List of national power transfers in 2023 explained

The following is a list of power transfers between national heads of state, heads of government, prime ministers, and other equivalent positions in the year 2023. All countries which act as de facto sovereign states, per the criteria at List of sovereign states, are included.

Heads of State

Head of State Changes in 2023!Date!Country!Position!Incumbent!Party!Incoming!Party!Cause!Source

1 Jan		President	Jair Bolsonaro	Liberal Party	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva	Workers’ Party	Election	^[1]
1 Jan		President	Ignazio Cassis	FDP.The Liberals	Alain Berset	Social Democratic Party	Rotation	^[2]
18 Jan		President	Nguyễn Xuân Phúc	Communist Party	Võ Thị Ánh Xuân (acting)	Communist Party	Resignation	^[3]
28 Feb		President	Nicos Anastiasiades	Democratic Rally	Nikos Christodoulides	Independent	Election	^[4]
2 Mar		President	Võ Thị Ánh Xuân (acting)	Communist Party	Võ Văn Thưởng	Communist Party	Indirect election	^[5]
20 Mar		President	Paula-Mae Weekes	Independent	Christine Kangaloo	People's National Movement	Indirect election	^[6]
1 Apr		Captains Regent	Maria Luisa Berti	We Sammarinese	Alessandro Scarano	Christian Democratic Party	Indirect election	^[7]
			Manuel Ciavatta	Christian Democratic Party	Adele Tonnini	RETE Movement
11 May		President	David Panuelo	Independent	Wesley Simina	Independent	Election	^[8]
20 May		President	Milo Đukanović	Democratic Party of Socialists	Jakov Milatović	Europe Now!	Election	^[9]
29 May		President	Muhammadu Buhari	All Progressives Congress	Bola Tinubu	All Progressives Congress	Election	^[10]
8 Jul		President	Egils Levits	National Alliance	Edgars Rinkēvičs	Unity	Indirect election	^[11]
26 Jul		President	Mohamed Bazoum	Party for Democracy and Socialism	Abdourahamane Tchiani	National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland	Coup d'état	^[12]
15 Aug		President	Mario Abdo Benítez	Red Party	Santiago Peña	Red Party	Election	^[13]
30 Aug		President	Ali Bongo	Democratic Party	Brice Oligui (acting)	Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions	Coup d'état	^[14]
1 Sep		President	Arayik Harutyunyan	Free Motherland	Davit Ishkhanyan (acting)	Armenian Revolutionary Federation	Resignation	^[15]
9 Sep		President	Andry Rajoelina	Young Malagasies Determined	Christian Ntsay (acting)	Independent	Resignation	^[16]
10 Sep		President	Davit Ishkhanyan (acting)	Armenian Revolutionary Federation	Samvel Shahramanyan	Independent	Indirect election	^[17]
14 Sep		President	Halimah Yacob	People's Action Party	Tharman Shanmugaratnam	People's Action Party	Election	^[18]
1 Oct		Captains Regent	Alessandro Scarano	Christian Democratic Party	Filippo Tamagnini	Christian Democratic Party	Indirect election	^[19]
			Adele Tonnini	RETE Movement	Gaetano Troina	Tomorrow Free Movement
27 Oct		President	Christian Ntsay (acting)	Independent	Richard Ravalomanana (acting)	Independent	Court decision	^[20]
30 Oct		President	Russ Kun	Independent	David Adeang	Independent	Confidence failure	^[21]
17 Nov		President	Ibrahim Mohamed Solih	Democratic Party	Mohamed Muizzu	People's National Congress	Election	^[22]
23 Nov		President	Guillermo Lasso	Creating Opportunities	Daniel Noboa	People, Equality, and Democracy	Election	^[23]
10 Dec		President	Alberto Fernández	Justicialist Party	Javier Milei	Libertarian Party	Election	^[24]
16 Dec		Emir	Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah	N/A	Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah	N/A	Death	^[25]
16 Dec		President	Richard Ravalomanana (acting)	Independent	Andry Rajoelina	Young Malagasies Determined	Election	^[26]

Heads of Government and Prime Ministers

Head of Government Changes in 2023!Date!Country!Position!Incumbent!Party!Incoming!Party!Cause!Source

