Longest serving leaders in the world so far:

September 11, 2017

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If you are a Kenyan and you feel that Daniel T. arap Moi’s 24-year-rule of 22nd August 1978 to 30th December 2002 was “way too long”, take a look at the below list of longest reigning world leaders so far;

Fidel Castro led Cuba for 52 years and 62 days from 16th February 1959 to 19th April 2011;
Kim il Sung led North Korea for 48 years and 203 days, from 17th December 1945 to 8th July 1994;
Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal led Mongolia for 44 years and 137 days, from 8th April 1940 to 23rd August 1984;
Paul Biya has been leader of Cameroon since 30th June 1975 (42 years), and is still in office;
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Col. Muammar Gaddafi led Libya for 42 years and 49 days from 1st September 1969 to 20th October 2011;
Omar Bongo led Gabon for 41 years and 155 days from 2nd December 1967 to 6th May 2009;
Enver Hoxha led Albania for 40 years and 171 days from 22nd October 1944 to 11th April 1985;
Mohammed Abdelaziz led Sahrawi for 39 years and 275 days from 30th August 1976 to 31st May 2016;
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Gen. Francisco Franco led Spain for 39 years and 50 days from 1st October 1936 to 20th November 1975;
Teodoro Obiang Nguema has been leader of Equatorial Guinea since 3rd August 1979 (38 years), and is still in office;
Jose Eduardo dos Santos has been leader of Angola since 10th September 1979 (just under 38 years), and is due to vacate office in September 2017;
Gnassingbe Eyadema led Togo for 37 years and 297 days from 14th April 1967 to 5th February 2005;
Robert Gabriel Mugabe has been leader of Zimbabwe since 18th April 1980 (37 years), and is still in office;
Josip Broz Tito led Yugoslavia for 36 years and 157 days from 29th November 1943 to 4th May 1980;
Antonio Salazar led Portugal for 36 years and 82 days from 5th July 1932 to 25th September 1968;
Todor Zhivkov led Bulgaria for 35 years and 258 days from 4th March 1954 to 17th November 1989;
Alfredo Stroessner led Paraguay for 34 years and 172 days from 15th August 1954 to 3rd February 1989;
Felix Houphouet-Boigny led Cote d’Ivoire 33 years and 122 days from 7th August 1960 to 7th December 1993;
Hun Sen has been leader of Cambodia since 14th January 1985 (32 years), and is still in office;
Dawda Jawara led The Gambia for 32 years and 40 days from 12th June 1962 to 22nd July 1994;
Pham Van Dong led both North Vietnam and the unified Vietnam for a total combined consecutive period of 31 years and 271 days from 20th September 1955 to 18th June 1987;
Yoweri Museveni has been leader of Uganda since 26th January 1986 (31 years), and is still in office;
Janos Kadar led Hungary for 31 years and 215 days from 25th October 1956 to 27th May 1988;
Habib Bourguiba led Tunisia for 31 years and 210 days from 11th April 1956 to 7th November 1987;
Mobutu Sese Seko led the Democratic Republic of Congo for 31 years and 173 days from 24th November 1965 to 16th May 1997;
Hastings Kamuzu Banda led Malawi for 31 years and 109 days from 1st February 1963 to 21st May 1994;
Rafael Trujillo led the Dominican Republic for 31 years and 88 days from 3rd March 1930 to 30th May 1961;
Suharto led Indonesia for 31 years and 70 days from 12th March 1967 to 21st May 1998;
Joseph Stalin led the Soviet Union for 30 years and 336 years from 3rd April 1922 to 5th March 1953;
Abdou Diouf led Senegal for 30 years and 35 days from 26th February 1970 to 1st April 2000;
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom led the Maldives for 30 years from 11th November 1978 to 11th November 2008;

Addendum (other less lengthy reigns):

Hosni Mubarak, leader of Egypt for just over 29 years from 7th October 1981 to 11th February 2011;

Omar al-Bashir has been leader of Sudan since 30th June 1989 (28 years), and is still in office;

William Tubman, leader of Liberia for just over 27 years from 3rd January 1944 to 23rd July 1971;

Kenneth Kaunda, leader of Zambia for 27 years from 24th October 1964 to 2nd November 1991;

Blaise Compaore, leader of Burkina Faso for 27 years from 15th October 1987 to 30th October 2014;

Gen. Idriss Deby has been leader of Chad since 2nd December 1990, just under 27 years now, and is still in office;

Nicolae Ceausescu, leader of Romania for 24 years from 22nd March 1965 to 22nd December 1989;

Julius Nyerere was leader of both Tanganyika and the United Republic of Tanzania for a total combined consecutive period of 24 years from 1st May 1961 to 5th November 1985;

Daniel T. arap Moi, leader of Kenya for 24 years from 22nd August 1978 to 30th December 2002;

Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, leader of Tunisia for just over 23 years from 7th November 1987 to 14th January 2011;

Yahya Jammeh, leader of The Gambia for 22 years from 22nd July 1994 to 21 January 2017;

Sir Robert Walpole, British Prime Minister for 21 years from 1721 to 1742;