#43 Eternal Leaders Part 1

Countries who are used to proper functioning Democracies with limited re-electability enshrined in the law are used to seeing new faces as head of state. This does not apply to a significant number of countries in the world, however. In fact, having leaders in power for over 30 years in a row is not as uncommon as one might expect. This series will look at the performance of a number of these "eternal" leaders. Part 1 provides the list of the longest serving 25 heads of state currently still in office, while the subsequent parts will take a closer look at the results of their leadership.

The list excludes royalty and heads of state who have no real power, comprising mainly of leaders who are Prime Minister or President of their respective countries. For example, Malietoa Tanumafili II, who has been head of state of Samoa since January 1, 1962, is excluded from the list because his post is largely ceremonial (true power lies with the Prime Minister). Similarly, famous royals such as Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (1952-currently) and King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand (1946-currently) are excluded from the list. Furthermore, only leaders of the 20th and 21st Century are taken into account.

Before presenting the list, it is also interesting to have a look at some of the longest ever serving heads of state. A number of these leaders will also be profiled in this leadership series.

President Kim Il Sung: 1945-1994, 49 years (North Korea)
Emperor Haile Selassie: 1930-1974, 44 years (Ethiopia)
King Hassan II: 1961-1999, 38 years (Morocco)
President Gnassingbe Eyadema: 1967-2005, 38 years (Togo)
General Secretary Enver Hoxha: 1948-1985, 37 years (Albania)
General Francisco Franco: 1939-1975, 36 years (Spain)
President Alfredo Stroessner: 1954-1989, 35 years (Paraguay)
President Mobutu Sese Seko: 1965-1997, 32 years (former Republic of Zaire)
Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew: 1959-1990, 31 years (Singapore)

Now it's time to look at the main list. Below are the top 25 longest serving world leaders currently still in power. The position in office is written first, followed by the name and date the leader in question took office. In brackets you will find the country where they reign freely.

0. President Fidel Castro: February 16, 1959 (Cuba)
1. Prime Minister Hassanal Bolkiah: October 5, 1967 (Brunei)
2. President El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba: April 14, 1967 (Gabon)
3. Colonel Muammar Gaddafi: September 1, 1969 (Libya)
4. Prime Minister Khalifa ibn Salman Al Khalifa: 1970 (Bahrain)
5. Prime Minister Qaboos ibn Sa'id Al 'Bu Sa'id: July 23, 1970 (Oman)
6. President Ali Abdallah Saleh: July 17, 1978 (Yemen)
7. President Muamoon Abdul Gayoom: November 11, 1978 (Maldives)
8. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo: August 3, 1979 (Equatorial Guinea)
9. President Jose Eduardo dos Santos: September 10, 1979 (Angola)
10. President Robert Mugabe: March 4, 1980 (Zimbabwe)
11. President Hosni Mubarak: October 14, 1981 (Egypt)
12. President Paul Biya: November 6, 1982 (Cameroon)
13. President Nursultan Nazarbayev: March 22, 1984 (Kazakhstan)
14. President Lansana Conte: April 3, 1984 (Guinea)
15. Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen: 1985 (Cambodia)
16. President Yoweri Museveni: January 29, 1986 (Uganda)
17. King Mswati III: April 25, 1986 (Swaziland)
18. President Blaise Compaore: October 15, 1987 (Burkina Faso)
19. President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali: November 7, 1987 (Tunisia)
20. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: June 4, 1989 (Iran)
21. President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir: June 30, 1989 (Sudan)
22. President Islam Karimov: March 24, 1990 (Uzbekistan)
23. President Idriss Deby: December 2, 1990 (Chad)
24. Prime MInister Meles Zenawi: May 28, 1991 (Ethiopia)
25. President Isaias Afewerki: May 29, 1991 (Eritrea)

Please have a look at #45 Eternal Leaders Part 2 - Mobutu for an analysis of the leadership of former Republic of Zaire President Mobutu Sese Seko