World leaders in 2018

Everyone who held a state’s top posts at some point in 2018, 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 2018 →

Major powers in 2018

United StatesUnited States history

President: Donald Trump

United KingdomUnited Kingdom history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime Minister: Theresa May

RussiaRussia history

President: Vladimir Putin
Prime minister: Dmitry Medvedev

ChinaChina history

General Secretary; paramount leader: Xi Jinping
President: Xi Jinping
Premier: Li Keqiang

FranceFrance history

President: Emmanuel Macron
Prime minister: Édouard Philippe

GermanyGermany history

President: Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Chancellor: Angela Merkel

JapanJapan history

Emperor: Akihito
Prime minister: Shinzō Abe

IndiaIndia history

President: Ram Nath Kovind
Prime minister: Narendra Modi

Africa

AlgeriaAlgeria history

President: Abdelaziz Bouteflika
Prime Minister: Ahmed Ouyahia

AngolaAngola history

President: João Lourenço

BeninBenin history

President: Patrice Talon

BotswanaBotswana history

President: Ian Khama

Burkina FasoBurkina Faso history

President: Roch Marc Christian Kaboré
Prime minister: Paul Kaba Thieba

BurundiBurundi history

President: Pierre Nkurunziza

CameroonCameroon history

President: Paul Biya
Prime minister: Philémon Yang

Cape VerdeCape Verde history

President: Jorge Carlos Fonseca
Prime minister: Ulisses Correia e Silva

Central African Republic

President: Faustin-Archange Touadéra
Prime minister: Simplice Sarandji

ChadChad history

President: Idriss Déby
Prime minister: Albert Pahimi Padacké

Comoros

President: Azali Assoumani

Democratic Republic of the CongoDemocratic Republic of the Congo history

President: Joseph Kabila
Prime minister: Bruno Tshibala

DjiboutiDjibouti history

President: Ismaïl Omar Guelleh
Prime minister: Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed

EgyptEgypt history

President: Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Prime minister: Sherif Ismail, then Moustafa Madbouly

Equatorial Guinea

President: Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
Prime minister: Francisco Pascual Obama Asue

EritreaEritrea history

President: Isaias Afwerki

EswatiniEswatini history

King: Mswati III
Prime minister: Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini, then Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini
Acting prime minister: Vincent Mhlanga

EthiopiaEthiopia history

President: Mulatu Teshome, then Sahle-Work Zewde
Prime minister: Hailemariam Desalegn, then Abiy Ahmed

Federal Republic of SomaliaSomalia history

President: Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed
Prime minister: Hassan Ali Khaire

GabonGabon history

President: Ali Bongo Ondimba
Prime minister: Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet

GambiaGambia history

President: Adama Barrow

GhanaGhana history

President: Nana Akufo-Addo

GuineaGuinea history

President: Alpha Condé
Prime minister: Mamady Youla, then Ibrahima Kassory Fofana

Guinea-Bissau

President: José Mário Vaz
Prime minister: Umaro Sissoco Embaló, then Artur Silva, then Aristides Gomes

Ivory CoastIvory Coast history

President: Alassane Ouattara
Prime minister: Amadou Gon Coulibaly

KenyaKenya history

President: Uhuru Kenyatta

LesothoLesotho history

King: Letsie III
Prime minister: Tom Thabane

LiberiaLiberia history

President: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, then George Weah

Madagascar: Fourth RepublicMadagascar history

President: Hery Rajaonarimampianina
Acting president: Rivo Rakotovao
Prime minister: Olivier Mahafaly Solonandrasana, then Christian Ntsay

MalawiMalawi history

President: Peter Mutharika

MaliMali history

President: Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta
Prime minister: Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga

MauritaniaMauritania history

President: Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz
Prime minister: Yahya Ould Hademine, then Mohamed Salem Ould Béchir

MauritiusMauritius history

President: Ameenah Gurib
Acting president: Barlen Vyapoory
Prime minister: Pravind Jugnauth

