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October 20, 2024 | 07:52 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Presidential elections typically have a cycle of four years in most countries. While the presidency may vary by nation, it can only be renewable for certain periods of time. Therefore, these longest-serving presidents in the world received a mixed reaction from people of all ages.
10 Longest Serving Presidents
This article reveals the 10 longest-serving presidents as cited from Time of India and Britannica.
1. Teodoro Obiang Nguema, 45 years
Born into a family of the Esangui, a part of the largest group in Spanish Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema is among the longest-serving rulers of the state. He has led Equatorial Guinea since seizing power from his uncle in a coup in 1979. As of 2024, Teodoro Obiang Nguema has maintained his power for 45 years.
2. Paul Biya, 41 years
Prior to his presidency, Paul Biya served as the prime minister of Cameroon from 1975 to 1982. His constitutional career largely benefited from the resignation of Ahidjo, former Cameroon President, in November 1982. During Paul Biya’s 41 years of presidency, the country was threatened by several crises and security challenges, such as the 1990s and 2000s from the dispute with Nigeria, Britannica reported.
3. Dennis Sassou Nguesso, 40 years
Dennis Sassou Nguesso is the elected President of the Republic of the Congo for two periods, 1979-1992 and 1997-. He led the reinforcement of economic and political reforms to save the country from bankruptcy in 1999.
4. Yoweri Museveni, 38 years
Tower Museveni became the President of Uganda in 1986. During the 38 years of his presidency, he has led the country’s revitalization, supporting a growing economy, improving infrastructure, and maintaining political stability.
5. Emomali Rahmon, 30 years
Emomali Rahmon was first elected president of Tajikistan in 1994. As of 2024, he has spent about 30 years as the head of the country. The long presidency was partly possible because of the constitutional amendments Rahmon had requested in 2003. The package included an amendment loosening presidential term limits that enabled Emomali Rahmon to continue his presidency until 2020.
6. Isaias Afwerki, 30 years
Isaias Afwerki is an Eritrean independence president and has been holding a strong grip on power since 1993. He left his engineering study at the University of Addis Ababa to join the ELF, also known as the Eritrean Liberation Form. Later in 1974, Isaias led the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) during Ethiopia’s revolution.
7. Alexander Lukashenko, 30 years
Alexander Lukashenko was elected president of Belarus in 1994. Two years later, he convinced the voters to enable a new constitution that gave him the rights of additional powers, including to rule by decree and to prolong his term in office.
8. Ismail Omar Guelleh, 25 years
Ismail Omar Guelleh has been the reigning president of Djibouti for 25 years. Guelleh was nominated as president when his nephew, Gouled, announced he would not participate in the presidential election in 1999.
9. Vladimir Putin, 25 years
Vladimir Putin served 15 years as a foreign intelligence officer for the KGB, the foreign intelligence and domestic security agency of the Soviet Union. Former president Boris Yeltsin announced Putin as the director of the Federal Security in July 1998. He was then appointed to be the prime minister by Yeltsin in 1999. Later in the year, Vladimir Putin was named as the acting president after Yeltsin’s resignation on December 31, 1999.
10. Paul Kagame, 24 years
Paul Kagame became the president of Rwanda in 2000, and that made him a ruling leader for about 24 years. According to Britannica, Kagame was the leading force of 10,000 to 14,000 RPF soldiers against the Hutu forces inflicting the genocide of Tutsi in 1994.
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