People

• Head of state or governmentHosni MubarakMuhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 until his resignation in 2011, following the Egyptian revolution. He was previously the seventh vice president under President Anwar Sadat from 1975 until his accession to the presidency, and the 41st prime minister from 1981 to 1982. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in the Egyptian Air Force. He served as its commander from 1972 to 1975 and rose to the rank of air chief marshal in 1973.
• President of the United States from 1889 to 1893Benjamin HarrisonBenjamin Harrison was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a great-grandson of Benjamin Harrison V, a Founding Father. A Union army veteran and a Republican, he defeated Democratic Party incumbent Grover Cleveland to win the presidency in the 1888 United States presidential election by winning the Electoral College while losing the popular vote. He was defeated by Cleveland in the 1892 United States presidential election, becoming the first president to be succeeded in office by his predecessor.
• Head of state or governmentGolda MeirGolda Meir served as the prime minister of Israel from 1969 to 1974. She was Israel's first and, to date, only female head of government.
• Head of state or governmentDavid Ben-GurionDavid Ben-Gurion was the primary national founder and first prime minister of the State of Israel. As head of the Jewish Agency from 1935, and later president of the Jewish Agency Executive, he was the de facto leader of the Jewish community in Palestine, and largely led the movement for an independent Jewish state in Mandatory Palestine.
• Head of state or governmentChester A. ArthurChester Alan Arthur was the 21st president of the United States, serving from 1881 to 1885. A Republican from New York, he served as the 20th vice president under President James A. Garfield in 1881, assuming the presidency after Garfield's assassination. Arthur's administration saw the largest expansion of the U.S. Navy, the end of the so-called "spoils system", and the implementation of harsher restrictions for migrants entering from abroad.
• Head of state or governmentGamal Abdel NasserGamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-reaching land reforms the following year. Following a 1954 assassination attempt by a Muslim Brotherhood member, he cracked down on the organization, put President Mohamed Naguib under house arrest and assumed executive office. He was formally elected president in June 1956.
• Head of state or governmentShimon PeresShimon Peres was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 to 2014. He was a member of twelve cabinets and represented five political parties in a political career spanning 70 years. Peres was elected to the Knesset in November 1959 and except for three months out of office in early 2006, served as a member of the Knesset continuously until he was elected president in 2007. Serving in the Knesset for 48 years, Peres is the longest serving member in the Knesset's history. At the time of his retirement from politics in 2014, he was the world's oldest head of state and was considered the last link to Israel's founding generation, as well as the last Prime Minister to make aliyah rather than being born on territory that would become Israel.
• Head of state or governmentAnwar SadatMuhammad Anwar es-Sadat was an Egyptian politician and military officer who was the third president of Egypt from 1970 until his assassination in 1981. A former member of the Free Officers movement, Sadat was vice president under Gamal Abdel Nasser on two occasions and assumed the office on Nasser's death in 1970.
• Head of state or governmentHassan RouhaniHassan Rouhani is an Iranian politician who served as the president of Iran from 2013 to 2021. He is also a sharia lawyer ("Wakil"), academic, former diplomat and Islamic cleric. He served as a member of Iran's Assembly of Experts from 1999 to 2024. He was a member of the Expediency Council from 1991 to 2013, and was a member of the Supreme National Security Council from 1989 to 2021. Rouhani was deputy speaker of the fourth and fifth terms of the Parliament of Iran (Majlis) and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council from 1989 to 2005. In the latter capacity, he was the country's top negotiator with the EU three, the UK, France, and Germany, on nuclear technology in Iran, and has also served as a Shia mujtahid, and economic trade negotiator.
• Head of state or governmentAriel SharonAriel "Arik" Sharon was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006.
• Head of state or governmentMohamed MorsiMohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa Al-Ayyat was an Egyptian politician, engineer, and professor who served as the fifth president of Egypt from 2012 to 2013, when General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi removed him from office in a coup d'état after protests in June. Affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood organization, Morsi led the Freedom and Justice Party from 2011 to 2012.
• Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014Manmohan SinghManmohan Singh was an Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician and politician who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Narendra Modi. A member of the Indian National Congress, Singh was the first and remains the only Sikh prime minister of India. He was also the first prime minister since Nehru to be re-appointed after completing a full five-year term.
