History Main / ShortLivedLeadership

** The shortest presidency to actually be completed, rather than being cut off by the office-holder's death, was that of UsefulNotes/GeraldFord, who took office immediately after UsefulNotes/RichardNixon's resignation in 1974, lost re-election to UsefulNotes/JimmyCarter, and saw his only term expire after just 895 days (around 2 and a half years) in office.

* The Soviet General Secretaries Yuri Andropov, Konstantin Chernenko, and particularly Vladimir Ivashko had extremely short office terms (15 months, 11 months, and 5 ''days'', respectively), and are therefore barely remembered by anyone but historians today, lost in the shadow of Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, and Gorbachev's much longer and more colorful reigns. Besides, Ivashko's tenure was during the dying days of the USSR, when the country's leadership rested with the now-President Gorbachev.

* From December 20th, 2001 to January 2nd, 2002, Argentina had FIVE heads of state: Fernando de la Rua (resigned because of the financial crisis), Ramon Puerta (acting president), Adolfo Rodriguez Saa (resigned after unpopular attempts to fix the economy), Eduardo Camano (another interim president -- Ramon Puerta resigned as leader of the senate to avoid being interim president again), and finally Eduardo Duhalde (who completed Fernando de la Rua's term).

** Lady Jane Grey, who was technically the reigning British monarch for 9 days after Edward VI left the throne to her. Edward's sister, [[UsefulNotes/MaryTudor Bloody Mary]], very quickly had her killed.
** Empress Matilda (ruled six months), Edward V(ruled two months), Richard III (ruled two years), Edward VIII (ruled one year).
** Arguably Louis VIII of France, who took London in May 1215 and was acclaimed by the barons as king because they just hated King John that much, only to be abandoned by them when John died in 1216, and finally capitulating to Henry III's forces in 1217. However, despite having a kind of coronation ceremony, he was never actually crowned.

** UsefulNotes/WilliamHenryHarrison is mostly known for being the United States president with the shortest term, dying 31 days into office from pneumonia. He was also the first president to die while in office in general.
** The 20th president, UsefulNotes/JamesGarfield, had the second shortest term, being shot four months after his inauguration and dying two months later.
** The shortest presidency to actually be completed, rather than being cut off by the office-holder's death, was that of UsefulNotes/GeraldFord, who was inaugurated immediately following UsefulNotes/RichardNixon's resignation in 1974, lost re-election to UsefulNotes/JimmyCarter, and saw his one term expire as per federal regulations on Inauguration Day 1977, just 895 days (around 2 and a half years) after he entered office.
* The shortest reign of a [[UsefulNotes/TheMenOfDowningStreet British Prime Minister]] goes to UsefulNotes/LizTruss who lasted all of 44 days in the role. Her term was marked by self-inflicted damage, flip-flopping positions, high-profile resignations, and so much general chaos that it became untenable for her to stay in office. The fact that she wouldn't spend much time in office was highly expected thanks to the political crisis, to the point where the ''[[UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers Daily Star]]'' pitted her against [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Star_lettuce a head of lettuce]] to see who would last longer; the lettuce won. She beats the next-shortest term by a large margin, as UsefulNotes/GeorgeCanning served for 119 days before dying of pneumonia.

* The shortest reign of a [[UsefulNotes/TheMenOfDowningStreet British Prime Minister]] goes to UsefulNotes/LizTruss who lasted all of 44 days in the role. Her term was marked by self-inflicted damage, flip-flopping positions, high-profile resignations, and so much general chaos that it became untenable for her to stay in office. She beats the next-shortest term by a large margin, as UsefulNotes/GeorgeCanning served for 119 days before dying of pneumonia.

* The shortest reign of a British Prime Minister goes to UsefulNotes/LizTruss who lasted all of 44 days in the role. Her term was marked by self-inflicted damage, flip-flopping positions, high-profile resignations, and so much general chaos that it became untenable for her to stay in office. She beats the next-shortest term by a large margin, as UsefulNotes/GeorgeCanning served for 119 days before dying of pneumonia.

