List of youngest state leaders since 1900

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 edit

Name State Position Born Assumed office At age Notes
Fuad II   Egypt King 1952 1952 6 months
Puyi   China Emperor 1906 1908 2
Gyanendra of Nepal     Nepal King 1947 1950 3
Mwambutsa IV   Burundi King 1912 1915 3
Tenzin Gyatso   Tibet Dalai Lama 1935 1940 4
Michael I   Romania King 1921 1927 5
Simeon II   Bulgaria Tsar 1937 1943 6
Duy Tân   Vietnam Emperor 1900 1907 7
Ananda Mahidol   Thailand King 1925 1935 9 Assumed power following a 10-year regency.
Ahmad Shah Qajar   Sublime State of Persia Shah 1898 1909 11 Assumed power following a 5-year regency.
Hussein   Jordan King 1935 1952 16
Jigme Singye Wangchuck   Bhutan King 1955 1972 16
Alfonso XIII   Spain King 1886 1902 16 Assumed power following a 16-year regency.
Tribhuvan     Nepal King 1906 1923 17 Assumed power following a regency since 1911.
Farouk I   Egypt King 1920 1937 17 Assumed power following a 1-year regency.
Marie-Adélaïde   Luxembourg Grand Duchess 1894 1912 17
Peter II   Yugoslavia King 1923 1941 17 Assumed power following a 6-year regency.
Iyasu V   Ethiopia Emperor 1895 1913 18
Faisal II   Iraq King 1935 1953 18 Assumed power following a 14-year regency.
Mswati III   Eswatini King 1968 1986 18 Assumed power following a 3-year regency.
Manuel II   Portugal King 1889 1908 18
Mihai I   Romania King 1921 1940 18 Was previously King from 1927 to 1930 under a regency.
Bhumibol Adulyadej   Thailand King 1927 1946 18
Ntare V   Burundi King 1947 1966 18
Mohammad Zahir Shah   Afghanistan King 1914 1933 19
Norodom Sihanouk   Cambodia King 1922 1941 19
Baudouin   Belgium King 1930 1951 20 Acted as regent for his father since 1950.
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi   Iran Shah 1919 1941 21
Hassanal Bolkiah   Brunei Sultan 1946 1967 21 Reigning as Sultan since 1967.
Charlotte   Luxemburg Grand Duchess 1896 1919 22
Alexander   Greece King 1893 1917 23
Constantine II   Greece King 1940 1964 23
Boris III   Bulgaria Tsar 1894 1918 24
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck   Bhutan King 1928 1952 24
Hirohito   Japan Emperor 1901 1926 25 Acted as regent for his father since 1921.
Rainier III   Monaco Prince 1923 1949 25
Elizabeth II   United Kingdom Queen 1926 1952 25
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck   Bhutan King 1980 2006 26
Amānullāh Khān   Afghanistan Emir 1892 1919 26
Moshoeshoe II   Lesotho King 1938 1965 26 Ruled as Paramount Chief under colonial rule since 1960.
Birendra     Nepal King 1945 1972 26
Carl XVI Gustaf   Sweden King 1946 1973 27
Letsie III   Lesotho King 1963 1990 27
Vajiravudh   Siam King 1881 1910 29
Karl I   Austria-Hungary Emperor 1887 1916 29
Qaboos bin Said al Said   Oman Sultan 1940 1970 29
Dipendra     Nepal King 1971 2001 29
Vittorio Emanuele III   Italy King 1869 1900 30

