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President for life

Last updated: 2025-07-30 00:23:55

President for life
Mansu Hill Grand Monument in Pyongyang, depicting "eternal leaders" of North Korea, President Kim Il Sung and General Secretary Kim Jong Il.

President for life is a title assumed by or granted to some presidents to extend their tenure up until their death or retirement. The title sometimes confers on the holder the right to nominate or appoint a successor. The usage of the title of "president for life" rather than a traditionally autocratic title implies the subversion of liberal democracy by the titleholder (although republics need not be democratic per se). Indeed, sometimes a president for life can proceed to establish a self-proclaimed monarchy, such as Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Henry Christophe in Haiti.

Autocracy

A president for life may be regarded as a de facto autocrat.[1][2]

Many leaders who proclaimed themselves president for life have not in fact successfully gone on to serve a life term. Most were deposed before they died, and others achieved a lifetime presidency by being assassinated while in office. However, some have managed to rule until their natural deaths, including José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia of Paraguay, Alexandre Pétion and François Duvalier of Haiti, Rafael Carrera of Guatemala, Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, and Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan. Others made unsuccessful attempts to have themselves named president for life, such as Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire in 1972.[3]

Some long-serving autocratic presidents are mistakenly described as presidents for life. They were never officially granted life terms and, in fact, stood periodically for reelection. However, in most cases, these were sham elections which guaranteed them re-election.[4][5][6]

List of leaders who became president for life

Note: The first date listed in each entry is the date of proclamation of the status as President for Life.

Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)		 Country Title Took office Left office Notes
Toussaint Louverture
(1743–1803)		 French Saint-DomingueGovernor for Life of Saint-Domingue18011802Deposed 1802, died in exile in France 1803.
Henri Christophe
(1767–1820)		 HaitiPresident for Life of Haiti (Northern)18071811Became King 1811, committed suicide while reigning 1820.
José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia
(1766–1840)		 ParaguayPerpetual Supreme Dictator of Paraguay18161840Died in office 1840.
Alexandre Pétion
(1770–1818)		 HaitiPresident for Life of Haiti (Southern)18161818Died in office 1818.
Jean-Pierre Boyer
(1776–1850)		President for Life of Haiti18181843Became President for Life immediately upon assuming the office because Alexandre Pétion's constitution provided for a life presidency for all his successors, deposed 1843, died 1850.
Antonio López de Santa Anna
(1794–1876)		 Mexico (Second Federal Republic)President for Life of Mexico18531855Resigned 1855, died 1876.
Rafael Carrera
(1814–1865)		 GuatemalaPresident for Life of Guatemala18541865Died in office 1865.
Adolf Hitler
(1889–1945)		 Germany (Third Reich)Chancellor and Führer for life19341945Committed suicide in office 1945.
Tupua Tamasese Meaʻole
(1905–1963)		 SamoaO le Ao o le Malo for Life of Samoa19621963Died in office 1963, elected to serve alongside Tanumafili II (see below). The position of O le Ao o le Malo (head of state) is ceremonial; executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister, and Samoa is a parliamentary democracy.[7]
Malietoa Tanumafili II
(1913–2007)		2007Died in office 2007, elected to serve alongside Meaʻole (see above).[7]
Sukarno
(1901–1970)		 Indonesia (Guided Democracy era)Supreme Commander, Great Leader of Revolution, Mandate Holder of the Provisional People's Consultative Assembly, and President for Life of Indonesia19631966Designated as President for Life according to the Ketetapan MPRS No. III/MPRS/1963,[8] life term removed 1966, deposed 1967, died under house arrest 1970.
Kwame Nkrumah
(1909–1972)		 GhanaPresident for Life of Ghana19641966Ousted in 1966, died in exile in Romania 1972.
François "Papa Doc" Duvalier
(1907–1971)		 HaitiPresident for Life of Haiti19641971Died in office 1971, named his son as his successor (see below).[9]
Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier
(1951–2014)		19711986Named by his father as successor (see above), deposed 1986, died 2014.
Hastings Banda
(1898–1997)		 MalawiPresident for Life of Malawi19711993Life term removed 1993, voted out of office 1994, died 1997.
Jean-Bédel Bokassa
(1921–1996)		 Central African RepublicPresident for Life of the Central African Republic19721976Became Emperor 1976 (crowned 1977), deposed 1979, died 1996.
Francisco Macías Nguema
(1924–1979)		 Equatorial GuineaPresident for Life of Equatorial Guinea19721979Deposed and executed 1979.
Ferdinand Marcos
(1917–1989)		 Philippines (Martial law regime)President for Life of the Philippines[Note 1]19731981Life term removed 1981, deposed 1986, died in exile 1989.
Josip Broz Tito
(1892–1980)		 YugoslaviaPresident for Life of Yugoslavia19741980Appointed as President for Life according to the 1974 Constitution, died in office 1980.
Habib Bourguiba
(1903–2000)		 TunisiaPresident for Life of Tunisia19751987Deposed 1987, died under house arrest 2000.
Idi Amin
(1925–2003)		 Uganda (Second Republic)President for Life of Uganda19761979Deposed 1979, died in exile in Saudi Arabia 2003.
Lennox Sebe
(1926–1994)		South Africa South Africa
( Ciskei)		President for Life of Ciskei19831990Deposed 1990, died 1994.
Saparmurat Niyazov
(1940–2006)		 TurkmenistanPresident for Life of Turkmenistan19992006Died in office 2006.

Notes

  1. ↑ Although he never formally claimed the title of President For Life, Marcos used a declaration of martial law (Proclamation No. 1081) to extend his mandate indefinitely beyond the term limits set by the Philippine Constitution of 1935. This was formally done through promulgating a new Constitution in 1973, whose transitional provisions gave Marcos an interim presidential term that would only end when "he calls upon the Interim National Assembly to elect the interim President [who would succeed him]". By the time Marcos made use of this provision in 1981, the constitution was amended to re-establish direct presidential elections. In the ensuing 1981 Philippine presidential election and referendum, Marcos was re-elected for a term of six years.

    References

    1. ↑ Phillips, Tom (26 February 2018). "'Dictator for life': Xi Jinping's power grab condemned as step towards tyranny". The Guardian.
    2. ↑ "Xi Jinping Reveals Himself as an Autocrat". The Atlantic. 26 February 2018.
    3. ↑ Crawford Young and Thomas Turner, The Rise and Decline of the Zairian State, p. 211
    4. ↑ Snyder, Timothy (3 April 2018). The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America. Crown. p. 43. ISBN 9780525574460.
    5. ↑ Chivers, C.J. (February 8, 2008). "European Group Cancels Mission to Observe Russian Election, Citing Restrictions". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 31, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
    6. ↑ Kara-Murza, Vladimir Vladimirovich. "As the Kremlin Tightens the Screws, It Invites Popular Revolt". Spotlight on Russia. World Affairs Journal. Archived from the original on July 24, 2017. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
    7. 1 2 "Constitution of the Independent State of Western Samoa 1960". University of the South Pacific. Archived from the original on 8 July 2007. Retrieved 28 December 2007.
    8. ↑ "Ketetapan MPRS No. III/MPRS/1963". hukumonline.com.
    9. ↑ The Oxford Encyclopedia of African Thought: Abol-impe. Oxford University Press. 2010-01-01. p. 328. ISBN 9780195334739.

    Further reading

    • Mngomezulu, Bhekithemba Richard (2013). The President for Life Pandemic: Kenya, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Zambia and Malawi. Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ltd. ISBN 9781909112315.

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