Records of heads of state

Longest-serving

Monarch

The longest-reigning monarch of all-time is a matter of some debate. Candidates include Pepi II Neferkare, pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, believed to have ruled for around 94 years between 2278 BC and 2184 BC; however, some sources put the length of his reign at only 64 years. Minhti, king of Arakan (now in Burma) is reputed to have reigned for 95 years from AD 1279 to 1374, but little documentary evidence exists for this claim. Similarly, Taejo of Goguryeo (now in Korea) is listed as reigning for 93 years between AD 53 and 146 eventually dying at the age of 119 in 165.

The longest undisputed reign is that of Sobhuza II of Swaziland who ascended to the throne on 10 December 1899 at the age of four months and ruled until his death on 21 August 1982, after a reign of 82 years and 254 days.

Current

The longest-serving current monarch is Queen Elizabeth II of United Kingdom, who has been the Monarch since 6 February 1952 (reigning for over 64 years), followed by King Abdul Halim of Kedah, who has been the Monarch since 15 July 1958 (reigning for over 58 years).

Republic

President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (born 29 December 1937) was elected for six consecutive terms as President of Maldives. He served as President for 30 years from 1978 to 2008, until he was defeated in the country's first multi-party election. According to the 2007 Constitution of the Maldives, the Presidency is limited to only two consecutive terms.

President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir served as President of Iceland for sixteen years exactly from August 1980 to August 1996, making her the longest-serving democratically-elected female head of state. Her successor, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson has served as President of Iceland since August 1996; his ends in August 2016.

The longest reigning was Fidel Castro who served as First Secretary/Prime Minister/President of Cuba and ruled from 16 February 1959 to 19 April 2011, a total of 52 years and 62 days.

Shortest Serving

The shortest serving monarch of all time is believed to be Louis XIX of France . After his fathers abdication during the July Revolution on August 2, 1830, he ascended to the throne, but abdicated around 20 minutes later. This reign is disputed, as some historians believe this reign is too short to be valid. The next contender is the unnamed daughter of Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei who was appointed by her grandmother, Empress Dowager Hu. She reigned for a matter of hours until being replaced by Yuan Zhou.

Ruling houses

Oldest

Officially, the current Emperor of Japan, Akihito is the 125th in line from the first emperor Jimmu, who is variously believed to have reigned in the 1st or 7th century BC. However, the earliest documentary evidence is only for the 29th emperor, Kinmei (AD 509–571).

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom is well-documented as being descended from Arnulf of Metz (c. AD 582–640), forefather of Charlemagne, thus representing a lineage of 47 generations. (See Descent of Elizabeth II from the Franks.)

The Ottoman Empire lasted for 36 sultans in 21 generations, from Osman I to Mehmed VI for 623 years. (See List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire.)

Post-nominal numbers

The highest post-nominal number representing a member of a royal house is 75, used by Count Heinrich LXXV Reuss (r. 1800–1801). All male members of the branch were named Heinrich, and were successively numbered from 1 upwards, from the beginning of each century.[1]

Physical attributes

Heaviest

The heaviest monarch is believed to have been Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, King of Tonga from 1965 to 2006 who at his peak in 1976 was measured as 209.5 kg (462 lb), though he subsequently lost around 40% of his weight.[2]

Tallest

Sancho VII of Navarre was the tallest head of state. He was the King of Kingdom of Navarre. His remains were measured to indicate a height of at least 7 ft 3 in (221 cm).

Shortest

President Benito Juárez of Mexico reportedly the shortest world leader, standing at 4 ft 6 in (1.37 m).

Age

Youngest

According to legends, the youngest ruler is Shapur II who was crowned in utero when a crown was placed on the belly of Hormizd II 's wife after Hormizd II died. However, according to Shapur Shahbazi, it is unlikely. Other claims as the youngest ruler include John I of France and Alfonso XIII of Spain who were both crowned on the day of their birth.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Russell, Alan; McWhirter, Norris D., eds. (1 October 1987). The Guinness Book of Records 1988. Fleet St., London: Guinness Superlatives ltd. p. 190. ISBN 0851128688.
  2. ↑ McWhirter, Norris (1996). Guinness Book of Records. Guinness Publishing. pp. 181–2. ISBN 0-85112-646-4.
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