MoroccoMorocco history

King: Mohammed VI
Prime Minister: Saadeddine Othmani

MozambiqueMozambique history

President: Filipe Nyusi
Prime minister: Carlos Agostinho do Rosário

NamibiaNamibia history

President: Hage Geingob
Prime minister: Saara Kuugongelwa

NigerNiger history

President: Mahamadou Issoufou
Prime minister: Brigi Rafini

NigeriaNigeria history

President: Muhammadu Buhari

Republic of Somaliland

President: Muse Bihi Abdi

Republic of the CongoRepublic of the Congo history

President: Denis Sassou Nguesso
Prime minister: Clément Mouamba

RwandaRwanda history

President: Paul Kagame
Prime minister: Édouard Ngirente

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

President: Brahim Ghali
Prime Minister: Abdelkader Taleb Omar, then Mohamed Wali Akeik

São Tomé and Príncipe

President: Evaristo Carvalho
Prime minister: Patrice Trovoada, then Jorge Bom Jesus

SenegalSenegal history

President: Macky Sall
Prime minister: Mahammed Dionne

Seychelles

President: Danny Faure

Sierra LeoneSierra Leone history

President: Ernest Bai Koroma, then Julius Maada Bio
Chief minister: David J. Francis

South AfricaSouth Africa history

President: Jacob Zuma, then Cyril Ramaphosa

South SudanSouth Sudan history

President: Salva Kiir Mayardit

State of LibyaLibya history

Chairman: Fayez al-Sarraj
Prime minister in rebellion: Abdullah al-Thani
Prime minister: Fayez al-Sarraj

SudanSudan history

President: Omar al-Bashir
Prime Minister: Bakri Hassan Saleh, then Motazz Moussa

TanzaniaTanzania history

President: John Magufuli
Prime minister: Kassim Majaliwa

TogoTogo history

President: Faure Gnassingbé
Prime minister: Komi Sélom Klassou

TunisiaTunisia history

President: Beji Caid Essebsi
Head of government: Youssef Chahed

Uganda

President: Yoweri Museveni
Prime minister: Ruhakana Rugunda

ZambiaZambia history

President: Edgar Lungu

Zimbabwe

President: Emmerson Mnangagwa

Americas

Antigua and Barbuda

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Gaston Browne

ArgentinaArgentina history

President: Mauricio Macri

BahamasBahamas history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Hubert Minnis

BarbadosBarbados history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Freundel Stuart, then Mia Mottley

BelizeBelize history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Dean Barrow

BoliviaBolivia history

President: Evo Morales

BrazilBrazil history

President: Michel Temer

CanadaCanada history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Justin Trudeau

ChileChile history

President: Michelle Bachelet, then Sebastián Piñera

ColombiaColombia history

President: Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, then Iván Duque Márquez

Costa RicaCosta Rica history

President: Luis Guillermo Solís, then Carlos Alvarado Quesada

CubaCuba history

President of the State Council: Raúl Castro
President: Miguel Díaz-Canel
President of the Council of Ministers: Raúl Castro
acting Prime minister: Miguel Díaz-Canel

Dominica

President: Charles Savarin
Prime minister: Roosevelt Skerrit

Dominican RepublicDominican Republic history

President: Danilo Medina

EcuadorEcuador history

President: Lenín Moreno

El SalvadorEl Salvador history

President: Salvador Sánchez Cerén

Grenada

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Keith Mitchell

GuatemalaGuatemala history

President: Jimmy Morales

GuyanaGuyana history

President: David A. Granger
Prime minister: Moses Nagamootoo

HaitiHaiti history

President: Jovenel Moïse
Prime minister: Jack Guy Lafontant, then Jean-Henry Céant

HondurasHonduras history

President: Juan Orlando Hernández

JamaicaJamaica history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Andrew Holness

