List of youngest state leaders since 1900 explained

This is a list of state leaders aged 30 or younger when they assumed office (since 1900). It does not include leaders who did not assume power in their own right, or leaders who served under colonial rule.

Monarchs

NameStatePositionBornAssumed officeAt ageNotes
Fuad IIKing195219526 months
PuyiEmperor190619082
GyanendraKing194719503
Mwambutsa IVKing191219153
Tenzin GyatsoDalai Lama193519404
Michael I RomaniaKing192119275
Simeon IITsar193719436
Duy TânEmperor190019077
Ananda Mahidol ThailandKing192519359Assumed power following a 10-year regency.
Ahmad Shah QajarShah1898190911Assumed power following a 5-year regency.
Hussein JordanKing1935195216
Jigme Singye Wangchuck BhutanKing1955197216
Alfonso XIII SpainKing1886190216Assumed power following a 16-year regency.
TribhuvanKing1906192317Assumed power following a regency since 1911.
Farouk IKing1920193717Assumed power following a 1-year regency.
Marie-Adélaïde Luxembourg1894191217
Peter IIKing1923194117Assumed power following a 6-year regency.
Iyasu VEmperor1895191318
Faisal IIKing1935195318Assumed power following a 14-year regency.
Mswati III1968198618Assumed power following a 3-year regency.
Manuel II PortugalKing1889190818
Michael IKing1921194018Was previously King from 1927 to 1930 under a regency.
Bhumibol AdulyadejKing1927194618
Ntare VKing1947196618
Mohammad Zahir Shah1914193319
Norodom Sihanouk Cambodia1922194119
Baudouin Belgium1930195120Acted as regent for his father since 1950.
Mohammad Reza PahlaviShah1919194121
Hassanal BolkiahSultan1946196721Reigning as Sultan since 1967.
CharlotteGrand Duchess1896191922
AlexanderKing1893191723
Constantine IIKing1940196423
Boris IIITsar1894191824
Jigme Dorji WangchuckKing1928195224
Hirohito JapanEmperor1901192625Acted as regent for his father since 1921.
Rainier III Monaco1923194925
Elizabeth II United KingdomQueen1926195225
Jigme Khesar Namgyel WangchuckKing of BhutanKing1980200626
Amānullāh Khān AfghanistanEmir1892191926
Moshoeshoe II LesothoKing1938196526Ruled as Paramount Chief under colonial rule since 1960.
BirendraKing1945197226
Carl XVI Gustaf Sweden1946197327
Letsie IIIKing1963199027
VajiravudhKing1881191029
Karl IEmperor1887191629
Qaboos bin Said al Said OmanSultan1940197029
DipendraKing1971200129
Vittorio Emanuele III1869190030

Non-royal leaders

NameStatePositionBornAssumed officeAt ageNotes
Jean-Claude Duvalier HaitiPresident1951197119Became president after his father's death.[1]
Navaandorjiin JadambaaChairman of the Presidium1900192424
Valentine Strasser Sierra LeonePresident1967199225[2] [3]
Michel Micombero BurundiPrime Minister1940196625Later became President in 1966 at 26.[4]
PuyiChief Executive1906193226[5]
Maria Lea Pedini-Angelini San MarinoCaptain Regent1954198126[6]
Enzo ColombiniCaptain Regent1958198526[7]
Giacomo SimonciniCaptain Regent1994202126
Ahmet ZoguPrime Minister1895192227Prime minister and President at 29. Became King of Albania in 1928 at 32.
Muammar Gaddafi LibyaBrotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution1942196927
Gloriana RanocchiniCaptain Regent1957198427
Giovanni LonferniniCaptain Regent1976200327
Abdessalam JalloudPrime Minister1944197227
Andrea ZafferaniCaptain Regent1982201027
Matteo CiacciCaptain Regent1990201827
Khertek Anchimaa-TokaChair of the Presidium1912194028
Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum United Arab EmiratesPrime Minister1943197128
Vanessa D'AmbrosioCaptain Regent1988201728
Alexander ChervyakovPrime Minister1892192028
Mario Frick LiechtensteinPrime Minister1965199328
Kim Jong-unGeneral Secretary
Chairman
Supreme Commander
1983201128Became Supreme leader of North Korea after his father's death.
Giuliano GoziCaptain Regent1894192328
Samuel Doe LiberiaPresident1951198028
Ieremia Tabai KiribatiPresident1949197929Served as colonial Chief Minister since 1978.
Jamtsangiin DamdinsürenChairman of the Presidium1898192729
Lhendup DorjiPrime Minister1935196429
Muhammad Ali HaithamPrime Minister1940196929
Milo Đukanović MontenegroPrime Minister1962199129
Yahya JammehPresident1965199429
Souley Abdoulaye NigerPrime Minister1965199429
Roque González Garza MexicoPresident1885191529
Gnassingbé Eyadéma TogoPresident1937196729
Branko CrvenkovskiPrime Minister1962199229
Joseph KabilaPresident1971200129
Alessandro CardelliCaptain Regent1991202029
Muhammad Ahmad al-MangoushPrime Minister1967199730
David Dacko Central African RepublicPresident1930196030Served as colonial Prime Minister since 1959.
Jean-Baptiste BagazaPresident1946197630
Bernard Dowiyogo NauruPresident1946197630
Ilir Meta AlbaniaPrime Minister1969199930
Sadiq al-Mahdi SudanPrime Minister1935196630
Marien NgouabiPresident1938196930
Pandeli MajkoPrime Minister1967199830

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Shaw, Karl. Power Mad!. Metafora. 2005. 80-7359-002-6. Praha. 52. cs. Šílenství mocných. 2004.
  2. Web site: Akam. Simon. 13 February 2012. Akam '09 profiles former African dictator Valentine Strasser. https://web.archive.org/web/20131210222818/http://www.journalism.columbia.edu/news/614. 10 December 2013. Columbia Journalism School.
  3. Web site: Marke. Roland. 4 August 2008. Harvest of Shame: Former Sierra Leonean Ruler Valentine Strasser. World Press Review.
  4. Book: Chrétien, Jean-Pierre . Micombero, Michel . Gates . Louis Jr. . Akyeampong . Emmanuel K. . Dictionary of African Biography . 4 . Oxford . 2008 . Oxford University Press . http://www.oxfordaasc.com/article/opr/t338/e1360.
  5. Wen Yuan-ning, "Emperor Malgré Lui", in Wen Yuan-ning and others, Imperfect Understanding: Intimate Portraits of Modern Chinese Celebrities, edited by Christopher Rea. Amherst, NY: Cambria Press, 2018, p. 117.
  6. Web site: Guide to Women Leaders. San Marino. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110713185737/http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/San_Marino.htm. 13 July 2011. 6 May 2011.
  7. http://www.worldstatesmen.org/San_Marino.html WorldStatesmen.org