World leaders in 2012
Everyone who held a state’s top posts at some point in 2012, 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 2012 →
Major powers in 2012
United StatesUnited States history
- President
- Barack Obama
United KingdomUnited Kingdom history
- Queen
- Elizabeth II
- Prime Minister
- David Cameron
RussiaRussia history
- President
- Dmitry Medvedev, then Vladimir Putin
- Prime minister
- Vladimir Putin, then Dmitry Medvedev
ChinaChina history
- General Secretary; paramount leader
- Hu Jintao, then Xi Jinping
- President
- Hu Jintao
- Premier
- Wen Jiabao
FranceFrance history
- President
- Nicolas Sarkozy, then François Hollande
- Prime minister
- François Fillon, then Jean-Marc Ayrault
GermanyGermany history
- President
- Christian Wulff, then Joachim Gauck
- Chancellor
- Angela Merkel
JapanJapan history
- Emperor
- Akihito
- Prime minister
- Yoshihiko Noda, then Shinzō Abe
IndiaIndia history
- President
- Pratibha Patil, then Pranab Mukherjee
- Prime minister
- Manmohan Singh
Africa
AlgeriaAlgeria history
- President
- Abdelaziz Bouteflika
- Prime Minister
- Ahmed Ouyahia, then Abdelmalek Sellal
AngolaAngola history
- President
- José Eduardo dos Santos
BeninBenin history
- President
- Thomas Boni Yayi
- Prime minister
- Pascal Koupaki
BotswanaBotswana history
- President
- Ian Khama
Burkina FasoBurkina Faso history
- President
- Blaise Compaoré
- Prime minister
- Luc-Adolphe Tiao
BurundiBurundi history
- President
- Pierre Nkurunziza
CameroonCameroon history
- President
- Paul Biya
- Prime minister
- Philémon Yang
Cape VerdeCape Verde history
- President
- Jorge Carlos Fonseca
- Prime minister
- José Maria Neves
Central African Republic
- President
- François Bozizé
- Prime minister
- Faustin-Archange Touadéra
ChadChad history
- President
- Idriss Déby
- Prime minister
- Emmanuel Nadingar
Comoros
- President
- Ikililou Dhoinine
Democratic Republic of the CongoDemocratic Republic of the Congo history
- President
- Joseph Kabila
- Prime minister
- Adolphe Muzito, then Augustin Matata Ponyo
- Acting Prime minister
- Louis Alphonse Koyagialo
DjiboutiDjibouti history
- President
- Ismaïl Omar Guelleh
- Prime minister
- Dileita Mohamed Dileita
EgyptEgypt history
- President
- Mohamed Morsi
- Prime minister
- Kamal Ganzouri, then Hesham Qandil
Equatorial Guinea
- President
- Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
- Prime minister
- Ignacio Milam Tang, then Vicente Ehate Tomi
EritreaEritrea history
- President
- Isaias Afwerki
EswatiniEswatini history
- King
- Mswati III
- Prime minister
- Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini
EthiopiaEthiopia history
- President
- Girma Wolde-Giorgis
- Prime minister
- Meles Zenawi, then Hailemariam Desalegn
Federal Republic of SomaliaSomalia history
- Acting President
- Muse Hassan Sheikh Sayid Abdulle, then Mohamed Osman Jawari
- President
- Hassan Sheikh Mohamud
- Acting Prime minister
- Abdiweli Mohamed Ali
- Prime minister
- Abdi Farah Shirdon
GabonGabon history
- President
- Ali Bongo Ondimba
- Prime minister
- Raymond Ndong Sima
GambiaGambia history
- President
- Yahya Jammeh
GhanaGhana history
- President
- John Atta Mills, then John Dramani Mahama
GuineaGuinea history
- President
- Alpha Condé
- Prime minister
- Mohamed Said Fofana
Guinea-Bissau
- President
- Malam Bacai Sanhá
- Acting President
- Raimundo Pereira, then Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo
- Chairman of the Military Command
- Mamadu Ture Kuruma
