Home page >> Politics Intro page >> Foreign leaders (See notes at end of table.) Last updated:
| Year |  Britain P.M. |
 France Pres. * |
 Germany (W) Chanc. |
 Italy P.M. |
 Canada P.M. |
 Japan P.M. |
 Russia (USSR) Pres. (Gen.Sec.) * |
 China Pres./Gen.Sec. ** |
 India P.M. |
|---|
| 1974 | H. Wilson (1974) |
Giscard d'Est. (1974) |
H. Schmidt (1974) |
Aldo Moro (1974) |
P. Trudeau (1968) |
T. Miki (1974) |
Brezhnev (1964) |
Mao Zedong (1949) |
I. Gandhi (1966) |
| 1975 | H. Wilson | Giscard d'Est. | H. Schmidt | Aldo Moro | P. Trudeau | T. Miki | Brezhnev | Mao Zedong | I. Gandhi |
| 1976 | H. Wilson | Giscard d'Est. | H. Schmidt | G. Andreotti / A. Moro |
P. Trudeau | T. Miki | Brezhnev | Mao Zedong / Hua Guofeng |
I. Gandhi |
| 1977 | Callaghan | Giscard d'Est. | H. Schmidt | G. Andreotti | P. Trudeau | T. Fukuda | Brezhnev | Hua Guofeng | I. Gandhi / Morarji Desai |
| 1978 | Callaghan | Giscard d'Est. | H. Schmidt | G. Andreotti | P. Trudeau | Fukuda / Ohira | Brezhnev | Hua Guofeng / Deng Xiao-ping |
Morarji Desai |
| 1979 | Callaghan / Thatcher | Giscard d'Est. | H. Schmidt | G. Andreotti / F. Cossiga |
P. Trudeau / Joe Clark | M. Ohira | Brezhnev | Deng Xiao-ping | M. Desai / C. Singh |
| 1980 | M. Thatcher | Giscard d'Est. | H. Schmidt | F. Cossiga / A. Forlani |
Joe Clark / P. Trudeau | Ohira / / Suzuki | Brezhnev | Deng Xiao-ping | I. Gandhi |
| 1981 | M. Thatcher | Giscard d'Est. / Mitterrand | H. Schmidt | A. Forlani / G. Spadolini |
P. Trudeau | Z. Suzuki | Brezhnev | Deng Xiao-ping | I. Gandhi |
| 1982 | M. Thatcher | F. Mitterrand | Schmidt / Kohl | G. Spadolini | P. Trudeau | Z. Suzuki / Y. Nakasone |
Brezhnev | Deng Xiao-ping | I. Gandhi |
| 1983 | M. Thatcher | F. Mitterrand | Helmut Kohl | A. Fanfani / B. Craxi |
P. Trudeau | Y. Nakasone | Y. Andropov | Deng Xiao-ping | I. Gandhi |
| 1984 | M. Thatcher | F. Mitterrand | Helmut Kohl | Bettino Craxi | Trudeau / Turner / Mulroney | Y. Nakasone | Andropov / Chernenko | Deng Xiao-ping | I. Gandhi / R. Gandhi |
| 1985 | M. Thatcher | F. Mitterrand | Helmut Kohl | Bettino Craxi | B. Mulroney | Y. Nakasone | Chernenko / Gorbachev | Deng Xiao-ping | R. Gandhi |
| 1986 | M. Thatcher | F. Mitterrand | Helmut Kohl | Bettino Craxi | B. Mulroney | Y. Nakasone | M. Gorbachev | Deng Xiao-ping | R. Gandhi |
| 1987 | M. Thatcher | F. Mitterrand | Helmut Kohl | Craxi / Andr. / Goria | B. Mulroney | Y. Nakasone / N. Takeshita |
M. Gorbachev | Deng Xiao-ping | R. Gandhi |
| 1988 | M. Thatcher | F. Mitterrand | Helmut Kohl | G. Goria / Ciriaco de Mita |
B. Mulroney | N. Takeshita | M. Gorbachev | Deng Xiao-ping | R. Gandhi |
| 1989 | M. Thatcher | F. Mitterrand | Helmut Kohl | de Mita / G. Andreotti | B. Mulroney | Takeshita / Uno / Kaifu |
M. Gorbachev | Deng Xiao-ping | R. Gandhi / V.P. Singh |
| 1990 | Thatcher / Major | F. Mitterrand | Helmut Kohl | G. Andreotti | B. Mulroney | T. Kaifu | M. Gorbachev | Deng Xiao-ping | V.P. Singh / Shekhar |
| 1991 | John Major | F. Mitterrand | Helmut Kohl | G. Andreotti | B. Mulroney | Kaifu / Miyazawa | M. Gorbachev | Deng Xiao-ping | Ch. Shekhar / P.V.N. Rao |
| 1992 | John Major | F. Mitterrand | Helmut Kohl | G. Andreotti / G. Amato |
B. Mulroney | K. Miyazawa | Boris Yeltsin | Deng Xiao-ping | P.V. Narasimha Rao |
| 1993 | John Major | F. Mitterrand | Helmut Kohl | G. Amato / C. Azeglio C. |
Mulroney / Campbell / Chretien | K. Miyazawa / Hosokawa | Boris Yeltsin | Jiang Zemin | P.V. Narasimha Rao |
| 1994 | John Major | F. Mitterrand | Helmut Kohl | Azeglio / S. Berlusconi |
