The word president comes from the word praesidere which is defined as “sitting before.” It is also an extension of the word preside, to decide or to monitor the activities of the people at the table before you. The president of any nation is typically the leader of a democracy and the head of state. It is also the head of the armed forces in many cases.
Some countries with presidents also have prime ministers, who serve as the leader of all of the ministers in a parliamentary system.
Many countries have a prime minister which is a leader in a parliamentary system. This is a key stakeholder in the legislator and the leader that handles the debates and negotiations between parties in the parliamentary system. It is a role that often has more intense and dramatic responsibilities than a president, who is the last vote. The prime minister will manage the debates leading up to the vote.
In a presidential system, the president waits for the people at the table to finish talking. In America, the president isn’t even in the room when they do, but will get the final say. The prime minister is also the head of state.
The country of Germany has a chancellor and they have the same role as the prime minister. A country with a chancellor is a democracy and has a parliamentary system of making laws and voting. The chancellor will be the head of the government as well and typically functions independently. In Switzerland, there is a chancellor but they do not always have the final say here. The title of chancellor is one of the titles of leaders of countries that is ubiquitous in roles and job responsibilities but for Germany who is considered a world power as a result of being part of the Normandy Four.
Kings and queens are monarch leaders who identify with the identity of a nation and are typically landowners, and monarchs of the land they own. In some countries, kings and queens can levy enforcement of laws, but in many, they don’t. The royal structure is a political one still, where the family plays a role in world politics in a way that nobody truly understands.
It is the job of a monarch in these cases to defer to the governing bodies of their nations, regardless of their wealth and historical-geographical influence.
The Supreme Leader of a country is a country that has one person ruling as a head of state and typically in a dictatorial fashion. In this government, there are many leaders, and the head of state is the Supreme Leader. Kim Jong Un is the Supreme Leader of North Korea, and also the Chairman of the head of government and the Worker’s Party of Korea. Other countries with Supreme Leaders include Iran and Japan.
Country | Head of State Title | Head of State 2023 | Head of Govt Title | Head of Govt 2023 | Additional Details |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Afghanistan | Supreme Leader | Hibatullah Akhundzada | Prime Minister | Abdul Kabir | |
Albania | President | Bajram Begaj | Prime Minister | Edi Rama | |
Algeria | President | Abdelmadjid Tebboune | Prime Minister | Aymen Benabderrahmane | |
Andorra | Episcopal Co-Prince, French Co-Prince | Joan Enric Vives i Sicília (Episcopal Co-Prince), Emmanuel Macron (French Co-Prince) | Prime Minister | Xavier Espot | Josep Maria Mauri (Joan Enric Vives i Sicília representative),
Patrick Strzoda (Emmanuel Macron rep... |
Angola | President | João Lourenço | |||
Antigua and Barbuda | King, Governor-General | Charles III (King), Sir Rodney Williams (Governor-General) | Prime Minister | Gaston Browne | |
Argentina | President | Alberto Fernández | |||
Armenia | President | Vahagn Khachaturyan | Prime Minister | Nikol Pashinyan | |
Australia | King, Governor-General | Charles III (King), David Hurley (Governor-General) | Prime Minister | Anthony Albanese | |
Austria | President | Alexander Van der Bellen | Chancellor | Karl Nehammer | |
Azerbaijan | President | Ilham Aliyev | Prime Minister | Ali Asadov | |
Bahamas | King, Governor-General | Charles III (King), Sir Cornelius A. Smith (Governor-General) | Prime Minister | Philip Davis | |
Bahrain | King | Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa | Prime Minister | Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa | |
Bangladesh | President | Mohammed Shahabuddin | Prime Minister | Sheikh Hasina | |
Barbados | President | Dame Sandra Mason | Prime Minister | Mia Mottley | |
Belarus | President | Alexander Lukashenko | Prime Minister | Roman Golovchenko | |
Belgium | King | Philippe | Prime Minister | Alexander De Croo | |
Belize | King, Governor-General | Charles III (King), Dame Froyla Tzalam (Governor-General) | Prime Minister | Johnny Briceño | |
Benin | President | Patrice Talon | |||
Bhutan | King | Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck | Prime Minister | Lotay Tshering | |
Bolivia | President | Luis Arce | |||
Bosnia and Herzegovina | High Representative, Presidency | Christian Schmidt (High Representative); Željka Cvijanović, Denis Bećirović, Željko Komšić (Presidency) | Prime Minister | Borjana Krišto | Presidency is shared between three presidents, one each from Serbia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina |
Botswana | President | Mokgweetsi Masisi | |||
Brazil | President | Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva | |||
Brunei | Sultan and Prime Minister | Hassanal Bolkiah | |||
Bulgaria | President | Rumen Radev | Prime Minister | Nikolai Denkov | |
Burkina Faso | President of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration, President | Ibrahim Traoré (President of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration), Ibrahim Traoré (Interim President) | Prime Minister | Apollinaire Kyélem (Interim Prime Minister) | |
Burundi | President | Évariste Ndayishimiye | Prime Minister | Gervais Ndirakobuca | |
Cambodia | King | Norodom Sihamoni | Prime Minister | Hun Sen | |
Cameroon | President | Paul Biya | Prime Minister | Joseph Ngute | |
Canada | King, Governor General | Charles II (King), Mary Simon (Governor General) | Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau | |
Cape Verde | President | José Maria Neves | Prime Minister | Ulisses Correia e Silva | |
Central African Republic | President | Faustin-Archange Touadéra | Prime Minister | Félix Moloua | |
Chad | Transitional President | Mahamat Déby | Prime Minister | Saleh Kebzabo | |
Chile | President | Gabriel Boric | |||
China | General Secretary of the Communist Party, President | Xi Jinping (General Secretary of the Communist Party, President) | Premier | Li Qiang | |
Colombia | President | Gustavo Petro | |||
Comoros | President | Azali Assoumani | |||
Cook Islands | King, King's Representative | Charles III (King), Sir Tom Marsters (King's Representative) | Prime Minister | Mark Brown | Associated with New Zealand |
Costa Rica | President | Rodrigo Chaves Robles | |||
Croatia | President | Zoran Milanović | Prime Minister | Andrej Plenković | |
Cuba | First Secretary of the Communist Party | Miguel Díaz-Canel (First Secretary of the Communist Party, President) | Prime Minister | Manuel Marrero Cruz | |
Cyprus | President | Nikos Christodoulides | |||
Czech Republic | President | Petr Pavel | Prime Minister | Petr Fiala | |
Denmark | Queen | Margrethe II | Prime Minister | Mette Frederiksen | |
Djibouti | President | Ismaïl Omar Guelleh | Prime Minister | Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed | |
Dominica | President | Charles Savarin | Prime Minister | Roosevelt Skerrit | |
Dominican Republic | President | Luis Abinader | |||
DR Congo | President | Félix Tshisekedi | Prime Minister | Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde | |
Ecuador | President | Guillermo Lasso | |||
Egypt | President | Abdel Fattah el-Sisi | Prime Minister | Mostafa Madbouly | |
El Salvador | President | Nayib Bukele | |||
Equatorial Guinea | President | Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo | Prime Minister | Manuela Roka Botey | |
Eritrea | President | Isaias Afwerki | |||
Estonia | President | Alar Karis | Prime Minister | Kaja Kallas | |
Eswatini | Ngwenyama, Ndlovukati | Mswati III (Ngwenyama), Ntfombi (Ndlovukati) | Prime Minister | Cleopas Dlamini | |
Ethiopia | President | Sahle-Work Zewde | Prime Minister | Abiy Ahmed | |
Fiji | President | Ratu Wiliame Katonivere | Prime Minister | Sitiveni Rabuka | |
Finland | President | Sauli Niinistö | Prime Minister | Sanna Marin | |