MexicoMexico history

President: Enrique Peña Nieto

NicaraguaNicaragua history

President: Daniel Ortega

PanamaPanama history

President: Juan Carlos Varela

ParaguayParaguay history

President: Horacio Cartes, then Mario Abdo Benítez

PeruPeru history

Constitutional President: Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, then Martín Vizcarra
Prime Minister: Mercedes Aráoz, then César Villanueva

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Timothy Harris

Saint Lucia

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Allen Chastanet

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Queen: Elizabeth II

SurinameSuriname history

President: Dési Bouterse

Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago history

President: Anthony Carmona, then Paula-Mae Weekes
Prime minister: Keith Rowley

United StatesUnited States history

President: Donald Trump

UruguayUruguay history

President: Tabaré Vázquez

Asia

Afghanistan

President: Ashraf Ghani

BahrainBahrain history

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

BangladeshBangladesh history

President: Mohammad Abdul Hamid
Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina

BhutanBhutan history

Druk Gyalpo: Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
Prime minister: Tshering Tobgay, then Lotay Tshering

BruneiBrunei history

Sultan: Hassanal Bolkiah

CambodiaCambodia history

King: Norodom Sihamoni
Prime minister: Hun Sen

ChinaChina history

General Secretary; paramount leader: Xi Jinping
President: Xi Jinping
Premier: Li Keqiang

CyprusCyprus history

President: Nicos Anastasiades

IndiaIndia history

President: Ram Nath Kovind
Prime minister: Narendra Modi

IndonesiaIndonesia history

President: Joko Widodo

IranIran history

Supreme Leader: Ali Khamenei
President: Hassan Rouhani

IraqIraq history

President: Fuad Masum, then Barham Salih
Prime minister: Haider al-Abadi, then Adil Abdul-Mahdi

IsraelIsrael history

President: Reuven Rivlin
Prime minister: Benjamin Netanyahu

JapanJapan history

Emperor: Akihito
Prime minister: Shinzō Abe

JordanJordan history

King: Abdullah II
Prime minister: Hani Mulki, then Omar Razzaz

KazakhstanKazakhstan history

President: Nursultan Nazarbayev
Prime minister: Bakhytzhan Sagintayev

KuwaitKuwait history

Emir: Sabah IV
Prime minister: Jaber Al-Mubarak

Kyrgyzstan

President: Sooronbay Jeenbekov
Prime minister: Sapar Isakov, then Mukhammedkalyi Abylgaziev

LaosLaos history

General Secretary: Bounnhang Vorachit
President: Bounnhang Vorachit
Prime minister: Thongloun Sisoulith

LebanonLebanon history

President: Michel Aoun
Prime minister: Saad Hariri

MalaysiaMalaysia history

Yang di-Pertuan Agong: Muhammad V of Kelantan
Prime minister: Najib Razak, then Mahathir Mohamad

Maldives

President: Abdulla Yameen, then Ibrahim Mohamed Solih

MongoliaMongolia history

President: Khaltmaagiin Battulga
Prime minister: Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh

NepalNepal history

President: Bidya Devi Bhandari
Prime minister: Sher Bahadur Deuba, then Khadga Prasad Oli

North KoreaNorth Korea history

Premier: Pak Pong-ju

Northern Cyprus

President: Mustafa Akıncı
Prime minister: Hüseyin Özgürgün, then Tufan Erhürman

OmanOman history

Sultan: Qaboos bin Said

PakistanPakistan history

President: Mamnoon Hussain, then Arif Alvi
Prime minister: Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, then Imran Khan

PhilippinesPhilippines history

President: Rodrigo Duterte

QatarQatar history

Emir: Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
Prime minister: Abdullah bin Nasser

Republic of the Union of Myanmar (2011–present)Myanmar history

President: Htin Kyaw, then Win Myint
Acting President: Myint Swe
State Counsellor: Aung San Suu Kyi

Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia history

King: Salman

SingaporeSingapore history

President: Halimah Yacob
Prime minister: Lee Hsien Loong

South KoreaSouth Korea history

President: Moon Jae-in
Prime minister: Lee Nak-yeon

Sri LankaSri Lanka history

President: Maithripala Sirisena
Prime minister: Ranil Wickremesinghe

State of Palestine

President: Mahmoud Abbas
Prime minister: Rami Hamdallah

Syria

President: Bashar al-Assad
Prime minister: Imad Khamis

TaiwanTaiwan history

President: Tsai Ing-wen
Premier: William Lai

TajikistanTajikistan history

President: Emomali Rahmon
Prime minister: Kokhir Rasulzoda

ThailandThailand history

King: Vajiralongkorn
Prime minister: Prayut Chan-o-cha

Timor-Leste

President: Francisco Guterres
Prime minister: Mari Alkatiri, then Taur Matan Ruak

TurkeyTurkey history

President: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Prime minister: Binali Yıldırım

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: Shavkat Mirziyoyev
Prime minister: Abdulla Aripov

VietnamVietnam history

General Secretary: Nguyễn Phú Trọng
President: Trần Đại Quang, then Nguyễn Phú Trọng
Acting President: Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh
Prime minister: Nguyễn Xuân Phúc

YemenYemen history

Prime minister: Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr, then Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed

Yemen: Houthi-led Supreme Political Council

Prime minister: Abdel-Aziz bin Habtour

Europe

Abkhazia

President: Raul Khajimba
Prime minister: Beslan Bartsits, then Gennadi Gagulia, then Valeri Bganba
Acting Prime minister: Daur Arshba

AlbaniaAlbania history

President: Ilir Meta
Prime minister: Edi Rama

Andorra

Episcopal Co-Prince: Joan Enric Vives Sicília
French Co-Prince: Emmanuel Macron
Prime minister: Antoni Martí

ArmeniaArmenia history

President: Serzh Sargsyan, then Armen Sarkissian
Prime minister: Karen Karapetyan, then Serzh Sargsyan, then Nikol Pashinyan
Acting prime minister: Karen Karapetyan

AustriaAustria history

President: Alexander Van der Bellen
Chancellor: Sebastian Kurz

AzerbaijanAzerbaijan history

President: Ilham Aliyev
Prime minister: Artur Rasizade, then Novruz Mammadov

BelarusBelarus history

President: Alexander Lukashenko
Prime minister: Andrei Kobyakov, then Syarhey Rumas

BelgiumBelgium history

King: Philippe
Prime minister: Charles Michel

Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina history

High Representative: Valentin Inzko
Chairman: Denis Zvizdić, then Dragan Čović, then Bakir Izetbegović, then Milorad Dodik
Member: Bakir Izetbegović, then Dragan Čović, then Mladen Ivanić, then Šefik Džaferović, then Željko Komšić, then Milorad Dodik

BulgariaBulgaria history

President: Rumen Radev
Prime minister: Boyko Borisov

CroatiaCroatia history

President: Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović
Prime minister: Andrej Plenković

Czech RepublicCzech Republic history

President: Miloš Zeman
Prime Minister: Andrej Babiš

DenmarkDenmark history

Queen: Margrethe II
Prime minister: Lars Løkke Rasmussen

EstoniaEstonia history

President: Kersti Kaljulaid
Prime minister: Jüri Ratas

FinlandFinland history

President: Sauli Niinistö
Prime minister: Juha Sipilä

France: Fifth RepublicFrance history

President: Emmanuel Macron
Prime minister: Édouard Philippe

Georgia

President: Giorgi Margvelashvili, then Salome Zourabichvili
Prime minister: Giorgi Kvirikashvili, then Mamuka Bakhtadze

GermanyGermany history

President: Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Chancellor: Angela Merkel

GreeceGreece history

President: Prokopis Pavlopoulos
Prime minister: Alexis Tsipras

HungaryHungary history

President: János Áder
Prime minister: Viktor Orbán

IcelandIceland history

President: Guðni Th. Jóhannesson
Prime minister: Katrín Jakobsdóttir

ItalyItaly history

President: Sergio Mattarella
Prime minister: Paolo Gentiloni, then Giuseppe Conte