Jean Chretien | Hosokawa / Hata / Murayama |
Boris Yeltsin | Jiang Zemin | P.V. Narasimha Rao |
| 1995 | John Major | Mitterrand / Chirac | Helmut Kohl | Lamberto Dini | Jean Chretien | Murayama | Boris Yeltsin | Jiang Zemin | P.V. Narasimha Rao |
| 1996 | John Major | Jacques Chirac | Helmut Kohl | Romano Prodi | Jean Chretien | Hashimoto | Boris Yeltsin | Jiang Zemin | P.V.N. Rao / H.D.D. Gowda |
| 1997 | Major / Blair | Jacques Chirac | Helmut Kohl | Romano Prodi | Jean Chretien | Hashimoto | Boris Yeltsin | Jiang Zemin | H.D.D. Gowda / I. K. Gujral |
| 1998 | Tony Blair | Jacques Chirac | Kohl / Schroeder | M. D'Alema | Jean Chretien | Hashimoto / Obuchi | Boris Yeltsin | Jiang Zemin | Gujral / Vajpayee |
| 1999 | Tony Blair | Jacques Chirac | G. Schroeder | M. D'Alema | Jean Chretien | K. Obuchi | Boris Yeltsin | Jiang Zemin | A.B. Vajpayee |
| 2000 | Tony Blair | Jacques Chirac | G. Schroeder | M. D'Alema | Jean Chretien | Obuchi / Mori | Vladimir Putin | Jiang Zemin | A.B. Vajpayee |
| 2001 | Tony Blair | Jacques Chirac | G. Schroeder | M. D'Alema / S. Berlusconi | Jean Chretien | Mori / Koizumi | Vladimir Putin | Jiang Zemin | A.B. Vajpayee |
| 2002 | Tony Blair | Jacques Chirac | G. Schroeder | S. Berlusconi | Jean Chretien | J. Koizumi | Vladimir Putin | Jiang Zemin | A.B. Vajpayee |
| 2003 | Tony Blair | Jacques Chirac | G. Schroeder | S. Berlusconi | Chretien / Martin | J. Koizumi | Vladimir Putin | Jiang / Hu (Mar.) |
A.B. Vajpayee |
| 2004 | Tony Blair | Jacques Chirac | G. Schroeder | S. Berlusconi | Paul Martin | J. Koizumi | Vladimir Putin | Hu Jintao | Vajpayee / Singh (May) |
| 2005 | Tony Blair | Jacques Chirac | Schroeder / Merkel (Nov.) |
S. Berlusconi | Paul Martin | J. Koizumi | Vladimir Putin | Hu Jintao | M. Singh |
| 2006 | Tony Blair | Jacques Chirac | Angela Merkel | Romano Prodi | Martin / Harper (Feb.) |
J. Koizumi / S. Abe | Vladimir Putin | Hu Jintao | M. Singh |
| 2007 | Blair / Brown | Chirac / Sarkozy (May) |
Angela Merkel | Romano Prodi | Stephen Harper | Shinzo Abe / Y. Fukuda | Vladimir Putin | Hu Jintao | M. Singh |
| 2008 | Gordon Brown | Nicholas Sarkozy | Angela Merkel | Prodi / Berlusconi (May) |
Stephen Harper | Yasuo Fukuda / T. Aso |
Putin / Medvedev |
Hu Jintao | M. Singh |
| 2009 | Gordon Brown | Nicholas Sarkozy | Angela Merkel | S. Berlusconi | Stephen Harper | Aso / Hatoyama |
D. Medvedev | Hu Jintao | M. Singh |
| 2010 | Brown / Cameron (May) |
Nicholas Sarkozy | Angela Merkel | S. Berlusconi | Stephen Harper | Hatoyama / Naoto Kan (June) |
D. Medvedev | Hu Jintao | M. Singh |
| 2011 | David Cameron | Nicholas Sarkozy | Angela Merkel | Berlusconi / Monti (Oct.) |
Stephen Harper | Kan / Noda (Sept.) |
D. Medvedev | Hu Jintao | M. Singh |
| 2012 | David Cameron | Sarkozy / Hollande (May) |
Angela Merkel | Mario Monti | Stephen Harper | Yoshihiko Noda / Abe (Dec.) |
Medvedev / Putin | Hu Jintao | M. Singh |
| 2013 | David Cameron | Francois Hollande | Angela Merkel | Monti / Letta (Apr.) | Stephen Harper | Shinzo Abe | Vladimir Putin | Hu / Xi Jinping (Mar.) | M. Singh |
| 2014 | David Cameron | Francois Hollande | Angela Merkel | Letta / Renzi (Feb.) | Stephen Harper | Shinzo Abe | Vladimir Putin | Xi Jinping | Singh / Modi |
| 2015 | David Cameron | Francois Hollande | Angela Merkel | Matteo Renzi | Harper / Trudeau | Shinzo Abe | Vladimir Putin | Xi Jinping | Narendra Modi |
| 2016 | Cameron / May | Francois Hollande | Angela Merkel | M. Renzi / P.G. | Justin Trudeau | Shinzo Abe | Vladimir Putin | Xi Jinping | Narendra Modi |