25 Jan		Chairman of the Council of Ministers	Zoran Tegeltija	Alliance of Independent Social Democrats	Borjana Krišto	Croatian Democratic Union	Election	^[27]
25 Jan		Prime Minister	Jacinda Ardern	Labour Party	Chris Hipkins	Labour Party	Resignation	^[28]
1 Feb		Prime Minister	Francisco Pascual Obama Asue	Democratic Party	Manuela Roka Botey	Democratic Party	Election	^[29]
7 Mar		Prime Minister	Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdul Aziz Al Thani	Independent	Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani	Independent	Appointment	^[30]
11 Mar		Premier	Li Keqiang	Communist Party	Li Qiang	Communist Party	Resignation	^[31]
15 May		Prime Minister	Eduard Heger	Democrats	Ľudovít Ódor	Independent	Resignation	^[32]
25 May		Prime Minister	Kyriakos Mitsotakis	New Democracy	Ioannis Sarmas	Independent	Election	^[33]
6 Jun		Prime Minister	Galab Donev	Independent	Nikolai Denkov	We Continue the Change	Election	^[34]
15 Jun		Prime Minister	Nicolae Ciucă	National Liberal Party	Marcel Ciolacu	Social Democratic Party	Rotation	^[35]
20 Jun		Prime Minister	Sanna Marin	Social Democratic Party	Petteri Orpo	National Coalition Party	Election	^[36]
26 Jun		Prime Minister	Ioannis Sarmas	Independent	Kyriakos Mitsotakis	New Democracy	Election	^[37]
1 Jul		Prime Minister	Taur Matan Ruak	People's Liberation Party	Xanana Gusmão	National Congress for Reconstruction	Election	^[38]
1 Aug		Prime Minister	Najla Bouden	Independent	Ahmed Hachani	Independent	Appointment	^[39]
8 Aug		Prime Minister	Nuno Gomes Nabiam	Assembly of the People United	Geraldo Martins	African Party for Independence	Election	^[40]
8 Aug		Prime Minister	Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou	Party for Democracy and Socialism	Ali Lamine Zeine	Independent	Coup d'état	^[41]
14 Aug		Prime Minister	Shehbaz Sharif	Nawaz Muslim League	Anwar ul Haq Kakar	Balochistan People's Party	Resignation	^[42]
22 Aug		Prime Minister	Hun Sen	People's Party	Hun Manet	People's Party	Election	^[43]
22 Aug		Prime Minister	Prayut Chan-o-cha	United Thai Nation Party	Srettha Thavisin	For Thais Party	Election	^[44]
4 Sep		Prime Minister	Ishmael Kalsakau	Union of Moderate Parties	Sato Kilman	People's Progressive Party	Confidence failure	^[45]
7 Sep		Prime Minister	Alain Claude Billie By Nze	Democratic Party	Raymond Ndong Sima	Independent	Coup d'état	^[46]
15 Sep		Prime Minister	Krišjānis Kariņš	Unity	Evika Siliņa	Unity	Resignation	^[47]
28 Sep		Prime Minister	Cleopas Dlamini	Independent	Mgwagwa Gamedze (acting)	Independent	Resignation	^[48]
6 Oct		Prime Minister	Sato Kilman	People's Progressive Party	Charlot Salwai	Reunification Movement for Change	Confidence failure	^[49]
17 Oct		Prime Minister	Patrick Achi	Rally of the Republicans	Robert Beugré Mambé	Rally of the Republicans	Appointment	^[50]
25 Oct		Prime Minister	Ľudovít Ódor	Independent	Robert Fico	Direction	Election	^[51]
31 Oct		Prime Minister	Dritan Abazović	United Reform Action	Milojko Spajić	Europe Now!	Election	^[52]
1 Nov		Prime Minister	Lotay Tshering	United Party	Position eliminated		Resignation	^[53]
		Chief Advisor	New position		Dago Rigdzin	Independent
4 Nov		Prime Minister	Mgwagwa Gamedze (acting)	Independent	Russell Dlamini	Independent	Election	^[54]
11 Nov		Prime Minister	Aymen Benabderrahmane	Independent	Nadir Larbaoui	Independent	Appointment	^[55]
17 Nov		Prime Minister	Xavier Bettel	Democratic Party	Luc Frieden	Christian Social People's Party	Election	^[56]
27 Nov		Prime Minister	Chris Hipkins	Labour Party	Christopher Luxon	National Party	Election	^[57]
13 Dec		Prime Minister	Mateusz Morawiecki	Law and Justice	Donald Tusk	Civic Platform	Election	^[58]
21 Dec		Prime Minister	Geraldo Martins	African Party for Independence	Rui Duarte de Barros	Independent	Appointment	^[59]

See also

• List of state leaders in 2023
• List of elections in 2023
• 2023 national electoral calendar