LatviaLatvia history

President: Raimonds Vējonis
Prime minister: Māris Kučinskis

Liechtenstein

Prince: Hans-Adam II
Prime minister: Adrian Hasler

LithuaniaLithuania history

President: Dalia Grybauskaitė
Prime minister: Saulius Skvernelis

LuxembourgLuxembourg history

Grand Duke: Henri
Prime minister: Xavier Bettel

MaltaMalta history

President: Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca
Prime minister: Joseph Muscat

MoldovaMoldova history

President: Igor Dodon
Prime minister: Pavel Filip

Monaco

Prince: Albert II
Minister of State: Serge Telle

MontenegroMontenegro history

President: Filip Vujanović, then Milo Đukanović
Prime minister: Duško Marković

North MacedoniaNorth Macedonia history

President: Gjorge Ivanov
Prime minister: Zoran Zaev

NorwayNorway history

King: Harald V
Prime minister: Erna Solberg

PolandPoland history

President: Andrzej Duda
Prime minister: Mateusz Morawiecki

PortugalPortugal history

President: Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
Prime minister: António Costa

Republic of Artsakh

President: Bako Sahakyan
President of the National Assembly: Ashot Ghulian

Republic of Ireland

President: Michael D. Higgins
Taoiseach: Leo Varadkar

Republic of KosovoKosovo history

President: Hashim Thaçi
Prime minister: Ramush Haradinaj

RomaniaRomania history

President: Klaus Iohannis
Prime minister: Mihai Tudose, then Viorica Dăncilă
Interim Prime minister: Mihai Fifor

RussiaRussia history

President: Vladimir Putin
Prime minister: Dmitry Medvedev

San Marino

Captains Regent: Enrico Carattoni, then Matteo Fiorini, then Stefano Palmieri, then Matteo Ciacci, then Mirko Tomassoni, then Luca Santolini

SerbiaSerbia history

President: Aleksandar Vučić
Prime minister: Ana Brnabić

SlovakiaSlovakia history

President: Andrej Kiska
Prime minister: Robert Fico, then Peter Pellegrini

SloveniaSlovenia history

President: Borut Pahor
Prime minister: Miro Cerar, then Marjan Šarec

South Ossetia

President: Anatoly Bibilov
Prime minister: Erik Pukhayev

SpainSpain history

King: Felipe VI
Prime minister: Mariano Rajoy, then Pedro Sánchez

SwedenSweden history

King: Carl XVI Gustaf
Prime minister: Stefan Löfven

SwitzerlandSwitzerland history

President of the Confederation: Alain Berset

The Netherlands

King: Willem-Alexander
Prime minister: Mark Rutte

Transnistria

President: Vadim Krasnoselsky
Prime minister: Aleksandr Martynov

UkraineUkraine history

President: Petro Poroshenko
Prime minister: Volodymyr Groysman

United KingdomUnited Kingdom history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime Minister: Theresa May

Vatican City

Sovereign: Francis
President of the Governorate: Giuseppe Bertello

Oceania

AustraliaAustralia history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Malcolm Turnbull, then Scott Morrison

Cook Islands, state in free association

Queen: Elizabeth II

Federated States of Micronesia

President: Peter M. Christian

FijiFiji history

President: Jioji Konrote
Prime minister: Frank Bainimarama

Kiribati

President: Taneti Mamau

Marshall Islands

President: Hilda Heine

Nauru

President: Baron Waqa

New ZealandNew Zealand history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Jacinda Ardern

Palau

Jr., President: Tommy Remengesau

Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Peter O'Neill

SamoaSamoa history

O le Ao o le Malo: Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II
Prime minister: Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi

Solomon IslandsSolomon Islands history

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Rick Houenipwela

TongaTonga history

King: Tupou VI
Prime minister: ʻAkilisi Pōhiva

Tuvalu

Queen: Elizabeth II
Prime minister: Enele Sopoaga

VanuatuVanuatu history

President: Tallis Obed Moses
Prime minister: Charlot Salwai