France | President | Emmanuel Macron | Prime Minister | Élisabeth Borne | |
Gabon | President | Ali Bongo Ondimba | Prime Minister | Alain Claude Bilie By Nze | |
Gambia | President | Adama Barrow | |||
Georgia | President | Salome Zourabichvili | Prime Minister | Irakli Garibashvili | |
Germany | President | Frank-Walter Steinmeier | Chancellor | Olaf Scholz | |
Ghana | President | Nana Akufo-Addo | |||
Greece | President | Katerina Sakellaropoulou | Prime Minister | Ioannis Sarmas | |
Grenada | King, Governor-General | Charles III (King), Dame Cécile La Grenade (Governor-General) | Prime Minister | Dickon Mitchell | |
Guatemala | President | Alejandro Giammattei | |||
Guinea | Chairman of the National Committee of Reconciliation and Development, President | Mamady Doumbouya (Chairman of the National Committee of Reconciliation and Development, Interim President) | Interim Prime Minister | Bernard Gomou | |
Guinea Bissau | President | Umaro Sissoco Embaló | Prime Minister | Nuno Gomes Nabiam (Prime Minister), Domingos Simões Pereira (Prime minister-designate) | |
Guyana | President | Irfaan Ali | Prime Minister | Mark Phillips | |
Haiti | President | Prime Minister | Ariel Henry | ||
Honduras | President | Xiomara Castro | |||
Hungary | President | Katalin Novák | Prime Minister | Viktor Orbán | |
Iceland | President | Guðni Th. Jóhannesson | Prime Minister | Katrín Jakobsdóttir | |
India | President | Droupadi Murmu | Prime Minister | Narendra Modi | |
Indonesia | President | Joko Widodo | |||
Iran | Supreme Leader | Ali Khamenei | President | Ebrahim Raisi | |
Iraq | President | Abdul Latif Rashid | Prime Minister | Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani | |
Ireland | President | Michael D. Higgins | Taoiseach | Leo Varadkar | |
Israel | President | Isaac Herzog | Prime Minister | Benjamin Netanyahu | |
Italy | President | Sergio Mattarella | Prime Minister | Giorgia Meloni | |
Ivory Coast | President | Alassane Ouattara | Prime Minister | Patrick Achi | |
Jamaica | King, Governor-General | Charles III (King), Sir Patrick Allen (Governor-General) | Prime Minister | Andrew Holness | |
Japan | Emperor | Naruhito | Prime Minister | Fumio Kishida | |
Jordan | King | Abdullah II | Prime Minister | Bisher Al-Khasawneh | |
Kazakhstan | President | Kassym-Jomart Tokayev | Prime Minister | Älihan Smaiylov | |
Kenya | President | William Ruto | |||
Kiribati | President | Taneti Maamau | |||
Kuwait | Emir | Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah | Prime Minister | Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah | |
Kyrgyzstan | President | Sadyr Japarov | Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers | Akylbek Japarov | |
Laos | General Secretary of the People's Revolutionary Party, President | Thongloun Sisoulith (General Secretary of the People's Revolutionary Party, President) | Prime Minister | Sonexay Siphandone | |
Latvia | President | Egils Levits (President), Edgars Rinkēvičs (President-elect) | Prime Minister | Krišjānis Kariņš | |
Lebanon | President | Prime Minister | Najib Mikati | ||
Lesotho | King | Letsie III | Prime Minister | Sam Matekane | |
Liberia | President | George Weah | |||
Libya | Chairman of the Presidential Council | Mohamed al-Menfi | Prime Minister | Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh | |
Liechtenstein | Prince Regnant, Regent | Hans-Adam II (Prince Regnant), Hereditary Prince Alois (Regent) | Prime Minister | Daniel Risch | |
Lithuania | President | Gitanas Nausėda | Prime Minister | Ingrida Šimonytė | |
Luxembourg | Grand Duke | Henri | Prime Minister | Xavier Bettel | |
Madagascar | President | Andry Rajoelina | Prime Minister | Christian Ntsay | |
Malawi | President | Lazarus Chakwera | |||
Malaysia | Yang di-Pertuan Agong | Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah | Prime Minister | Anwar Ibrahim | |
Maldives | President | Ibrahim Mohamed Solih | |||
Mali | Interim President | Assimi Goïta | Interim Prime Minister | Choguel Kokalla Maïga | |
Malta | President | George Vella | Prime Minister | Robert Abela | |
Marshall Islands | President | David Kabua | |||
