20 World Leaders Who Have Held Power the Longest, Ranked

Emomali Rahmon became head of state in Tajikistan in November 1992 during the country's civil war and won the presidency in 1994. Constitutional referendums in 2003 and 2016 removed term limits for him, making him the longest-serving leader in the post-Soviet region.

Isaias Afwerki led the Eritrean People's Liberation Front to victory in May 1991 and became Eritrea's first president upon formal independence in 1993. Over 35 years later, the country has never held a national presidential election.

After leading the Yugoslav Partisans during World War II, Marshal Josip Broz Tito governed Yugoslavia as prime minister from 1945 and as president from 1953 until his death in May 1980. He broke with Joseph Stalin in 1948 and co-founded the Non-Aligned Movement.

Todor Zhivkov became First Secretary of the Bulgarian Communist Party in March 1954 at age 42, making him the youngest party chief in the Eastern Bloc. He remained Moscow's most loyal ally in Eastern Europe until party colleagues removed him on November 10, 1989.

Robert Mugabe took office as Prime Minister of newly independent Zimbabwe in April 1980 and became executive President in December 1987. He governed for 37 years until a military intervention and parliamentary impeachment proceedings forced his resignation in November 2017.

General Gnassingbe Eyadema seized power in Togo in a bloodless military coup on January 13, 1967, and declared himself president three months later. He ruled for nearly 38 years until his death on February 5, 2005, when his son Faure Gnassingbe succeeded him.

Jose Eduardo dos Santos became Angola's second president in September 1979 at age 37 following the death of Agostinho Neto. He steered the nation through a 27-year civil war that ended in 2002 and oversaw an oil boom before stepping down in September 2017.

Hun Sen became the world's youngest prime minister in January 1985 at age 32. Over 38 years in office, he outmaneuvered coalition rivals and dissolved the main opposition party before handing the premiership to his eldest son, Hun Manet, in August 2023.

General Francisco Franco was proclaimed head of state by Nationalist forces in October 1936 during the Spanish Civil War and consolidated absolute rule after taking Madrid in 1939. He governed Spain as Caudillo for 39 years until his death in November 1975.

Enver Hoxha led Albania's communist resistance out of World War II in November 1944 and ruled until his death in April 1985. He broke alliances with Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union, and China while building more than 173,000 concrete bunkers across the country.

Yoweri Museveni took office as President of Uganda in January 1986 after his National Resistance Army captured Kampala. Constitutional amendments in 2005 and 2017 abolished presidential term limits and the 75-year age cap, allowing him to win a seventh term in 2026.

Omar Bongo became President of Gabon in November 1967 at age 31 after the death of Leon M'ba. Backed by Gabon's offshore oil revenues and close ties with Paris, he governed for 41 years and 191 days until his death in June 2009.

At age 27, Captain Muammar Gaddafi led a group of junior military officers who deposed King Idris I of Libya on September 1, 1969. He ruled the North African oil state for nearly 42 years until rebel forces overthrew his government in August 2011.

Denis Sassou Nguesso first ruled the Republic of the Congo from 1979 until he lost a multiparty election in 1992. He returned to power during the 1997 civil war and has governed continuously since October 1997, reaching 42 total years in office.

Paul Biya served as Prime Minister of Cameroon for seven years before succeeding Ahmadou Ahidjo as President on November 6, 1982. Now in his nineties, Biya is the world's oldest sitting head of state and has held national executive office for 51 consecutive years.

Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal became General Secretary of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party in April 1940 at age 23 and later served as prime minister and head of state. He governed Mongolia for 44 years until Soviet pressure forced his retirement in August 1984.

Kim Il Sung founded the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in September 1948 and led the country through the Korean War and the Cold War until his death in July 1994. North Korea's 1998 constitution posthumously named him Eternal President of the Republic.

Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek led the Republic of China on the mainland from October 1928 through the Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War, then governed from Taipei after 1949 until his death in April 1975, spanning 46 years at the helm.

Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo ousted his uncle, Francisco Macias Nguema, in a military coup on August 3, 1979. Having governed oil-rich Equatorial Guinea for 47 consecutive years, he is the longest-serving living non-royal head of state in the world.

After overthrowing Fulgencio Batista in January 1959, Fidel Castro served as Prime Minister of Cuba until 1976 and President of the Council of State until February 2008. Including his tenure as First Secretary until April 2011, he held top power for 52 years.