Of all the continents on earth, Africa is the one with the longest-serving president and also one of the longest consecutively-serving current non-royal national leaders.
In plain English, she has a leader who isn’t royalty or from a traditional royal background, that has ruled for the longest period of time.
There are presidents who have served for over 4 decades and are still serving. Their rise to power came democratically although some of them have used many different means to hold on to power and not secede from their positions.
Let us look at some of these African presidents who have held the position for several years both concurrently and at separate times.
10. Paul Kagame – Rwanda (24 years)
Paul was a former military officer turned 4th and current president of Rwanda. He assumed the office of the presidency on April 22, 2000, and so far has ruled for 23 years.
Being born on October 23, 1957, he was 43 years old when he rose to the democratically elected presidential seat of Rwanda.
Rwanda’s Paul Kagame however, eyes another term in the seat as he has indicated an interest in contesting for the presidency once again during the country’s 2024 elections.
The 66-year-old president was preceded by Pasteur Bizimungu and so far has no successor until he loses an election or secedes power to another.
9. Omar al-Bashir – Sudan (26 years)
Omar al Bashir was born in 1944 and became the president of Sudan on October 16, 1993, at the age of 49.
His rule lasted until 2019 which puts his total number of years as president to 26 years, 285 days.
Omar al-Bashir took over power from Ahmed al-Mirghani and after he was disposed of, Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf took over the presidency on April 11, 2019.
8. Isaias Afwerki – Eritrea (31 years)
For as old as Eritrea’s independence from Ethiopia has been, so has Isaias’ presidency. He was born on February 2, 1946, and became the president of Eritrea at the age of 47 on May 19, 1993.
Eritrea known to be a one-party state has only ‘People’s Front for Democracy and Justice’ (PFDJ) as the only political party in the country and is the only party allowed to participate in the country’s politics.
The 76-year-old politician has been described, by scholars and historians, as a dictator as the country has no functioning constitution, elections, legislature, or published budget.
Isaias Afwerki has no predecessor and no successor yet.
7. Idriss Deby – Chad (30 years)
Idris was the president of Chad for a period of 30 years and 139 days. He was born on June 18, 1952, and passed away in 2021. He became the president of the country at the age of 38.
Before his death, he ruled the country known as Chad for a little over 3 decades after taking over power from Hissene Habre.
Following Idriss’ death while in action, his son, Mahamat Deby who was born in 1984, took over the leadership of Chad on October 10, 2022. He is still the reigning president of the country.
6. Robert Mugabe – Zimbabwe (30 years)
He is one of the top-longest-serving presidents of an African country. Mugabe was born on February 21, 1924, and became the president of Zimbabwe on December 31, 1987, at the age of 63.
Robert Mugabe served as the head of this southeastern African country from then to November 21, 2017, making his presidency tenure a month and a few days short of 30 years.
He resigned from his position following a Coup d’etat and was succeeded by Emmerson Mnangagwa who is still the president of Zimbabwe as of 2022.
Two years after Robert Mugabe’s resignation, he died from an illness that was so severe, he was unable to walk.
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5. Yoweri Museveni – Uganda (38 years)
The president of Uganda as of 2022 is Yoweri Museveni who got into power on January 26, 1986. He was born on September 15, 1944, and first tasted power as president when he was 42 years old.
Yoweri is the 9th president of Uganda after the 8th, Tito Lutwa Okello relinquished power to him and went into exile in Kenya.
He has been in the presidential seat of Uganda for a period of 38 years.
4. Jose Eduardo dos Santos – Angola (38 years)
He was the president of Angola from 1979 to 2017 making his tenure a total of 38 years in office.
Jose Eduardo dos Santos was born on August 28, 1942, and became the president of Angola at the age of 37.
In 2017, he relinquished power to the current president of the country, Joao Lourenco who was chosen by the MPLA to succeed Jose Eduardo.
This former Angolan president was accused of leading one of the most corrupt regimes in Africa. He reportedly only focused on amassing wealth for himself and his family and ignored the deplorable state of the economic and social needs of his people.
3. Denis Sassou Nguesso – Republic of Congo (38 Non-concurrent years)
This Congolese politician is the 5th and 7th president of the Republic of the Congo. He was born on November 23, 1943, and became the president of the republic first in 1979.
Denis’ first term ended in 1992 and he is credited for introducing multiparty politics in the country in 1990.
Denis Sassou Nguesso, through his tenures, had 6 Prime Ministers, was preceded by Jean-Pierre Thystere Tchicaya, and succeeded by Pascal Lissouba.
He was appointed the provisional president of the Republic of Congo on February 8, 1979, and confirmed on March 31, 1979. From that year to 1991, Denis Sassou served 3 presidential terms in the Republic of Congo.
After 6 years of not being president, Sassou Nguesso regained power and the position of the president of the republic. He was sworn in as the President of the Republic of Congo on October 25, 1997. He was also re-elected as the president for a 3rd term in July 2009 after winning the votes with 78.61%.
In 2021, Denis was once again re-elected as the president of the republic making his accumulated years in power to be 36 years.
2. Paul Biya – Cameroon (41 years)
Paul Biya is the 2nd president of Cameroon who took over power from Ahmadou Ahidjo on November 6, 1982. He was born on February 13, 1933, and became the 1st Prime Minister of Cameroon on June 30, 1975.
Paul Biya became the president on November 6, 1982, at the age of 49 and has ruled the country for 41 years.
He is the second-longest-ruling president in Africa and also the oldest head of state in the entire world.
1. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo – Equatorial Guinea (45 years)
Teodoro became the 2nd president of Equatorial Guinea after ousting his uncle Francisco Macias Nguema through a coup in 1979.
When he took over power, he drafted a new constitution that presented him in the light of a less authoritarian leader. However, this did not last for long.
Obiang has ruled Equatorial Guinea since the age of 37 – He was born on June 5, 1942.
As of 2022, Obiang is eyeing re-election to continue serving as the president of his country. However, he is already serving a total of 45 years as the president. In his current tenure, his son, Teodoro Nguema serves as his vice president.