- Prime minister
- Carlos Gomes Júnior
- Acting Prime minister
- Adiato Djaló Nandigna, then Rui Duarte de Barros
High Transitional Authority: Madagascar
- President
- Andry Rajoelina
Ivory CoastIvory Coast history
- President
- Alassane Ouattara
- Prime minister
- Guillaume Soro, then Jeannot Ahoussou-Kouadio, then Daniel Kablan Duncan
KenyaKenya history
- President
- Mwai Kibaki
- Prime minister
- Raila Odinga
LesothoLesotho history
- King
- Letsie III
- Prime minister
- Pakalitha Mosisili, then Tom Thabane
LiberiaLiberia history
- President
- Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Madagascar: Fourth RepublicMadagascar history
- Prime minister
- Omer Beriziky
MalawiMalawi history
- President
- Bingu wa Mutharika, then Joyce Banda
MaliMali history
- President
- Amadou Toumani Touré
- Chairperson of the National Committee
- Amadou Sanogo
- Acting President
- Dioncounda Traoré
- Prime minister
- Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé
- Acting Prime minister
- Cheick Modibo Diarra, then Django Sissoko
MauritaniaMauritania history
- President
- Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz
- Prime minister
- Moulaye Ould Mohamed Laghdaf
MauritiusMauritius history
- President
- Anerood Jugnauth, then Kailash Purryag
- Acting president
- Monique Ohsan Bellepeau
- Prime minister
- Navin Ramgoolam
MoroccoMorocco history
- King
- Mohammed VI
- Prime Minister
- Abdelilah Benkirane
MozambiqueMozambique history
- President
- Armando Guebuza
- Prime minister
- Aires Ali, then Alberto Vaquina
NamibiaNamibia history
- President
- Hifikepunye Pohamba
- Prime minister
- Nahas Angula, then Hage Geingob
National Transitional Council of Libya
- Acting Prime minister
- Abdurrahim El-Keib
NigerNiger history
- President
- Mahamadou Issoufou
- Prime minister
- Brigi Rafini
NigeriaNigeria history
- President
- Goodluck Jonathan
Republic of Somaliland
- President
- Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud
Republic of the CongoRepublic of the Congo history
- President
- Denis Sassou Nguesso
RwandaRwanda history
- President
- Paul Kagame
- Prime minister
- Pierre Habumuremyi
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
- President
- Mohamed Abdelaziz
- Prime Minister
- Abdelkader Taleb Omar
São Tomé and Príncipe
- President
- Manuel Pinto da Costa
- Prime minister
- Patrice Trovoada, then Gabriel Costa
SenegalSenegal history
- President
- Abdoulaye Wade, then Macky Sall
- Prime minister
- Souleymane Ndéné Ndiaye, then Abdoul Mbaye
Seychelles
- President
- James Michel
Sierra LeoneSierra Leone history
- President
- Ernest Bai Koroma
South AfricaSouth Africa history
- President
- Jacob Zuma
South SudanSouth Sudan history
- President
- Salva Kiir Mayardit
State of LibyaLibya history
- Acting Prime minister
- Abdurrahim El-Keib
- Prime minister
- Ali Zeidan
SudanSudan history
- President
- Omar al-Bashir
TanzaniaTanzania history
- President
- Jakaya Kikwete
- Prime minister
- Mizengo Pinda
TogoTogo history
- President
- Faure Gnassingbé
- Prime minister
- Gilbert Houngbo, then Kwesi Ahoomey-Zunu
Transitional Federal Government of the Republic of Somalia
- President
- Sharif Sheikh Ahmed
- Prime minister
- Abdiweli Mohamed Ali
TunisiaTunisia history
- President
- Moncef Marzouki
- Head of government
- Hamadi Jebali
Uganda
- President
- Yoweri Museveni
- Prime minister
- Amama Mbabazi
ZambiaZambia history
- President
- Michael Sata
Zimbabwe
- President
- Robert Mugabe
- Prime minister