| 2017 | Theresa May | Hollande / Macron | Angela Merkel | Paolo Gentiloni | Justin Trudeau | Shinzo Abe | Vladimir Putin | Xi Jinping | Narendra Modi |
| 2018 | Theresa May | Emmanuel Macron | Angela Merkel | Gentiloni / Conte | Justin Trudeau | Shinzo Abe | Vladimir Putin | Xi Jinping | Narendra Modi |
| 2019 | May / Johnson | Emmanuel Macron | Angela Merkel | Giuseppe Conte | Justin Trudeau | Shinzo Abe | Vladimir Putin | Xi Jinping | Narendra Modi |
| 2020 | Boris Johnson | Emmanuel Macron | Angela Merkel | Giuseppe Conte | Justin Trudeau | Shinzo Abe / Yoshihide Suga | Vladimir Putin | Xi Jinping | Narendra Modi |
| 2021 | Boris Johnson | Emmanuel Macron | Merkel / Scholz |
Giuseppe Conte / Mario Draghi |
Justin Trudeau | Yoshihide Suga / Fumio Kishida |
Vladimir Putin | Xi Jinping | Narendra Modi |
| 2022 | Johnson / Liz Truss / R. Sunak |
Emmanuel Macron | Olaf Scholz | Mario Draghi / Giorgia Meloni |
Justin Trudeau | Fumio Kishida | Vladimir Putin | Xi Jinping | Narendra Modi |
| 2023 | Rishi Sunak | Emmanuel Macron | Olaf Scholz | Giorgia Meloni | Justin Trudeau | Fumio Kishida | Vladimir Putin | Xi Jinping | Narendra Modi |
| Year | Britain | France | Germany | Italy | Canada | Japan | Russia | China | India |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KEY: | . | Communist | Left wing (incl. moderate communist and post-communist authoritarian) |
Moderate left (incl. post-communist moderate) |
Centrist, undefined, or switched | Moderate right | Right wing | Fascist | . |
| NOTE: | In general, names listed for each year pertain to whoever was serving at mid-year. Ideological orientation is based on the leader's party as well as his or her government's actual policy direction. The adjective "moderate" is by international standards. For example, Deng Xiao-ping pushed for liberal reforms in China's economy, but he maintained an iron grip on political power, so it would be difficult to label him a "moderate" leftist in the same category as Tony Blair. Information is subject to correction; in case of doubt, ideology has been left undefined (indicated by gray). | ||||||||
The first six countries listed above have been partners with the United States in the Group of Seven (G-7) nations since the mid-1970s. Russia joined several years ago, making it the "G-8." China and India are the two newly-emerging superpowers. Six of the nine countries have parliamentary forms of government, in which the legislature chooses the head of government, usually called the prime minister. There are no explicitly separate branches of government, as in the United States.
*France and Russia have semi-presidential systems in which the president is the top official, directly elected by the people, but shares power with the premier.
**China is a one-party authoritarian state in which formal government titles are sometimes of secondary importance. Mao Zedong was the "Chairman" of the Chinese Communist Party, but that position was replaced by "General Secretary" in the early 1980s. From 1979 until 1992, the de facto chief executive in China was Deng Xiao-ping, but he resigned as Chairman of the CPC Military Commission in late 1989, the last key position he held. Since 1993, every new General Secretary is customarily elected as President about a year later.
Also see: Latin American presidents chronology.
SOURCES: The Facts On File World Political Almanac, 3rd ed. (1995); The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2012