Mauritania | President | Mohamed Ould Ghazouani | Prime Minister | Mohamed Ould Bilal | |
Mauritius | President | Prithvirajsing Roopun | Prime Minister | Pravind Jugnauth | |
Mexico | President | Andrés Manuel López Obrador | |||
Micronesia | President | Wesley Simina | |||
Moldova | President | Maia Sandu | Prime Minister | Dorin Recean | |
Monaco | Sovereign Prince | Albert II | Minister of State | Pierre Dartout | |
Mongolia | President | Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh | Prime Minister | Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene | |
Montenegro | President | Jakov Milatović | Prime Minister | Dritan Abazović | |
Morocco | King | Mohammed VI | Prime Minister | Aziz Akhannouch | |
Mozambique | President | Filipe Nyusi | Prime Minister | Adriano Maleiane | |
Myanmar | Chairman of the State Administration Council, President | Min Aung Hlaing (Chairman of the State Administration Council), Myint Swe (Acting President) | Prime Minister | Min Aung Hlaing | |
Namibia | President | Hage Geingob | Prime Minister | Saara Kuugongelwa | |
Nauru | President | Russ Kun | |||
Nepal | President | Ram Chandra Poudel | Prime Minister | Pushpa Kamal Dahal | |
Netherlands | King | Willem-Alexander | Prime Minister | Mark Rutte | |
New Zealand | King, Governor-General | Charles III (King), Dame Cindy Kiro (Governor-General) | Prime Minister | Chris Hipkins | |
Nicaragua | President | Daniel Ortega | |||
Niger | President | Mohamed Bazoum | Prime Minister | Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou | |
Nigeria | President | Bola Tinubu | |||
Niue | King, King's Representative | Charles III (King), Dame Cindy Kiro (King's Representative) | Premier | Dalton Tagelagi | Associated with New Zealand |
North Korea | General Secretary of the Workers' Party, President of the State Affairs Commission | Kim Jong Un (General Secretary of the Workers' Party, President of the State Affairs Commission) | Premier | Kim Tok-hun | |
North Macedonia | President | Stevo Pendarovski | Prime Minister | Dimitar Kovačevski | |
Norway | King | Harald V | Prime Minister | Jonas Gahr Støre | |
Oman | Sultan and Prime Minister | Haitham bin Tariq | |||
Pakistan | President | Arif Alvi | Prime Minister | Shehbaz Sharif | |
Palau | President | Surangel Whipps Jr. | |||
Palestine | President | Mahmoud Abbas | Prime Minister | Mohammad Shtayyeh | |
Panama | President | Laurentino Cortizo | |||
Papua New Guinea | King, Governor-General | Charles II (King), Sir Bob Dadae (Governor-General) | Prime Minister | James Marape | |
Paraguay | President | Mario Abdo Benítez (President), Santiago Peña (President-elect) | |||
Peru | President | Dina Boluarte | Prime Minister | Alberto Otárola | |
Philippines | President | Bongbong Marcos | |||
Poland | President | Andrzej Duda | Prime Minister | Mateusz Morawiecki | |
Portugal | President | Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa | Prime Minister | António Costa | |
Qatar | Emir | Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani | Prime Minister | Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani | |
Republic of the Congo | President | Denis Sassou Nguesso | Prime Minister | Anatole Collinet Makosso | |
Romania | President | Klaus Iohannis | Prime Minister | Nicolae Ciucă | |
Russia | President | Vladimir Putin | Prime Minister | Mikhail Mishustin | |
Rwanda | President | Paul Kagame | Prime Minister | Édouard Ngirente | |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | King, Governor-General | Charles II (King), Dame Marcella Liburd (Governor-General) | Prime Minister | Terrance Drew | |
Saint Lucia | King, Governor-General | Charles III (King), Errol Charles (Acting Governor-General) | Prime Minister | Philip J. Pierre | |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | King, Governor-General | Charles III (King), Dame Susan Dougan (Governor-General) | Prime Minister | Ralph Gonsalves | |
Samoa | O le Ao o le Malo | Afioga Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II | Prime Minister | Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa | |
San Marino | Captain Regent | Alessandro Scarano (Captain Regent), Adele Tonnini (Captain Regent) | Secretary for Foreign and Political Affairs | Luca Beccari | |