- Morgan Tsvangirai
Americas
Antigua and Barbuda
- Queen
- Elizabeth II
- Prime minister
- Baldwin Spencer
ArgentinaArgentina history
- President
- Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
BahamasBahamas history
- Queen
- Elizabeth II
- Prime minister
- Hubert Ingraham, then Perry Christie
BarbadosBarbados history
- Queen
- Elizabeth II
- Prime minister
- Freundel Stuart
BelizeBelize history
- Queen
- Elizabeth II
- Prime minister
- Dean Barrow
BoliviaBolivia history
- President
- Evo Morales
BrazilBrazil history
- President
- Dilma Rousseff
CanadaCanada history
- Queen
- Elizabeth II
- Prime minister
- Stephen Harper
ChileChile history
- President
- Sebastián Piñera
ColombiaColombia history
- President
- Juan Manuel Santos Calderón
Costa RicaCosta Rica history
- President
- Laura Chinchilla
CubaCuba history
- President of the State Council
- Raúl Castro
- President of the Council of Ministers
- Raúl Castro
Dominica
- President
- Nicholas Liverpool, then Eliud Williams
- Prime minister
- Roosevelt Skerrit
Dominican RepublicDominican Republic history
- President
- Leonel Fernández, then Danilo Medina
EcuadorEcuador history
- President
- Rafael Correa
El SalvadorEl Salvador history
- President
- Mauricio Funes
Grenada
- Queen
- Elizabeth II
- Prime minister
- Tillman Thomas
GuatemalaGuatemala history
- President
- Álvaro Colom, then Otto Pérez Molina
GuyanaGuyana history
- President
- Donald Ramotar
- Prime minister
- Sam Hinds
HaitiHaiti history
- President
- Michel Martelly
- Prime minister
- Garry Conille, then Laurent Lamothe
HondurasHonduras history
- President
- Porfirio Lobo Sosa
JamaicaJamaica history
- Queen
- Elizabeth II
- Prime minister
- Andrew Holness, then Portia Simpson-Miller
MexicoMexico history
- President
- Felipe Calderón, then Enrique Peña Nieto
NicaraguaNicaragua history
- President
- Daniel Ortega
PanamaPanama history
- President
- Ricardo Martinelli
ParaguayParaguay history
- President
- Fernando Lugo, then Federico Franco
PeruPeru history
- Constitutional President
- Ollanta Humala
- Prime Minister
- Oscar Valdés, then Juan Jiménez Mayor
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
- Dési Bouterse
Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago history
- President
- George Maxwell Richards
- Prime minister
- Kamla Persad-Bissessar
United StatesUnited States history
- President
- Barack Obama
UruguayUruguay history
- President
- José Mujica
VenezuelaVenezuela history
- President
- Hugo Chávez
Asia
Afghanistan
- President
- Hamid Karzai
BahrainBahrain history
- Prime minister
- Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa
BangladeshBangladesh history
- President
- Zillur Rahman
- Prime minister
- Sheikh Hasina
BhutanBhutan history
- Druk Gyalpo
- Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
- Prime minister
- Jigme Thinley
BruneiBrunei history
- Sultan
- Hassanal Bolkiah
CambodiaCambodia history
- King
- Norodom Sihamoni
- Prime minister
- Hun Sen
ChinaChina history
- General Secretary; paramount leader
- Hu Jintao, then Xi Jinping
- President
- Hu Jintao
- Premier
- Wen Jiabao
CyprusCyprus history
- President
- Demetris Christofias
IndiaIndia history
- President
- Pratibha Patil, then Pranab Mukherjee
- Prime minister
- Manmohan Singh
IndonesiaIndonesia history
- President
- Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
IranIran history
- Supreme Leader
- Ali Khamenei
- President
- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
