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These are the youngest leaders in the world | Philstar.com
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On the Radar

The youngest leaders in the world

Agence France-Presse
Nayib Bukele
President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, gestures during his speech at the closing ceremony of the Latin Bitcoin conference (LaBitConf) at Mizata Beach, El Salvador, on Nov. 20, 2021.
AFP / Marvin Recinos

As Gabriel Boric becomes Chile's youngest-ever president at 35, we look at the world's youngest leaders.

The leftwinger is far from the youngest person heading a government.

Chilean president-elect Gabriel Boric
Chilean president-elect Gabriel Boric waves at supporters after delivering a speech, in Santiago, on Dec. 19, 2021. The streets of Santiago exploded in celebration Sunday after leftist millennial Gabriel Boric, 35, was declared Chile's new president with an unexpectedly large victory over his far-right rival in a polarizing race.
AFP/Martin Bernetti

That title is presently held by 26-year-old Giacomo Simoncini, one of the two Captains Regent of San Marino, the tiny independent state in northern Italy.

Here is our list of other youthful leaders in power:

Finland

Sanna Marin
Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin arrives to speak to the press at the end of an Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels, on December 15, 2021.
AFP/Olivier Hoslet, pool

Premier Sanna Marin, who got into hot water last week for going to a disco despite being in contact with someone who had tested positive for Covid, is 36. She got the top job in 2019 aged 34.

Kosovo

Another woman leader, Vjosa Osmani, was elected president in April aged 38.

Georgia

Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili was the same age when he came to power in February.

El Salvador

Controversial populist President Nayib Bukele is 40, having been elected at 37.

Andorra

Xavier Espot Zamora
Andorra's Head of Government Xavier Espot Zamora gives a speech during the 75th anniversary celebrations of The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on Nov. 12, 2021.
AFP/Julien de Rosa, pool

Former justice minister Xavier Espot Zamora became the head of government of the small territory between France and Spain in May 2019 aged 39.

Costa Rica

Carlos Alvarado, a journalist and former labour minister, won elections to became president in May 2018 aged 38.

New Zealand

Jacinda Ardern
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern reacts during a press conference in Wellington on Sept. 3, 2021 after an Islamic State-inspired attacker injured six people in an Auckland supermarket knife rampage, before being shot dead by undercover police officers who had him under round-the-clock surveillance.
AFP/Robert Kichin, pool

Jacinda Ardern was 37 years old when she was sworn in as prime minister in October 2017.

Ireland

Leo Varadkar became Ireland's youngest prime minister in June 2017 aged 38. He now shares power as deputy leader of a coalition government and is due to be premier again next year.

France

The investment banker Emmanuel Macron became France's youngest president in May 2017 at 39.

As well as democratically elected governments, other notable young leaders include North Korea's Kim Jong Un, 37; Chad's Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, also 37, who took over after the death of his father in April; and the leader of the military junta in Mali, Assimi Goita, 38.

Of young monarchs, the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, is 41 as is Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. He rose to the throne in 2006 when he was just 26.

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EMMANUEL MACRON

JACINDA ARDERN

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