{"id":39839,"date":"2022-11-05T19:49:17","date_gmt":"2022-11-05T19:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/longest-serving-african-heads-of-state"},"modified":"2022-11-05T19:54:42","modified_gmt":"2022-11-05T19:54:42","slug":"longest-serving-african-heads-of-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/longest-serving-african-heads-of-state","title":{"rendered":"Longest-serving African heads of state"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. <\/strong><\/span>Cameroon President Paul Biya, who on Sunday marks 40 years in power, is Africa’s second longest-serving leader after Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.<\/p>\n

But they are far from alone among leaders on the continent who have clocked up decades in office.<\/p>\n

Here’s a snapshot of Africa’s ageing rulers:<\/p>\n

Cameroon has lived through 40 years of largely unchallenged and hardline rule under Biya.<\/p>\n

The 89-year-old runs the country through a very small circle of aides, whom he appoints and banishes as he sees fit.<\/p>\n

Openly talking about succession is taboo even for his closest supporters, and Biya has overseen a ruthless crackdown on dissent since his highly contested re-election in 2018.<\/p>\n

– Obiang: Longest-serving –<\/p>\n

Obiang, who came to power in an August 3, 1979 coup, is Africa’s longest-serving leader, with 43 years at the helm. Next month, at the age of 80, he will run for a sixth term lasting seven years.<\/p>\n

Nguesso: 38 years <\/b><\/p>\n

In Congo-Brazzaville, Denis Sassou Nguesso, 78, has been in power for 38 years, albeit not uninterruptedly.<\/p>\n

He was president from 1979 to 1992, then returned to office in 1997 after a civil war. He was re-elected in 2016 after the passing of a new constitution, then won a fourth mandate on March 21 this year.<\/p>\n

Museveni: A sixth term <\/b><\/p>\n

In Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, 78, has led his country for 36 years, since January 1986. He was re-elected in January 2021 for a sixth term after a contested campaign.<\/p>\n

A Supreme Court ruling to abolish an age ceiling of 75 allowed him to stand once again and continue serving.<\/p>\n

King Mswati III: In power at 18 <\/b><\/p>\n

Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Africa’s last remaining absolute monarchy, has been ruled by King Mswati III for 36 years.<\/p>\n

He ascended to the throne in April 1986 aged just 18.<\/p>\n

– Eritrea: 30th anniversary looms –<\/p>\n

Isaias Afwerki, 76, has ruled the Horn of Africa nation with an iron fist since independence in May 1993.<\/p>\n

African longevity <\/b><\/p>\n

Other African leaders in recent history also notched up huge spells in office.<\/p>\n

The record-breaker is Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, who ruled for 44 years before being overthrown in 1974.<\/p>\n

Libyan strongman Moamer Kadhafi held sway for almost 42 years. He was killed in 2011 as protests against his rule mushroomed into armed conflict.<\/p>\n

Gabon’s Omar Bongo Ondimba had been at the helm for 41 years when he died in June 2009.<\/p>\n

Angolan leader Jose Eduardo dos Santos stepped down in September 2017 after 38 years in charge. Never democratically elected, the former Marxist rebel died in July 2022 aged 79.<\/p>\n

Former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, who died in September 2019 almost two years after being forced to step down, held office for more than 37 years.<\/p>\n

In Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, who came to power in a coup in June 1989, remained in charge for 30 years until the military overthrew him in 2019.<\/p>\n

In Chad, Idriss Deby Itno ruled for 30 years from December 1990 until his death in April 2021. He was succeeded by his son, General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Uganda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. Cameroon President Paul Biya, who on Sunday marks 40 years in power, is Africa’s second longest-serving leader after Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. But they are far from alone among leaders on the continent who have clocked up decades in office. Here’s a snapshot of Africa’s ageing rulers: Cameroon has lived […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":39838,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[233,240,1399,234],"class_list":["post-39839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-paul-biya","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nLongest-serving African heads of state - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cameroon President Paul Biya, who on Sunday marks 40 years in power, is Africa's second longest-serving leader after Equ ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/longest-serving-african-heads-of-state\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Longest-serving African heads of state\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cameroon President Paul Biya, who on Sunday marks 40 years in power, is Africa's second longest-serving leader after Equ ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/longest-serving-african-heads-of-state\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-11-05T19:49:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-05T19:54:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/11\/postQueueImg_6-6366bf6a49058.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/longest-serving-african-heads-of-state#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/longest-serving-african-heads-of-state\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Longest-serving African heads of state\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-11-05T19:49:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-05T19:54:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/longest-serving-african-heads-of-state\"},\"wordCount\":491,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/longest-serving-african-heads-of-state#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2022\/11\/postQueueImg_6-6366bf6a49058.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Uganda\",\"Paul Biya\",\"uganda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/longest-serving-african-heads-of-state#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/longest-serving-african-heads-of-state\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/longest-serving-african-heads-of-state\",\"name\":\"Longest-serving African heads of state - 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