IraqIraq history
- President
- Jalal Talabani
- Prime minister
- Nouri al-Maliki
IsraelIsrael history
- President
- Shimon Peres
- Prime minister
- Benjamin Netanyahu
JapanJapan history
- Emperor
- Akihito
- Prime minister
- Yoshihiko Noda, then Shinzō Abe
JordanJordan history
- King
- Abdullah II
- Prime minister
- Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh, then Fayez al-Tarawneh, then Abdullah Ensour
KazakhstanKazakhstan history
- President
- Nursultan Nazarbayev
- Prime minister
- Serik Akhmetov
KuwaitKuwait history
- Emir
- Sabah IV
- Prime minister
- Jaber Al-Mubarak
Kyrgyzstan
- President
- Almazbek Atambayev
- Prime minister
- Ömürbek Babanov, then Zhantoro Satybaldiyev
- Acting Prime minister
- Aaly Karashev
LaosLaos history
- General Secretary
- Choummaly Sayasone
- President
- Choummaly Sayasone
- Prime minister
- Thongsing Thammavong
LebanonLebanon history
- President
- Michel Suleiman
- Prime minister
- Najib Mikati
MalaysiaMalaysia history
- Yang di-Pertuan Agong
- Abdul Halim of Kedah
- Prime minister
- Najib Razak
Maldives
- President
- Mohamed Nasheed, then Mohamed Waheed Hassan
MongoliaMongolia history
- President
- Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj
- Prime minister
- Sükhbaataryn Batbold, then Norovyn Altankhuyag
NepalNepal history
- President
- Ram Baran Yadav
- Prime minister
- Baburam Bhattarai
North KoreaNorth Korea history
- Premier
- Choe Yong-rim
Northern Cyprus
- President
- Derviş Eroğlu
- Prime minister
- İrsen Küçük
OmanOman history
- Sultan
- Qaboos bin Said
PakistanPakistan history
- President
- Asif Ali Zardari
- Prime minister
- Yousaf Raza Gillani, then Raja Pervaiz Ashraf
PhilippinesPhilippines history
- President
- Benigno Aquino III
QatarQatar history
- Prime minister
- Hamad bin Jassim
Republic of the Union of Myanmar (2011–present)Myanmar history
- President
- Thein Sein
Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia history
- King
- Abdullah
SingaporeSingapore history
- President
- Tony Tan
- Prime minister
- Lee Hsien Loong
South KoreaSouth Korea history
- President
- Lee Myung-bak
- Prime minister
- Kim Hwang-sik
Sri LankaSri Lanka history
- President
- Mahinda Rajapaksa
- Prime minister
- D. M. Jayaratne
State of Palestine
- President
- Mahmoud Abbas
- Prime minister
- Salam Fayyad
Syria
- President
- Bashar al-Assad
- Prime minister
- Adel Safar, then Riyad Farid Hijab, then Wael Nader al-Halqi
- Acting Prime minister
- Omar Ibrahim Ghalawanji
TaiwanTaiwan history
- President
- Ma Ying-jeou
- Premier
- Wu Den-yih, then Sean Chen
TajikistanTajikistan history
- President
- Emomali Rahmon
- Prime minister
- Oqil Oqilov
ThailandThailand history
- Prime minister
- Yingluck Shinawatra
Timor-Leste
- President
- José Ramos-Horta, then Taur Matan Ruak
- Prime minister
- Xanana Gusmão
TurkeyTurkey history
- President
- Abdullah Gül
- Prime minister
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Turkmenistan
- President
- Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow
United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates history
- President
- Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
- Prime minister
- Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
UzbekistanUzbekistan history
- President
- Islam Karimov
- Prime minister
- Shavkat Mirziyoyev
VietnamVietnam history
- General Secretary
- Nguyễn Phú Trọng
- President
- Trương Tấn Sang
- Prime minister
- Nguyễn Tấn Dũng
YemenYemen history
