As yet another dictator bites the dust, following today’s capture and death of Muammar Gaddafi, following is a list of world leaders who have held power for over 30 years.
One of the ironies of life (which I find truly amazing) is that Fidel Castro, who’s at the top of the list, was in power for over 52 years, and yet the people of Cuba never had the testicles to do to him what the Libyans have done to Gaddafi. In fact, to this day he still lives comfortably in “his” Caribbean island. This despite the fact that he turned Cuba into a toilet. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, Fidel’s brother Raul, is now in power. TGO
Note: Leaders in shaded cells are still ruling.
Source: Wikipedia
| Rank | Name | Country | Title | Term began | Term ended | Term length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Fidel Castro |  Cuba |
First Secretary President Prime Minister |
16 February 1959 | 19 April 2011 | 52 years, 62 days |
| 2. | Chiang Kai-shek |  China, Republic of |
Director-General President Premier |
10 October 1928 | 5 April 1975 | 46 years, 177 days |
| 3. | Kim Il-sung |  North Korea |
General Secretary President Premier |
9 September 1948 | 8 July 1994 | 45 years, 302 days |
| 4. | Muammar Gaddafi |  Libyan Arab Jamahiriya |
Leader and Guide of the Revolution | 1 September 1969 | 20 October 20111 | 42 years, 49 days |
| 5. | Omar Bongo |  Gabon |
President | 2 December 1967 | 6 May 2009 | 41 years, 155 days |
| 6. | Enver Hoxha |  Albania |
First Secretary Prime Minister |
22 October 1944 | 11 April 1985 | 40 years, 171 days |
| 7. | Francisco Franco |  Spain |
Generalísimo Head of State |
1 October 1936 | 20 November 1975 | 39 years, 50 days |
| 8. | Gnassingbé Eyadéma |  Togo |
President | 14 April 1967 | 5 February 2005 | 37 years, 297 days |
| 9. | Josip Broz Tito |  Yugoslavia |
Prime Minister President |
29 November 1943 | 4 May 1980 | 36 years, 157 days |
| 10. | Paul Biya |  Cameroon |
Prime Minister President |
30 June 1975 | present | 36 years, 112 days |
| 11. | António de Oliveira Salazar |  Portugal |
Prime Minister | 5 July 1932 | 25 September 1968 | 36 years, 82 days |
| 12. | Todor Zhivkov |  Bulgaria |
General Secretary | 4 March 1954 | 17 November 1989 | 35 years, 258 days |
| 13. | Mohamed Abdelaziz |  Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic |
President | 30 August 1976 | present | 35 years, 51 days |
| 14. | Alfredo Stroessner |  Paraguay |
President | 15 August 1954 | 3 February 1989 | 34 years, 172 days |
| 15. | Mao Zedong | Shaan-Gan-Ning China, Republic of  China, People’s Republic of |
Chairman | 20 March 1943 | 9 September 1976 | 33 years, 173 days |
| 16. | Félix Houphouët-Boigny |  Ivory Coast |
Prime Minister President |
7 August 1960 | 7 December 1993 | 33 years, 122 days |
| 17. | Ali Abdullah Saleh |  North Yemen Yemen |
President | 18 July 1978 | present | 33 years, 94 days |
| 18. | Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal |  Mongolia |
Prime Minister President |
26 January 1952 | 23 August 1984 | 32 years, 210 days |
| 19. | Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo |  Equatorial Guinea |
President | 3 August 1979 | present | 32 years, 78 days |
| 20. | José Eduardo dos Santos |  Angola |
President | 10 September 1979 | present | 32 years, 40 days |
| 21. | Dawda Jawara |  Gambia |
Prime Minister President |
12 June 1962 | 22 July 1994 | 32 years, 40 days |
| 22. | Pham Van Dong |  North Vietnam Vietnam |
Prime Minister | 20 September 1955 | 18 June 1987 | 31 years, 271 days |
| 23. | János Kádár |  Hungary |
General Secretary | 25 October 1956 | 27 May 1988 | 31 years, 215 days |
| 24. | Habib Bourguiba |  Tunisia |
Prime Minister President |
11 April 1956 | 7 November 1987 | 31 years, 210 days |
| 25. | Robert Mugabe |  Zimbabwe |
Prime Minister President |
18 April 1980 | present | 31 years, 185 days |
| 26. | Lee Kuan Yew |  Singapore |
Prime Minister | 5 June 1959 | 28 November 1990 | 31 years, 176 days |
| 27. | Mobutu Sese Seko |  Zaire |
President | 24 November 1965 | 16 May 1997 | 31 years, 173 days |
| 28. | Hastings Banda |  Malawi |
Prime Minister President |
1 February 1963 | 21 May 1994 | 31 years, 109 days |
| 29. | Suharto |  Indonesia |
President | 12 March 1967 | 21 May 1998 | 31 years, 70 days |
| 30. | Joseph Stalin |  Soviet Union |
General Secretary Premier |
3 April 1922 | 5 March 1953 | 30 years, 336 days |
| 31. | Rafael Trujillo |  Dominican Republic |
Generalísimo President |
16 August 1930 | 30 May 1961 | 30 years, 287 days |
| 32. | Abdou Diouf |  Senegal |
Prime Minister President |
26 February 1970 | 1 April 2000 | 30 years, 35 days |
| 33. | Ali Khamenei |  Iran |
President Supreme Leader |
13 October 1981 | present | 30 years, 7 days |
| 34. | Maumoon Abdul Gayoom |  Maldives |
President | 11 November 1978 | 11 November 2008 | 30 years, 0 days |
