani Touré
Prime minister: Mandé Sidibé, then Modibo Keita, then Ahmed Mohamed ag Hamani

MauritaniaMauritania history

President: Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya
Prime minister: Cheikh El Avia Ould Mohamed Khouna

MauritiusMauritius history

President: Cassam Uteem, then Karl Offmann
Acting President: Angidi Chettiar, then Ariranga Pillay
Prime minister: Anerood Jugnauth

MoroccoMorocco history

King: Mohammed VI
Prime Minister: Abderrahmane Youssoufi, then Driss Jettou

MozambiqueMozambique history

President: Joaquim Chissano
Prime minister: Pascoal Mocumbi

NamibiaNamibia history

President: Sam Nujoma
Prime minister: Hage Geingob, then Theo-Ben Gurirab

NigerNiger history

President: Mamadou Tandja
Prime minister: Hama Amadou

Nigeria: Fourth RepublicNigeria history

President: Olusegun Obasanjo

Republic of Somaliland

President: Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal, then Dahir Riyale Kahin

Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville)Republic of the Congo history

President: Denis Sassou Nguesso

RwandaRwanda history

President: Paul Kagame
Prime minister: Bernard Makuza

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

President: Mohamed Abdelaziz
Prime Minister: Bouchraya Hammoudi Bayoun

São Tomé and Príncipe

President: Fradique de Menezes
Prime minister: Evaristo Carvalho, then Gabriel Costa, then Maria das Neves

SenegalSenegal history

President: Abdoulaye Wade
Prime minister: Mame Madior Boye, then Idrissa Seck

Seychelles

President: France-Albert René

Sierra LeoneSierra Leone history

President: Ahmad Tejan Kabbah

South AfricaSouth Africa history

President: Thabo Mbeki

SudanSudan history

President: Omar al-Bashir

SwazilandEswatini history

King: Mswati III
Prime minister: Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini

TanzaniaTanzania history

President: Benjamin Mkapa
Prime minister: Frederick Sumaye

TogoTogo history

President: Gnassingbé Eyadéma
Prime minister: Agbéyomé Kodjo, then Koffi Sama

Transitional National Government of the Republic of Somalia

President: Abdiqasim Salad Hassan
Prime minister: Hassan Abshir Farah

TunisiaTunisia history

President: Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
Prime minister: Mohamed Ghannouchi

Uganda

President: Yoweri Museveni
Prime minister: Apolo Nsibambi

ZambiaZambia history

President: Frederick Chiluba, then Levy Mwanawasa

Zimbabwe

President: Robert Mugabe

Americas

Antigua and Barbuda

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Lester Bird

ArgentinaArgentina history

President: Eduardo Duhalde

BahamasBahamas history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Hubert Ingraham, then Perry Christie

BarbadosBarbados history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Owen Arthur

BelizeBelize history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Said Musa

Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

President: Hugo Chávez
Acting President: Pedro Carmona, then Diosdado Cabello

BoliviaBolivia history

President: Jorge Quiroga, then Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada

BrazilBrazil history

President: Fernando Henrique Cardoso

CanadaCanada history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Jean Chrétien

ChileChile history

President: Ricardo Lagos

ColombiaColombia history

President: Andrés Pastrana Arango, then Álvaro Uribe Vélez

Costa RicaCosta Rica history

President: Miguel Rodríguez Echeverría, then Abel Pacheco de la Espriella

CubaCuba history

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

Dominica

President: Vernon Shaw
Prime minister: Pierre Charles

Dominican RepublicDominican Republic history

President: Hipólito Mejía

EcuadorEcuador history

President: Gustavo Noboa

El SalvadorEl Salvador history

President: Francisco Flores Pérez

Grenada

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Keith Mitchell

GuatemalaGuatemala history

President: Alfonso Portillo

GuyanaGuyana history

President: Bharrat Jagdeo
Prime minister: Sam Hinds

HaitiHaiti history

President: Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Prime minister: Jean Marie Chérestal, then Yvon Neptune

HondurasHonduras history

President: Carlos Roberto Flores, then Ricardo Maduro

JamaicaJamaica history

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

MexicoMexico history

President: Vicente Fox

NicaraguaNicaragua history

President: Arnoldo Alemán, then Enrique Bolaños

PanamaPanama history

President: Mireya Moscoso

ParaguayParaguay history

President: Luis González

PeruPeru history

Constitutional President: Alejandro Toledo
Prime Minister: Roberto Dañino, then Luis Solari De La Fuente

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Denzil Douglas

Saint Lucia

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Kenny Anthony

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Queen: Elizabeth II

SurinameSuriname history

President: Ronald Venetiaan

Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago history

President: A. N. R. Robinson
Prime minister: Patrick Manning

United StatesUnited States history

President: George W. Bush

UruguayUruguay history

President: Jorge Batlle

Asia

Ba'athist Iraq

President: Saddam Hussein
Prime minister: Saddam Hussein

BangladeshBangladesh history

President: A. Q. M. Badruddoza Chowdhury, then Iajuddin Ahmed
Interim President: Muhammad Jamiruddin Sircar
Prime minister: Khaleda Zia

