Photos and bios of the current Heads of State, Dictators and First Ladies
Bounnhang Vorachith, President of Laos (elected on Apr 19, 2016) Bounnhang Vorachith (born August 15, 1938) is a Laotian politician who has been General Secretary (de facto leader) of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and President of Laos ( de jure head of state) since 2016. Previously he served as Deputy Prime Minister from...Read More »
Idriss Deby, President of Chad (re-elected on Apr 10, 2016 with 61.6% of the vote; Turnout is 76.1%) Born in 1952, in Fada, Ennedi, Chad; son of a shepherd; married, four wives; children: ten. Education: Military officers’ academy in Chad, attended; L’Institut Aeronautique Amaury de la Grange, pilot’s license, 1976. Politics: Patriotic Movement of...Read More »
Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of Congo (Brazzaville) Has been President since 1997. Re-elected on March 20, 2016 with 60.4% of the vote. Turnout: 71%. Denis Sassou Nguesso (born 1943) is a Congolese politician who has been the President of the Republic of the Congo since 1997; he was previously President from 1979 to 1992....Read More »
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of Uganda (re-elected on Feb 18, 2016 with 60.8% of the vote) Born Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, c. 1944 (Museveni is reportedly unsure of the exact year of his birth), in Ntungamo, Ankole, Uganda; son of Mzeyi Amosi Kaguta (a cattle rancher) and Esteri Kokundeka; married Janet Kataha; children: four. Education:...Read More »
Faustin Archange Touadera, President of the Central African Republic (Elected on Feb 14, 2016) Faustin-Archange Touadéra (born 21 April 1957) is a Central African politician and academic who served as Prime Minister of the Central African Republic from January 2008 to January 2013. According to the announcement of the national electoral authority made on February...Read More »
Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus (Re-elected with 84.1% on Oct 11, 2015) Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko is one of the most well-known politicians of the present-day Belarus. He had not belonged to the Communist Party or government nomenclature, nor had he held any posts in the top power hierarchy. He belongs to a group of statesmen, whose...Read More »
Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia Hun Sen is the 34th and current Prime Minister of Cambodia, President of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), and Member of Parliament (MP) for Kandal. He has served as Cambodia’s premier for more than 25 years, making him the longest serving head of government of Cambodia and one...Read More »
Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, President of Afghanistan (since Sept 29, 2014) He is the co-founder of the Institute for State Effectiveness, an organization set up in 2005 to improve the ability of states to serve their citizens. In 2005 he gave a TED talk, in which he discussed how to rebuild a broken state such...Read More »
Nouri Abusahmain, President of Libya (since Aug 4, 2014) Nouri Abusahmain (Arabic : نوري أبو سهمين) is a Libyan politician. He is a major figure on the Islamist side of the 2014 Libyan Conflict and founder of the LROR group which is considered “terrorist” by the internationally recognized Libyan parliament. He is reported to...Read More »
