Top 10 Youngest Presidents in Africa
Want to know the top Youngest Presidents in Africa? Read on, and get introduced to the Youngest African presidents. Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed, at 44, is Africa’s youngest president. Madagascar’s Andry Rajoelina, at 46, is the second-youngest leader amid Africa’s recent rise of politicians in their 30s and 40s assuming leadership roles. In 2018 and 2019, they were elected presidents of their nations respectively.
Top 10 Youngest Presidents In Africa
1. Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia (Age:44)
First on our list of Youngest Presidents In Africa is the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was born on August 15, 1976, in Beshasha, and took office on April 2, 2018. In addition to his wife, Zinash Tayachew, he has four children with her as well.
When he was 15, Abiy became a military intelligence officer in the Ethiopian National Defense Forces. To his credit, he’s earned a bachelor’s in computer engineering, a master’s in business administration, a doctorate in international peace and security policy, a certificate in cryptology, and an MBA.
2. AndryRajoelina, Madagascar (Age:46)
African President Andry Rajoelina is the continent’s second-youngest. Born on May 30, 1974, in Antsirabe, Madagascar, Andry Nirina Rajoelina became Madagascar’s president on January 19, 2019. He married Mialy Razakandisa in 2000, and they had three children together.
At the age of 19, Rajoelina founded Show Business, an events company. In addition to radio and television stations, he currently owns a number of other businesses.
3. Mswati III, Swaziland (Age:52)
During the reign of his father, Sobhuza II, Mswati III became Swaziland’s King in 2021. He is the head of the Swazi dynasty. His coronation took place on April 25, 1986, when he was just 18 years old.
Mswati III is Africa’s youngest head of state at the present time, having only assumed office in December 2013. His mother, Ntombi Tfwala, is Queen Mother, and together they rule the realm as an absolute monarchy. With 15 spouses currently, Mswati III is known for his polygamy.
Local protests and worldwide censure have erupted because of his policies and lavish lifestyle in Swaziland.
4. Faure Gnassingbe, Togo (Age: 54)
Faure is yet another young African leader to make the list of the continent’s most powerful leaders. Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbe has been in office since May 4, 2005. Prior to his father’s death on February 5, 2005, he was nominated to the government by GnassingbeEyadema.
President Bush was inaugurated on April 24, 2005, after winning a contested election. Gnassingbé won a second term in office in 2010.
Jean-Pierre Fabre was the principal challenger to Gnassingbé as he ran for a third term in April 2015, according to the official results.
5. Liberia Gheorghe Weah, Liberia (Age: 54)
Liberia’s 2017 presidential election saw George Weah (a former professional footballer) defeat Vice President Joseph Boaka. As of this writing, he is Africa’s fifth-youngest president.
6. Adama Barrow, Gambia (Age: 56)
President Adama Barrow is one of the Gambian politicians and property tycoons that have been in office since 2017. He is also the continent’s youngest head of state at the age of 27.
Too far, the Gambia has had only one democratically elected president, Yahya Jammeh. In addition to Crab Island Secondary School, he also attended the Muslim High School, the latter of which was funded by a scholarship. He was raised in the nearby community of MankamangKunda.
After that, he worked as a sales manager for the Gambian energy firm Alhagie Musa Njie& Sons. In the early 2000s, Barrow relocated to London to work as a security guard while pursuing real estate certificates.
Upon his return to the Gambia in 2006, he established Majum Real Estate, where he remained as CEO until his retirement in 2016.
7. Letsie III, Lesotho (Age: 57)
Letsie III, the current king of Lesotho, serves as the country’s head of state. After Moshoeshoe II was forced into exile in 1990, Moshoeshoe III was elected president. After his father died in a vehicle accident in 1996, Letsie took the crown from him for a brief period of time in 1995.
Lesotho’s king, King Letsie, is only required to perform ceremonial responsibilities.
8. Tshisekedi Félix, Congo (57 years old)
A Congolese politician, Félix Tshisekedi, was elected president on January 25, 2019. At the age of 55, he agreed to take the job. He is the successor to his late father, Étienne Tshisekedi, as leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), the oldest and largest political party in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In the general election held in December 2018, he triumphed despite claims of electoral fraud leveled by several election watchdogs and other opposition parties. Tshisekedi has been accused of making a pact with his predecessor, Joseph Kabila, after another opposition member, Martin Fayulu, disputed the verdict.
This election was the first peaceful transfer of power in the DRC since its independence from Belgium in 1960.
9. MackySall, Senegal (Age: 59)
President MackySall of Senegal has been in office since April 2012. Senegal’s presidential election saw him re-elected in the first round on February 19, 2019.
During the presidency of Abdoulaye Wade, Sall served as Prime Minister and President of the National Assembly of Senegal, alternating between July 2004 and June 2007. Mayor of Fatick from 2002 to 2008 and again in 2009 to 2012 were his two terms.
Sall was a long-time member of the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS). An altercation with Wade led to his resignation as National Assembly President in November 2008. APR was born out of his decision to join the opposition.
On March 25, 2012, he defeated Wade in the second round of the 2012 presidential election after finishing second in the first round.
The first president of Senegal after the country’s independence from France was his.
10. Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya (Age: 59)
Lastly, on our list of the top Youngest Presidents In Africa is Uhuru Kenyatta – the youngest president. Kenyatta, the country’s current president, was inaugurated on April 9, 2013. He is the country’s fourth leader in that capacity. His father, Jomo Kenyatta, was Kenya’s first president. Also, he is Africa’s tenth-youngest head of state.
With 54 percent of the vote in August 2017, Uhuru was re-elected for a second term as president. It was announced on national television by Wafula Chebukati, the Chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission (IEBC).