- Acting President
- Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi
- Prime minister
- Mohammed Basindawa
Europe
Abkhazia
- President
- Alexander Ankvab
- Prime minister
- Leonid Lakerbaia
AlbaniaAlbania history
- President
- Bamir Topi, then Bujar Nishani
- Prime minister
- Sali Berisha
Andorra
- Episcopal Co-Prince
- Joan Enric Vives Sicília
- French Co-Prince
- Nicolas Sarkozy, then François Hollande
- Prime minister
- Antoni Martí
ArmeniaArmenia history
- President
- Serzh Sargsyan
- Prime minister
- Tigran Sargsyan
AustriaAustria history
- President
- Heinz Fischer
- Chancellor
- Werner Faymann
AzerbaijanAzerbaijan history
- President
- Ilham Aliyev
- Prime minister
- Artur Rasizade
BelarusBelarus history
- President
- Alexander Lukashenko
- Prime minister
- Mikhail Myasnikovich
BelgiumBelgium history
- King
- Albert II
- Prime minister
- Elio Di Rupo
Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina history
- High Representative
- Valentin Inzko
- Chairman
- Nikola Špirić, then Željko Komšić, then Bakir Izetbegović, then Nebojša Radmanović, then Vjekoslav Bevanda
- Member
- Željko Komšić, then Nebojša Radmanović, then Bakir Izetbegović
BulgariaBulgaria history
- President
- Georgi Parvanov, then Rosen Plevneliev
- Prime minister
- Boyko Borisov
CroatiaCroatia history
- President
- Ivo Josipović
- Prime minister
- Zoran Milanović
Czech RepublicCzech Republic history
- President
- Václav Klaus
- Prime Minister
- Petr Nečas
DenmarkDenmark history
- Queen
- Margrethe II
- Prime minister
- Helle Thorning-Schmidt
EstoniaEstonia history
- President
- Toomas Hendrik Ilves
- Prime minister
- Andrus Ansip
FinlandFinland history
- President
- Tarja Halonen, then Sauli Niinistö
- Prime minister
- Jyrki Katainen
France: Fifth RepublicFrance history
- President
- Nicolas Sarkozy, then François Hollande
- Prime minister
- François Fillon, then Jean-Marc Ayrault
Georgia
- President
- Mikheil Saakashvili
- Prime minister
- Nika Gilauri, then Vano Merabishvili, then Bidzina Ivanishvili
GermanyGermany history
- President
- Christian Wulff, then Joachim Gauck
- Chancellor
- Angela Merkel
GreeceGreece history
- President
- Karolos Papoulias
- Prime minister
- Lucas Papademos, then Antonis Samaras
- Interim Prime minister
- Panagiotis Pikrammenos
HungaryHungary history
- President
- Pál Schmitt, then János Áder
- Acting President
- László Kövér
- Prime minister
- Viktor Orbán
IcelandIceland history
- President
- Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
- Prime minister
- Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
ItalyItaly history
- President
- Giorgio Napolitano
- Prime minister
- Mario Monti
LatviaLatvia history
- President
- Andris Bērziņš
- Prime minister
- Valdis Dombrovskis
Liechtenstein
- Prince
- Hans-Adam II
- Prime minister
- Klaus Tschütscher
LithuaniaLithuania history
- President
- Dalia Grybauskaitė
- Prime minister
- Andrius Kubilius, then Algirdas Butkevičius
LuxembourgLuxembourg history
- Grand Duke
- Henri
- Prime minister
- Jean-Claude Juncker
MaltaMalta history
- President
- George Abela
- Prime minister
- Lawrence Gonzi
MoldovaMoldova history
- Acting President
- Marian Lupu
- President
- Nicolae Timofti
- Prime minister
- Vlad Filat
Monaco
- Prince
- Albert II
- Minister of state
- Michel Roger
MontenegroMontenegro history
- President
- Filip Vujanović
- Prime minister
- Igor Lukšić, then Milo Đukanović
North MacedoniaNorth Macedonia history
- President
- Gjorge Ivanov