• Head of state or governmentAbdullah GülAbdullah Gül is a Turkish politician who served as the president of Turkey from 2007 to 2014. He previously served for four months as Prime Minister from 2002 to 2003, and concurrently served as both Deputy Prime Minister and as Foreign Minister between 2003 and 2007. He is currently a member of the Advisory Panel for the President of the Islamic Development Bank.
• Head of state or governmentMohammad KhatamiMohammad Khatami is an Iranian politician and Shia cleric who served as the president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 to 1992. Later, he was critical of the government of subsequent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
• Head of state or governmentYitzhak RabinYitzhak Rabin was an Israeli statesman and general who was the prime minister of Israel, having served from 1974 to 1977 and again from 1992 until his assassination in 1995. He was the first prime minister to have been born in the region of Palestine, at the time under British control.
• King of Jordan since 1999Abdullah II of JordanAbdullah II is the king of Jordan, having acceded to the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of the Hashemites, who have been the reigning royal family of Jordan since 1921, and is traditionally regarded as a 41st-generation direct descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
• Head of state or governmentAbdullah of Saudi ArabiaAbdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 1 August 2005 until his death in 2015. Prior to his accession, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 13 June 1982. He was the tenth son of King Abdulaziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia.
• Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989Rajiv GandhiRajiv Ratna Gandhi was an Indian aircraft pilot and politician who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989 for two terms. He took office after the assassination of his mother, then–prime minister Indira Gandhi, to become the youngest Indian prime minister at the age of 40. He served until his defeat at the 1989 election, and then became Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, resigning in December 1990, six months before his own assassination.
• Head of state or governmentAbdel Fattah el-SisiAbdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi is an Egyptian politician and retired military officer who has served as the sixth president of Egypt since 2014.
• Head of state or governmentSalman of Saudi ArabiaSalman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is King of Saudi Arabia, having reigned since 2015. He is a son of King Abdulaziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia, and a member of the House of Saud. Salman is the third-oldest living head of state and the oldest living monarch. He is the first Saudi head of state born after the unification of Saudi Arabia.
• AHead of state or governmentA. P. J. Abdul KalamAvul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was an Indian aerospace engineer and science administrator who served as president of India from 2002 to 2007. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1981 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1990. In 1997, he was awarded India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, for his contribution to the scientific research and modernisation of defence technology in India.
• Head of state or governmentZhou EnlaiZhou Enlai was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from October 1949 until his death in January 1976. Zhou was among the Chinese Communist Party's earliest leaders, though he was subordinate to Mao Zedong following the Zunyi Conference. After the founding of the PRC, he helped Mao consolidate party power and shape foreign policy, while striving to maintain state operations amid tumultuous politics.
• Head of state or governmentJiang ZeminJiang Zemin was a Chinese politician who served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the fourth paramount leader of China from 1989 to 2002, as the chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and as the president of China from 1993 to 2003. He was the core leader of the third generation of Chinese leadership, one of four core leaders alongside Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, and Xi Jinping.
• Head of state or governmentEbrahim RaisiEbrahim Raisolsadati, better known as Ebrahim Raisi, was an Iranian cleric and politician who served as the president of Iran from 2021 until his death in a helicopter crash in 2024. A protégé of supreme leader Ali Khamenei and a Principlist, Raisi was the second and most recent Iranian president to die in office after Mohammad-Ali Rajai.
• Head of state or governmentPranab MukherjeePranab Mukherjee was an Indian politician who served as the president of India from 2012 until 2017. He was the first person from West Bengal to hold the office. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the Indian National Congress and occupied several top ministerial portfolios in the Government of India. Prior to his election as President, Mukherjee was Finance Minister from 2009 to 2012 also in 1982 to 1984. He was awarded India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 2019, by his successor as president, Ram Nath Kovind.
• Head of state or governmentMenachem BeginMenachem Begin was an Israeli politician who founded the political parties Herut and Likud and served as prime minister of Israel from 1977 to 1983.
• Premier of China from 2013 to 2023Li KeqiangLi Keqiang was a Chinese politician and economist who served as premier of China from 2013 to 2023 and was the second-ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s Politburo Standing Committee from 2012 to 2022.
• Head of state or governmentIbn SaudAbdulaziz bin Abdu Rahman Al Saud, known in the Western world as Ibn Saud, and known with his kunya Abu Turki, was a Najdi war leader, statesman, and religious leader who became the founder and first King of Saudi Arabia, reigning from 23 September 1932 until his death in 1953. He had ruled parts of the kingdom since 1902, having previously been Emir, Sultan, King of Nejd, and King of Hejaz.