Non-royal leaders edit

Name State Position Born Assumed office At age Notes
Jean-Claude Duvalier   Haiti President 1951 1971 19 Became president after his father's death.[1]
Navaandorjiin Jadambaa   Mongolia Chairman of the Presidium 1900 1924 24
Valentine Strasser   Sierra Leone President 1967 1992 25 [2][3]
Michel Micombero   Burundi Prime Minister 1940 1966 25 Later became President in 1966 at 26.[4]
Puyi   Manchukuo Chief Executive 1906 1932 26 [5]
Maria Lea Pedini-Angelini   San Marino Captain Regent 1954 1981 26 [6]
Enzo Colombini   San Marino Captain Regent 1958 1985 26 [7]
Giacomo Simoncini   San Marino Captain Regent 1994 2021 26
Ahmet Zogu   Albania Prime Minister 1895 1922 27 Prime minister and President at 29. Became King of Albania in 1928 at 32.
Muammar Gaddafi   Libya Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution 1942 1969 27
Gloriana Ranocchini   San Marino Captain Regent 1957 1984 27
Giovanni Lonfernini   San Marino Captain Regent 1976 2003 27
Abdessalam Jalloud   Libya Prime Minister 1944 1972 27
Andrea Zafferani   San Marino Captain Regent 1982 2010 27
Matteo Ciacci   San Marino Captain Regent 1990 2018 27
Khertek Anchimaa-Toka   Tuva Chair of the Presidium 1912 1940 28
Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum   United Arab Emirates Prime Minister 1943 1971 28
Vanessa D'Ambrosio   San Marino Captain Regent 1988 2017 28
Alexander Chervyakov   Belarusian SSR Prime Minister 1892 1920 28
Mario Frick   Liechtenstein Prime Minister 1965 1993 28
Kim Jong-un   North Korea General Secretary
Chairman
Supreme Commander
1983 2011 28 Became Supreme leader of North Korea after his father's death.
Giuliano Gozi   San Marino Captain Regent 1894 1923 28
Samuel Doe   Liberia President 1951 1980 28
Ieremia Tabai   Kiribati President 1949 1979 29 Served as colonial Chief Minister since 1978.
Jamtsangiin Damdinsüren   Mongolia Chairman of the Presidium 1898 1927 29
Lhendup Dorji   Bhutan Prime Minister 1935 1964 29
Muhammad Ali Haitham   South Yemen Prime Minister 1940 1969 29
Milo Đukanović   Montenegro Prime Minister 1962 1991 29
Yahya Jammeh   Gambia President 1965 1994 29
Souley Abdoulaye   Niger Prime Minister 1965 1994 29
Roque González Garza   Mexico President 1885 1915 29
Gnassingbé Eyadéma   Togo President 1937 1967 29
Branko Crvenkovski   Macedonia Prime Minister 1962 1992 29
Joseph Kabila   Democratic Republic of the Congo President 1971 2001 29
Alessandro Cardelli   San Marino Captain Regent 1991 2020 29
Muhammad Ahmad al-Mangoush   Libya Prime Minister 1967 1997 30
David Dacko   Central African Republic President 1930 1960 30 Served as colonial Prime Minister since 1959.
Jean-Baptiste Bagaza   Burundi President 1946 1976 30
Bernard Dowiyogo   Nauru President 1946 1976 30
Ilir Meta   Albania Prime Minister 1969 1999 30
Sadiq al-Mahdi   Sudan Prime Minister 1935 1966 30
Marien Ngouabi   Republic of the Congo President 1938 1969 30
Pandeli Majko   Albania Prime Minister 1967 1998 30

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Shaw, Karl (2005) [2004]. Power Mad! [Šílenství mocných] (in Czech). Praha: Metafora. p. 52. ISBN 80-7359-002-6.
  2. ^ Akam, Simon (13 February 2012). "Akam '09 profiles former African dictator Valentine Strasser". Columbia Journalism School. Archived from the original on 10 December 2013.
  3. ^ Marke, Roland (4 August 2008). "Harvest of Shame: Former Sierra Leonean Ruler Valentine Strasser". World Press Review.
  4. ^ Chrétien, Jean-Pierre (2008). "Micombero, Michel". In Gates, Louis Jr.; Akyeampong, Emmanuel K. (eds.). Dictionary of African Biography. Vol. 4. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  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. ^ Guide to Women Leaders. "San Marino". Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
  7. ^ WorldStatesmen.org