Notes and References

1. Web site: PODER360 . 2022-10-31 . Lula terá mandato de 4 anos e 5 dias e vai até 2027 . 2023-12-24 . Poder360 . pt-br.
2. Web site: AFP . New Swiss President Alain Berset Vows to Steer His Country Through Ukraine Fallout . 2023-12-24 . Get the Latest Ukraine News Today - KyivPost . 2 January 2023 . en.
3. Web site: en.baochinhphu.vn . 2023-01-19 . Vo Thi Anh Xuan undertakes role of acting President . 2023-12-24 . en.baochinhphu.vn . vi.
4. Web site: Speech by the President elect of the Republic, Mr Nikos Christodoulides, at his investiture ceremony before the House of Representatives . 2023-12-24 . www.presidency.gov.cy . el.
5. Web site: Vu . Khanh . 1 Mar 2023 . Vietnam parliament elects Vo Van Thuong as new state president . . 24 Dec 2023.
6. Web site: News . C. M. C. . 2023-03-20 . Trinidad and Tobago's new head of state sworn into office . 2023-12-24 . CNW Network . en-US.
7. Web site: 2023-04-01 . I Aprile: dal percorso europeo alla tutela ambientale; l'impegno della nuova Reggenza per San Marino . 2023-12-24 . San Marino Rtv . it.
8. Web site: 2023-05-12 . Wesley Simina becomes new president of Micronesia . 2023-12-24 . RNZ . en-nz.
9. Web site: Montenegro's new president takes oath of office-Xinhua . 2023-12-24 . english.news.cn.
10. News: 2022-06-08 . Bola Tinubu - the 'godfather' who has been sworn in as Nigeria's president . en-GB . 2023-12-24.
11. News: 2022-06-08 . Bola Tinubu - the 'godfather' who has been sworn in as Nigeria's president . en-GB . 2023-12-24.
12. Web site: Niger general Tchiani named head of transitional government after coup . 2023-12-24 . Al Jazeera . en.
13. Web site: Al Jazeera Staff . Santiago Peña takes office as Paraguay's president with pro-Taiwan message . 2023-12-24 . Al Jazeera . en.
14. News: 2023-08-31 . Gen Brice Oligui Nguema: Who is Gabon's coup leader? . en-GB . 2023-12-24.
15. Web site: 2023-09-09 . Acting President of the Artsakh Republic Davit Ishkhanyan's Call to the People of Artsakh . 2023-12-24 . Oragark . en-US.
16. Web site: AfricaNews . 2023-09-14 . Madagascar opposition condemns 'institutional coup' before vote . 2023-12-24 . Africanews . en.
17. Web site: 2023-09-09 . Shahramanyan elected as president of Nagorno-Karabakh . 2023-12-24 . OC Media . en-US.
18. Web site: 2023-09-14 . Tharman Shanmugaratnam sworn in as Singapore's ninth president . 2023-12-24 . South China Morning Post . en.
19. Web site: 2023-09-15 . Eletti i nuovi Capitani Reggenti: Filippo Tamagnini II e Gaetano Troina I . 2023-12-24 . San Marino Rtv . it.
20. Web site: fatshimetrie . 2023-10-28 . General Richard Ravalomanana: new interim president of Madagascar, what challenges await the country? . 2023-12-24 . Fatshimetrie . en-US.
21. Web site: 2023-10-30 . David Adeang elected as the new President of Nauru . 2023-12-24 . RNZ . en-nz.
22. Web site: Who is Mohamed Muizzu, Maldives's pro-China president-elect? . 2023-12-24 . Al Jazeera . en.
23. Web site: 2023-11-23 . Daniel Noboa is sworn in as Ecuador's president, inheriting the leadership of a country on edge . 2023-12-24 . AP News . en.
24. Web site: 2023-12-10 . In inaugural speech, Argentina's Javier Milei prepares nation for painful shock adjustment . 2023-12-24 . AP News . en.
25. Web site: Hagagy . Ahmed . 16 Dec 2023 . Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Nawaf dies, Sheikh Meshal named as successor . . 24 Dec 2023.
26. Web site: Lovasoa . Rabary . 16 Dec 2023 . Madagascar's president sworn in for third term after disputed poll . . 24 Dec 2023.
27. News: Service . RFE/RL's Balkan . New Bosnian Governing Council Under Croat Kristo Approved By Lawmakers . en . RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty . 2023-12-24.
28. Web site: 2023-01-20 . New Zealand's Jacinda Ardern, an icon to many, to step down . 2023-12-24 . AP News . en.