• Head of state or governmentPratibha PatilPratibha Devisingh Patil, also known as Pratibha Patil Shekhawat, is an Indian stateswoman and lawyer who served as the president of India from 2007 to 2012. She was the first woman to become the president of India. A member of the Indian National Congress, she also served as the Governor of Rajasthan from 2004 to 2007, and was a member of the Lok Sabha from 1991 to 1996.
• Head of state or governmentDroupadi MurmuDroupadi Murmu is an Indian politician who has served as the president of India since 2022. She won the 2022 presidential election from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She is the first person belonging to a tribal community and also the second woman, after Pratibha Patil, to hold the office. She is also the youngest person to occupy the post and the first president born in independent India.
• Head of state or governmentQaboos bin SaidQaboos bin Said Al Said was Sultan of Oman from 23 July 1970 until his death in 2020. A fifteenth-generation descendant of the founder of the Al Bu Said dynasty, he was the longest-serving leader in the Middle East and Arab world at the time of his death, having ruled for almost half a century.
• Head of state or governmentAtal Bihari VajpayeeAtal Bihari Vajpayee was an Indian statesman and a poet who served as the prime minister of India, from 1998 to 2004, and previously for two weeks in 1996. He was the first non-Congress prime minister to serve a full term in the office. Vajpayee was one of the co-founders and a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was a volunteer and full-time functionary (pracharak) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindutva paramilitary volunteer organisation. Vajpayee combined cultural nationalism with political moderation, shaping a distinctive strand of post-Independence Indian conservatism rooted in civilisational identity. Vajpayee represented a current in Hindu nationalism that sought to harmonise cultural identity with democratic pluralism.
• Head of state or governmentSüleyman DemirelSüleyman Sami Demirel was a Turkish politician, engineer, and statesman who served as the president of Turkey from 1993 to 2000. He previously served as the prime minister of Turkey seven times between 1965 and 1993. He was the leader of the Justice Party (AP) from 1964 to 1980 and the leader of the True Path Party (DYP) from 1987 to 1993.
• Head of state or governmentMasoud PezeshkianMasoud Pezeshkian is an Iranian politician and heart surgeon who has served as the president of Iran since 2024. A member of the reformist faction, he is the oldest person to serve in this position, taking office at the age of 69.
• Head of state or governmentSarvepalli RadhakrishnanSarvepalli Radhakrishnan was an Indian academic, philosopher and statesman who served as the Vice President of India from 1952 to 1962 and President of India from 1962 to 1967. He was the ambassador of India to the Soviet Union from 1949 to 1952. He was also the vice-chancellor of Banaras Hindu University from 1939 to 1948 and the vice-chancellor of Andhra University from 1931 to 1936. Radhakrishnan is considered one of the most influential and distinguished 20th century scholars of comparative religion and philosophy, he held the King George V Chair of Mental and Moral Science at the University of Calcutta from 1921 to 1932 and Spalding Chair of Eastern Religion and Ethics at University of Oxford from 1936 to 1952.
• Head of state or governmentNaftali BennettNaftali Bennett is an Israeli politician, businessman, and soldier who served as the prime minister of Israel from 2021 to 2022, and as the alternate prime minister from July to November 2022. Bennett has served as the head of Bennett 2026 since 2025; the party is allied with Yesh Atid as part of an alliance called Together. Bennett was the leader of the New Right party from 2018 to 2022, having previously led the religious Zionist and far-right political party The Jewish Home between 2012 and 2018.
• Head of state or governmentWen JiabaoWen Jiabao is a retired Chinese politician and geologist who served as the premier of China from 2003 to 2013 and the third-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party from 2002 to 2012.
• Head of state or governmentİsmet İnönüMustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish politician and military officer who served as the president of Turkey from 1938 to 1950, and as its prime minister three times: from 1923 to 1924, 1925 to 1937, and 1961 to 1965.
• Head of state or governmentEhud OlmertEhud Olmert is an Israeli politician and lawyer who served as the prime minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009.
• RHead of state or governmentRam Nath KovindRam Nath Kovind is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the president of India from 2017 to 2022. He is the first person from Uttar Pradesh as well as the first member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to become the president of India. Prior to his presidency, he served as the Governor of Bihar from 2015 to 2017 and as a Member of Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh for two successive terms. Prior to entering politics, he was a lawyer and he practised in the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India until 1993.

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