* On October 20, 2022, UsefulNotes/LizTruss became the shortest-serving [[UsefulNotes/TheMenOfDowningStreet Prime Minister]] in the history of the United Kingdom, resigning from her position just 44 days after being appointed.

* The shortest reign of a British Prime Minister goes to UsefulNotes/GeorgeCanning. Before then he became famous for his successful stint as the Foreign Secretary who ensured Britain's naval dominance over Napoleon, made major diplomatic strides in post-independence South America, and earned a popular following for being a charismatic orator at a time when that kind of thing was rare, essentially inventing the modern political campaign as it is done in the United Kingdom. He became Prime Minister in 1827, but lasted just 119 days before dying of pneumonia, creating one of the biggest [[WhatCouldHaveBeen What Could Have Beens]] in British political history.

* On October 20, 2022, Liz Truss became the shortest-serving Prime Minister in the history of the United Kingdom, resigning from her position just 44 days after being appointed.

* [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope John Paul I]] reigned for about a month in 1978.

* UsefulNotes/WilliamHenryHarrison is mostly known for being the United States president with the shortest term, dying 31 days into office from pneumonia. He was also the first president to die while in office in general.

* In ''VideoGame/Yakuza1'', [[spoiler:[[HeroProtagonist Kazuma Kiryu]]]] gets appointed as the next Tojo clan chairman, as written in the will of the late chairman, Masaru Sera. He resigns immediately after his appointment ceremony. Nevertheless, he still holds a great about of reputation as the Fourth Chairman.

* In ''VideoGame/Yakuza1'', [[spoiler:[[HeroProtagonist Kazuma Kiryu]]]] gets appointed as the next Tojo clan chairman, as written in the will of the late chairman, Masaru Sera. He resigns immediately after his appointment ceremony.

* Russia's Peter III(ruled six months), Ivan VI(ruled one year), Mikhail II(ruled one day), Feodor II(ruled two months), False Dimitri I(ruled one year).
* Spain had Luis I(ruled six months), Phillip I(ruled two months) and Ferdinand VII's first reign, which lasted one month.

* ''Series/BreakingBad'': Where to begin? In Season 4, [[BigBad Gustavo Fring]] assembles a meeting with [[OrcusOnTheThrone Don Eladio]] as well as the other rulers of the cartel, [[DecapitationStrike and has them all poisoned]]. This leaves him as the sole meth producer for the American Southwest... for less than a week. That's when [[VillainProtagonist Walter White]] [[KlingonPromotion has Gus murdered, which causes his meth empire to collapse, with many of his workers killed off to make room for Walt's new empire]]. ''That'' empire lasted much longer, but only for less than a year. That's when the tables turn on him, and he is forced to shut it down and flee. This '''''then''''' leads to a new empire led by Jack Welker, of the New Mexico Aryan Brotherhood. It lasts for half a year, only for Walt himself to come back to Albuquerque and meet them at their headquarters. He has all of them killed there, including himself, so that their empire would prosper no longer.

* Sweden had Prime Minister Östen Hundeen (until then Foreign Minister) who served as acting Prime Minister after the Sudden Death of Per Albin Hansson 1932-1946 (14 years and an entire World War Two) for an whooping 6 Days until Hundeen's Political Heir and obvious Replacent Tage Erlander was voted in and who ended up serving between 1946-1969 (23 years—still longest running Prime Minister!)

* Sweden had Prime Minister Östen Hundeen (until then Foreign Minister) who served as acting Prime Minister after the Sudden Death of Per Albin Hansson 1932-1946 (14 years and an entire World War Two) for an whooping 6 Days until his Political Heir and obvious Replacent Tage Erlander was voted in and who ended up serving between 1946-1969 (23 years—still longest running Prime Minister!)

* Sweden had Prime Minister Östen Hundeen (until then Foreign Minister) who served as acting Prime Minister after the Sudden Death of Per Albin Hansson 1932-1946 (14 years and an entire World War Two) for an whooping 6 Days until his Political Heir and obvious Replacem Tage Erlander was voted in and who ended up serving between 1946-1969 (23 years—still longest running Prime Minister!)