Sao Tome and Principe | President | Carlos Vila Nova | Prime Minister | Patrice Trovoada | |
Saudi Arabia | King | Salman | Prime Minister | Mohammed bin Salman | |
Senegal | President | Macky Sall | Prime Minister | Amadou Ba | |
Serbia | President | Aleksandar Vučić | Prime Minister | Ana Brnabić | |
Seychelles | President | Wavel Ramkalawan | |||
Sierra Leone | President | Julius Maada Bio | Chief Minister | Jacob Jusu Saffa | |
Singapore | President | Halimah Yacob | Prime Minister | Lee Hsien Loong | |
Slovakia | President | Zuzana Čaputová | Prime Minister | Ľudovít Ódor | |
Slovenia | President | Nataša Pirc Musar | Prime Minister | Robert Golob | |
Solomon Islands | King, Governor-General | Charles III (King), Sir David Vunagi (Governor-General) | Prime Minister | Manasseh Sogavare | |
Somalia | President | Hassan Sheikh Mohamud | Prime Minister | Hamza Abdi Barre | |
South Africa | President | Cyril Ramaphosa | |||
South Korea | President | Yoon Suk-yeol | |||
South Sudan | President | Salva Kiir Mayardit | |||
Spain | King | Felipe VI | Prime Minister | Pedro Sánchez | |
Sri Lanka | President | Ranil Wickremesinghe | Prime Minister | Dinesh Gunawardena | |
Sudan | Transitional Sovereignty Council | Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (Chairman of Transitional Sovereignty Council) | Prime Minister | Osman Hussein | |
Suriname | President | Chan Santokhi | |||
Sweden | King | Carl XVI Gustaf | Prime Minister | Ulf Kristersson | |
Switzerland | Federal Council | Alain Berset (President of Federal Council), Viola Amherd (Vice President of Federal Council), Guy Parmelin, Ignazio Cassis, Karin Keller-Sutter, Albert Rösti, Élisabeth Baume-Schneider (Members of Federal Council) | |||
Syria | President | Bashar al-Assad | Prime Minister | Hussein Arnous | |
Tajikistan | President | Emomali Rahmon | Prime Minister | Kokhir Rasulzoda | |
Tanzania | President | Samia Suluhu Hassan | Prime Minister | Kassim Majaliwa | |
Thailand | King | Maha Vajiralongkorn | Prime Minister | Prayut Chan-o-cha | |
Timor Leste | President | José Ramos-Horta | Prime Minister | Taur Matan Ruak (Prime Minister), Xanana Gusmão (Prime minister-designate) | |
Togo | President | Faure Gnassingbé | Prime Minister | Victoire Tomegah Dogbé | |
Tonga | King | Tupou VI | Prime Minister | Siaosi Sovaleni | |
Trinidad and Tobago | President | Christine Kangaloo | Prime Minister | Keith Rowley | |
Tunisia | President | Kaïs Saïed | Prime Minister | Najla Bouden | |
Turkey | President | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan | |||
Turkmenistan | Chairman of the People's Council, President | Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow (Chairman of the People's Council), Serdar Berdimuhamedow (President) | |||
Tuvalu | King, Governor-General | Charles III (King), Sir Tofiga Vaevalu Falani (Governor-General) | Prime Minister | Kausea Natano | |
Uganda | President | Yoweri Museveni | Prime Minister | Robinah Nabbanja | |
Ukraine | President | Volodymyr Zelenskyy | Prime Minister | Denys Shmyhal | |
United Arab Emirates | President | Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan | Prime Minister | Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum | |
United Kingdom | King | Charles III | Prime Minister | Rishi Sunak | |
United States | President | Joe Biden | |||
Uruguay | President | Luis Lacalle Pou | |||
Uzbekistan | President | Shavkat Mirziyoyev | Prime Minister | Abdulla Aripov | |
Vanuatu | President | Nikenike Vurobaravu | Prime Minister | Ishmael Kalsakau | |
Vatican City | Sovereign | Pope Francis | President of the Governorate | Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga | |
Venezuela | President | Nicolás Maduro | |||
Vietnam | General Secretary of the Communist Party, President | Nguyễn Phú Trọng (General Secretary of the Communist Party), Võ Văn Thưởng (President) | Prime Minister | Phạm Minh Chính | |
Yemen | Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council | Rashad al-Alimi | Prime Minister | Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed | |
Zambia | President | Hakainde Hichilema | |||
Zimbabwe | President | Emmerson Mnangagwa |