- Prime minister
- Nikola Gruevski
NorwayNorway history
- King
- Harald V
- Prime minister
- Jens Stoltenberg
PolandPoland history
- President
- Bronisław Komorowski
- Prime minister
- Donald Tusk
PortugalPortugal history
- President
- Aníbal Cavaco Silva
- Prime minister
- Pedro Passos Coelho
Republic of Artsakh
- President
- Bako Sahakyan
- President of the National Assembly
- Ashot Ghulian
Republic of Ireland
- President
- Michael D. Higgins
- Taoiseach
- Enda Kenny
Republic of KosovoKosovo history
- President
- Atifete Jahjaga
- Prime minister
- Hashim Thaçi
RomaniaRomania history
- Interim President
- Crin Antonescu
- President
- Traian Băsescu
- Prime minister
- Emil Boc, then Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu, then Victor Ponta
- Interim Prime minister
- Cătălin Predoiu
RussiaRussia history
- President
- Dmitry Medvedev, then Vladimir Putin
- Prime minister
- Vladimir Putin, then Dmitry Medvedev
San Marino
- Captains Regent
- Gabriele Gatti, then Matteo Fiorini, then Italo Righi, then Maurizio Rattini, then Teodoro Lonfernini, then Denise Bronzetti
SerbiaSerbia history
- President
- Boris Tadić, then Tomislav Nikolić
- Acting President
- Slavica Đukić Dejanović
- Prime minister
- Mirko Cvetković, then Ivica Dačić
SlovakiaSlovakia history
- President
- Ivan Gašparovič
- Prime minister
- Iveta Radičová, then Robert Fico
SloveniaSlovenia history
- President
- Danilo Türk, then Borut Pahor
- Prime minister
- Borut Pahor, then Janez Janša
South Ossetia
- Acting President
- Vadim Brovtsev
- President
- Leonid Tibilov
- Prime minister
- Vadim Brovtsev, then Rostislav Khugayev
SpainSpain history
- King
- Juan Carlos I
- Prime minister
- Mariano Rajoy
SwedenSweden history
- King
- Carl XVI Gustaf
- Prime minister
- Fredrik Reinfeldt
SwitzerlandSwitzerland history
- President of the Confederation
- Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf
The Netherlands
- Queen
- Beatrix
- Prime minister
- Mark Rutte
Transnistria
- President
- Yevgeny Shevchuk
- Prime minister
- Pyotr Stepanov
UkraineUkraine history
- President
- Viktor Yanukovych
- Prime minister
- Mykola Azarov
United KingdomUnited Kingdom history
- Queen
- Elizabeth II
- Prime Minister
- David Cameron
Vatican City
- Sovereign
- Benedict XVI
- President of the Governorate
- Giuseppe Bertello
Oceania
AustraliaAustralia history
- Queen
- Elizabeth II
- Prime minister
- Julia Gillard
Cook Islands, state in free association
- Queen
- Elizabeth II
Federated States of Micronesia
- President
- Manny Mori
FijiFiji history
- President
- Epeli Nailatikau
- Acting Prime minister
- Frank Bainimarama
Kiribati
- President
- Anote Tong
Marshall Islands
- President
- Jurelang Zedkaia, then Christopher Loeak
Nauru
- President
- Sprent Dabwido
New ZealandNew Zealand history
- Queen
- Elizabeth II
- Prime minister
- John Key
Palau
- President
- Johnson Toribiong
Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea history
- Queen
- Elizabeth II
- Prime minister
- Peter O'Neill
SamoaSamoa history
- O le Ao o le Malo
- Tui Ātua Tupua Tamasese Efi
- Prime minister
- Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi
Solomon IslandsSolomon Islands history
- Queen
- Elizabeth II
- Prime minister
- Gordon Darcy Lilo
TongaTonga history
- King
- George Tupou V, then Tupou VI
- Prime minister
- Sialeʻataongo Tuʻivakanō
Tuvalu
- Queen
- Elizabeth II
- Prime minister
- Willy Telavi
VanuatuVanuatu history
- President
- Iolu Abil
- Prime minister
- Sato Kilman