BhutanBhutan history

Druk Gyalpo: Jigme Singye Wangchuck
Prime minister: Khandu Wangchuk, then Kinzang Dorji

BruneiBrunei history

Sultan: Hassanal Bolkiah

Burma/Myanmar: State Peace and Development Council (1997–2011)

Chairman: Than Shwe
Prime minister: Than Shwe

CambodiaCambodia history

King: Norodom Sihanouk
Prime minister: Hun Sen

ChinaChina history

General Secretary; paramount leader: Jiang Zemin, then Hu Jintao
President: Jiang Zemin
Premier: Zhu Rongji

CyprusCyprus history

President: Glafcos Clerides

IndiaIndia history

President: K. R. Narayanan, then A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Prime minister: Atal Bihari Vajpayee

IndonesiaIndonesia history

President: Megawati Sukarnoputri

IranIran history

Supreme Leader: Ali Khamenei
President: Mohammad Khatami

IsraelIsrael history

President: Moshe Katsav
Prime minister: Ariel Sharon

JapanJapan history

Emperor: Akihito
Prime minister: Junichirō Koizumi

JordanJordan history

King: Abdullah II
Prime minister: Ali Abu al-Ragheb

KazakhstanKazakhstan history

President: Nursultan Nazarbayev
Prime minister: Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, then Imangali Tasmagambetov

Kingdom of Nepal

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

KuwaitKuwait history

Emir: Jaber III
Prime minister: Saad Al-Abdullah

Kyrgyzstan

President: Askar Akayev
Prime minister: Kurmanbek Bakiyev, then Nikolai Tanayev

LaosLaos history

Chairman: Khamtai Siphandone
President: Khamtai Siphandone
Prime minister: Bounnhang Vorachit

LebanonLebanon history

President: Émile Lahoud
Prime minister: Rafic Hariri

MalaysiaMalaysia history

Yang di-Pertuan Agong: Sirajuddin of Perlis
Prime minister: Mahathir Mohamad

Maldives

President: Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

MongoliaMongolia history

President: Natsagiin Bagabandi
Prime minister: Nambaryn Enkhbayar

North KoreaNorth Korea history

General Secretary: Kim Jong-il
Premier: Hong Song-nam

Northern Cyprus

President: Rauf Denktaş

OmanOman history

Sultan: Qaboos bin Said

PakistanPakistan history

President: Pervez Musharraf
Prime minister: Zafarullah Khan Jamali

PhilippinesPhilippines history

President: Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

QatarQatar history

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

Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia history

King: Fahd

SingaporeSingapore history

President: S. R. Nathan
Prime minister: Goh Chok Tong

South KoreaSouth Korea history

President: Kim Dae-jung

Sri LankaSri Lanka history

President: Chandrika Kumaratunga
Prime minister: Ranil Wickremesinghe

State of Palestine

President: Yasser Arafat

State/ Kingdom of Bahrain

King: Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
Prime minister: Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa

Syria

President: Bashar al-Assad
Prime minister: Muhammad Mustafa Mero

TaiwanTaiwan history

President: Chen Shui-bian
Premier: Chang Chun-hsiung, then Yu Shyi-kun

TajikistanTajikistan history

President: Emomali Rahmon
Prime minister: Oqil Oqilov

ThailandThailand history

King: Bhumibol Adulyadej
Prime minister: Thaksin Shinawatra

Timor-Leste (independent 2002–present)

President: Xanana Gusmão
Prime minister: Mari Alkatiri

TurkeyTurkey history

President: Ahmet Necdet Sezer
Prime minister: Bülent Ecevit, then Abdullah Gül

Turkmenistan

President: Saparmurat Niyazov

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: Oʻtkir Sultonov

VietnamVietnam history

General Secretary: Nông Đức Mạnh
President: Trần Đức Lương
Prime minister: Phan Văn Khải

YemenYemen history

Prime minister: Abdul Qadir Bajamal

Europe

(Former Yugoslav) Republic of MacedoniaNorth Macedonia history

President: Boris Trajkovski
Prime minister: Ljubčo Georgievski, then Branko Crvenkovski

Abkhazia

President: Vladislav Ardzinba
Prime minister: Anri Jergenia, then Gennadi Gagulia

AlbaniaAlbania history

President: Rexhep Meidani, then Alfred Moisiu
Prime minister: Ilir Meta, then Pandeli Majko, then Fatos Nano

Andorra

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

ArmeniaArmenia history

President: Robert Kocharyan
Prime minister: Andranik Margaryan

AustriaAustria history

President: Thomas Klestil
Chancellor: Wolfgang Schüssel

AzerbaijanAzerbaijan history

President: Heydar Aliyev
Prime minister: Artur Rasizade

BelarusBelarus history

President: Alexander Lukashenko
Prime minister: Gennady Novitsky

BelgiumBelgium history

King: Albert II
Prime minister: Guy Verhofstadt

Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina history

High Representative: Wolfgang Petritsch, then Paddy Ashdown
Chairman: Jozo Križanović, then Zlatko Lagumdžija, then Beriz Belkić, then Mirko Šarović, then Dragan Mikerević, then Adnan Terzić
Member: Živko Radišić, then Beriz Belkić, then Jozo Križanović, then Sulejman Tihić, then Dragan Čović, then Mirko Šarović

