Heads of State

A list of politicians who are or have been a head of state (constitutional monarchs, presidents, etc); or a head of government (absolute monarchs, prime ministers, presidents, etc).

The term "head of state" is a little bit confusing to countries like the United States, where the President is both the head of state and the head of government. The head of state is the ceremonial representative of the country, the head of government runs the country. That's why in the United Kingdom, the King or Queen is the head of state, while the Prime Minister is the head of government. In the British overseas territories and the Commonwealth realms, the Governor General is the de facto head of state as the personal representative of the monarch, and the Prime Minister is that country's head of government. But we won't make that distinction here; anyone who is some sort of national leader qualifies for this list.

Imperial China^noteIncludes all Chinese imperial dynasties, from the Shang to the Qing.
- Qin Shi Huangdi: Chinese Emperor (259-210 BC)
- Wu Zetian: Chinese Empress (624-705 AD)
Modern China^noteIncludes both the Republic of China (ROC) and the People's Republic of China (PRC), which in the present-day respectively control Taiwan and Mainland China.

Cuba

Fulgencio Batista: President from 1940-1944 and 1952-1959.
Fidel Castro: Leader from 1959-2008 (as Prime Minister from 1959-1976, then as President from 1976-2008).

Egypt

Ancient Egypt
Modern Egypt
- Gamal Abdel Nasser: President from 1956 to 1970.

Finland

Gustav Mannerheim

France

Kingdom of France
- Louis XIII
  - Cardinal Richelieu: Chief minister of Louis XIII.
- Louis XIV
- Louis XV
- Louis XVI
- Marie Antoinette: Queen consort of King Louis XVI.
Revolutionary/Napoleonic France
- Maximilien Robespierre: Leading member of the Committee of Public Safety.
- Napoléon Bonaparte: Made himself the Emperor of France.
Modern France
- The Presidents of France
  - Charles de Gaulle: President of the Provisional Government of the French Republic from 1944 to 1945 and President of the French Republic from 1958 to 1969.

Germany

Pre-Unification
- Charles V (Also Spain)
- Prussian Kings
  - Frederick the Great: King of Prussia 1740-1786
- King Ludwig II of Bavaria: King of Bavaria 1864-1886
Post-Unification
- The Chancellors of Germany
  - Otto von Bismarck
  - Adolf Hitler: Chancellor, Führer, and dictator of Nazi Germany (1933-1945).
  - Angela Merkel
- The Presidents of Germany

Greece

Alexander the Great

Hungary

Matthias Corvinus

Iran / Persia

Persian Empire
- Cyrus the Great
- Ismail I
Modern Iran
- Hassan Rouhani

Iraq

Saddam Hussein

Ireland

Prime Ministers of Ireland

Israel

David Ben-Gurion
Benjamin Netanyahu: Current Prime Minister of Israel.

Feudal Japan
- Date Masamune: 16th century Japanese warlord.
- Fuuma Kotaro: 16th century Japanese warlord.
- Oda Nobunaga: 16th century Japanese warlord.
- Tokugawa Ieyasu: 16th-17th century Japanese warlord.
- Toyotomi Hideyoshi: 16th century Japanese warlord.
Modern Japan
- Hideki Tojo: War Minister and Prime Minister of Japan during most of World War II.

Libya

Muammar Gaddafi: Military dictator of Libya (1969-2011). His official titles were "Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council" and "Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution".

Monaco