29. Web site: Presse . AFP-Agence France . Manuela Roka Botey Appointed Equatorial Guinea Premier . 2023-12-24 . www.barrons.com . en-US.
30. News: 2023-03-07 . Qatar's Ruler Makes Top Diplomat His New Premier . en . Bloomberg.com . 2023-12-24.
31. Web site: Yew Lun . Tian . 9 Mar 2023 . 'Xi Jinping's guy': Longtime acolyte Li set to be China's next premier . . 24 Dec 2023.
32. Web site: Stoklasa . Radovan . 15 May 2023 . Economist Odor picked as Slovakia's caretaker prime minister . . 24 Dec 2023.
33. Web site: 2023-05-24 . Greece appoints judge as caretaker PM ahead of new elections . 2023-12-24 . AP News . en.
34. News: Bedrov . Ivan . 2023-06-06 . How Bulgaria's European Path Was Almost Hijacked . en . Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty . 2023-12-24.
35. Web site: 2023-06-15 . Romania taps social democrat Marcel Ciolacu as new PM . 2023-12-24 . POLITICO . en.
36. Web site: Finland lawmakers approve center-right Petteri Orpo as PM – DW – 06/20/2023 . 2023-12-24 . dw.com . en.
37. Web site: 2023-06-26 . Conservative Mitsotakis sworn in as Greece's prime minister while far-right sees election surge . 2023-12-24 . AP News . en.
38. Web site: 2023-07-01 . East Timor's independence hero Xanana Gusmao returns to power as prime minister . 2023-12-24 . AP News . en.
39. Web site: 2023-08-02 . Tunisian president appoints Ahmed Hachani as prime minister . 2023-12-24 . The Jerusalem Post JPost.com . en-US.
40. Web site: Presse . AFP-Agence France . Guinea-Bissau President Names PM After Poll Setback . 2023-12-24 . www.barrons.com . en-US.
41. Web site: Niger: Junta appoints Lamine Zeine as prime minister – DW – 08/08/2023 . 2023-12-24 . dw.com . en.
42. Web site: Pakistan senator Anwar ul-Haq Kakar named caretaker PM ahead of vote . 2023-12-24 . Al Jazeera . en.
43. Web site: Cambodia parliament elects Hun Sen's son, Hun Manet, as new PM . 2023-12-24 . Al Jazeera . en.
44. Web site: 2023-08-22 . New Thai leader Srettha Thavisin is a wealthy property developer who didn't hide his political views . 2023-12-24 . AP News . en.
45. Web site: 2023-09-04 . Sato Kilman elected as Vanuatu's new prime minister . 2023-12-24 . RNZ . en-nz.
46. Web site: Gabon military government appoints former opposition leader as interim PM . 2023-12-24 . Al Jazeera . en.
47. Web site: 2023-09-15 . Evika Siliņa is Latvia's new prime minister . 2023-12-24 . POLITICO . en.
48. Web site: Swazi Observer . 2023-12-24 . new.observer.org.sz.
49. Web site: 2023-10-06 . Charlot Salwai elected prime minister of Vanuatu . 2023-12-24 . RNZ . en-nz.
50. Web site: 17 Oct 2023 . Côte d'Ivoire: Robert Beugré Mambé appointed prime minister . 7 May 2024 . The Africa Report.
51. News: Burke . Jason . 2023-10-25 . 'A technician of power': Robert Fico, Slovakia's veteran populist . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-12-24 . 0261-3077.
52. Web site: 2023-10-31 . Montenegro finally gets new government and PM . 2023-12-24 . POLITICO . en.
53. Web site: Sharma . Gopal . 1 Nov 2023 . Bhutan appoints interim government ahead of national election . . 24 Dec 2023.
54. Web site: Ndebele . Lenin . Eswatini has a new prime minister . 2023-12-24 . News24 . en-US.
55. News: 2023-11-13 . Algeria appoints a new prime minister to prepare for President Tebboune's second term . en . Le Monde.fr . 2023-12-24.
56. News: 2023-11-15 . Luxembourg's Former Finance Chief Frieden to Become Its New Premier . en . Bloomberg.com . 2023-12-24.
57. Web site: 2023-11-27 . Christopher Luxon sworn in as New Zealand prime minister, says priority is to improve economy . 2023-12-24 . AP News . en.
58. Web site: Rob . Schmitz . 12 Dec 2023 . Centrist reformer Donald Tusk takes over as prime minister of Poland . . 24 Dec 2023.
59. Web site: 2023-12-21 . Guinea-Bissau appoints new PM after last month's 'attempted coup' . 2023-12-24 . France 24 . en.