BulgariaBulgaria history

President: Petar Stoyanov, then Georgi Parvanov
Prime minister: Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

CroatiaCroatia history

President: Stjepan Mesić
Prime minister: Ivica Račan

Czech RepublicCzech Republic history

President: Václav Havel
Prime Minister: Miloš Zeman, then Vladimír Špidla

DenmarkDenmark history

Queen: Margrethe II
Prime minister: Anders Fogh Rasmussen

EstoniaEstonia history

President: Arnold Rüütel
Prime minister: Mart Laar, then Siim Kallas

FinlandFinland history

President: Tarja Halonen
Prime minister: Paavo Lipponen

FranceFrance history

President: Jacques Chirac
Prime minister: Lionel Jospin, then Jean-Pierre Raffarin

Georgia

President: Eduard Shevardnadze
State minister: Avtandil Jorbenadze

GermanyGermany history

President: Johannes Rau
Chancellor: Gerhard Schröder

GreeceGreece history

President: Konstantinos Stephanopoulos
Prime minister: Costas Simitis

HungaryHungary history

President: Ferenc Mádl
Prime minister: Viktor Orbán, then Péter Medgyessy

IcelandIceland history

President: Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
Prime minister: Davíð Oddsson

ItalyItaly history

President: Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Prime minister: Silvio Berlusconi

LatviaLatvia history

President: Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga
Prime minister: Andris Bērziņš, then Einars Repše

Liechtenstein

Prince: Hans-Adam II
Prime minister: Otmar Hasler

LithuaniaLithuania history

President: Valdas Adamkus
Prime minister: Algirdas Brazauskas

LuxembourgLuxembourg history

Grand Duke: Henri
Prime minister: Jean-Claude Juncker

MaltaMalta history

President: Guido de Marco
Prime minister: Eddie Fenech Adami

MoldovaMoldova history

President: Vladimir Voronin
Prime minister: Vasile Tarlev

Monaco

Prince: Rainier III
Minister of state: Patrick Leclercq

NorwayNorway history

King: Harald V
Prime minister: Kjell Magne Bondevik

PolandPoland history

President: Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Prime minister: Leszek Miller

PortugalPortugal history

President: Jorge Sampaio
Prime minister: António Guterres, then José Manuel Barroso

Republic of Ireland

President: Mary McAleese
Taoiseach: Bertie Ahern

Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh

President: Arkadi Ghukasyan
President of the National Assembly: Oleg Yesayan

RomaniaRomania history

President: Ion Iliescu
Prime minister: Adrian Năstase

RussiaRussia history

President: Vladimir Putin
Prime minister: Mikhail Kasyanov

San Marino

Captains Regent: Giovanni Francesco Ugolini

SlovakiaSlovakia history

President: Rudolf Schuster
Prime minister: Mikuláš Dzurinda

SloveniaSlovenia history

President: Milan Kučan, then Janez Drnovšek
Prime minister: Janez Drnovšek, then Anton Rop

South Ossetia

President: Eduard Kokoity
Prime minister: Gerasim Khugayev

SpainSpain history

King: Juan Carlos I
Prime minister: José María Aznar

SwedenSweden history

King: Carl XVI Gustaf
Prime minister: Göran Persson

SwitzerlandSwitzerland history

President of the Confederation: Kaspar Villiger

The Netherlands

Queen: Beatrix
Prime minister: Wim Kok, then Jan Peter Balkenende

UkraineUkraine history

President: Leonid Kuchma
Prime minister: Anatoliy Kinakh, then Viktor Yanukovych

UN-administered Kosovo

President: Ibrahim Rugova
Prime minister: Bajram Rexhepi

United KingdomUnited Kingdom history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime Minister: Tony Blair

Vatican City

Sovereign: John Paul II

Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montenegro

President: Vojislav Koštunica

Oceania

AustraliaAustralia history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: John Howard

Cook Islands, state in free association

Queen: Elizabeth II

Federated States of Micronesia

President: Leo Falcam

FijiFiji history

President: Josefa Iloilo
Prime minister: Laisenia Qarase

Kiribati

President: Teburoro Tito

Marshall Islands

President: Kessai Note

Nauru

President: René Harris

New ZealandNew Zealand history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Helen Clark

Palau

Jr., President: Tommy Remengesau

Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Mekere Morauta, then Michael Somare

SamoaSamoa history

O le Ao o le Malo: Malietoa Tanumafili II
Prime minister: Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi

Solomon IslandsSolomon Islands history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Allan Kemakeza

TongaTonga history

King: Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV
Prime minister: Tupou VI, then known as ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho

Tuvalu

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Koloa Talake, then Saufatu Sopoanga

VanuatuVanuatu history

President: John Bani