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List of heads of state and government of Indian origin

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This is a list of former and current heads of state and heads of government of the sovereign countries who were/are of full or partial Indian origin, other than the heads of state and government of countries of the Indian subcontinent. This list includes de facto heads of state and government but does not include acting, caretaker, interim, representative, transitional or temporary heads of state and government.

Heads of state and heads of government

[edit]
  Denotes incumbent heads of state or government
  Denotes officer-elect/designated (presumptive)
S.No. Name
(birth―death)
Portrait Office Designation Country Term Tenure Birthplace Descent Ref.
1 Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
(1900–1985)
Prime Minister of Mauritius Head of government  Mauritius 12 March 1968 30 June 1982 14 years, 110 days Belle Rive, British Mauritius Indo-Mauritian of Bhojpuri descent [1][2]
2 Alfredo Nobre da Costa
(1923–1996)
Prime Minister of Portugal Head of government  Portugal 28 August 1978 22 November 1978 86 days Lisbon, Portugal Indo-Portuguese of Goan descent [3]
3 Mahathir Mohamad
(born 1925)
Prime Minister of Malaysia Head of government  Malaysia 16 July 1981 31 October 2003 24 years, 38 days Alor Setar, Kedah, Unfederated Malay States Malaysian Indian of Malayali descent [4][5]
10 May 2018 1 March 2020
4 Devan Nair
(1923–2005)
President of Singapore Head of state  Singapore 23 October 1981 27 March 1985 3 years, 155 days Jasin, Malacca, Straits Settlements Indian Singaporean of Malayali descent [6][7]
5 Fred Ramdat Misier
(1926–2004)
President of Suriname Head of state  Suriname 8 February 1982 25 January 1988 5 years, 351 days Paramaribo, Surinam Indo-Surinamese of Bhojpuri descent [8]
6 Anerood Jugnauth
(1930–2021)
Prime Minister of Mauritius Head of government  Mauritius 30 June 1982 22 December 1995 18 years, 225 days Palma, British Mauritius Indo-Mauritian of Bhojpuri descent [9][10]
17 September 2000 30 September 2003
17 December 2014 23 January 2017
President of Mauritius Head of state 7 October 2003 31 March 2012 8 years, 176 days
7 Errol Alibux
(born 1948)
Prime Minister of Suriname Head of government  Suriname 26 February 1983 8 January 1984 316 days Paramaribo, Surinam Indo-Surinamese of Bhojpuri descent [11][12]
8 Pretaap Radhakishun
(1934–2001)
Prime Minister of Suriname Head of government  Suriname 17 July 1986 7 April 1987 264 days Paramaribo, Surinam Indo-Surinamese of Bhojpuri descent [13]
9 Noor Hassanali
(1918–2006)
President of Trinidad and Tobago Head of state  Trinidad and Tobago 20 March 1987 17 March 1997 9 years, 362 days San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, British West Indies Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian of Bhojpuri descent [14][15]
10 Ramsewak Shankar
(born 1937)
President of Suriname Head of state, Head of government  Suriname 25 January 1988 24 December 1990 2 years, 333 days Nieuw Amsterdam, Surinam Indo-Surinamese of Bhojpuri descent [16][17]
11 Veerasamy Ringadoo
(1920–2000)
President of Mauritius Head of state  Mauritius 12 March 1992 30 June 1992 110 days Port Louis, British Mauritius Indo-Mauritian of Tamil descent [18][19]
12 Cassam Uteem
(born 1941)
President of Mauritius Head of state  Mauritius 30 June 1992 15 February 2002 9 years, 230 days Port Louis, British Mauritius Indo-Mauritian of Bhojpuri descent [20][21]
13 Cheddi Jagan
(1918–1997)
President of Guyana Head of state, Head of government  Guyana 9 October 1992 6 March 1997 4 years, 148 days Port Mourant, British Guiana Indo-Guyanese of Bhojpuri descent [22][23]
14 Basdeo Panday
(1933–2024)
Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Head of government  Trinidad and Tobago 9 November 1995 24 December 2001 6 years, 45 days St. Julien, Trinidad and Tobago, British West Indies Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian of Bhojpuri descent [24][25][26]
15 Navin Ramgoolam
(born 1947)
Prime Minister of Mauritius Head of government  Mauritius 27 December 1995 11 September 2000 14 years, 59 days Port Louis, British Mauritius Indo-Mauritian of Bhojpuri descent [27]
5 July 2005 17 December 2014
13 November 2024 Incumbent 34 days
16 Mahendra Chaudhry
(born 1942)
Prime Minister of Fiji Head of government  Fiji 19 May 1999 27 May 2000 1 year, 8 days Ba, British Fiji Indo-Fijian of Haryanvi descent [28][29]
17 Bharrat Jagdeo
(born 1964)
President of Guyana Head of state, Head of government  Guyana 11 August 1999 3 December 2011 12 years, 114 days Unity, British Guiana Indo-Guyanese of Awadhi descent [30][31]
18 S. R. Nathan
(1924–2016)
President of Singapore Head of state  Singapore 1 September 1999 31 August 2011 11 years, 364 days Singapore, Straits Settlements Indian Singaporean of Tamil descent [32][33]
19 Kamla Persad-Bissessar
(born 1952)
Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Head of government  Trinidad and Tobago 26 May 2010 9 September 2015 5 years, 108 days Siparia, Trinidad and Tobago, British West Indies Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian of Bhojpuri and Tamil descent [34][35]
20 Donald Ramotar
(born 1950)
President of Guyana Head of state, Head of government  Guyana 3 December 2011 16 May 2015 3 years, 164 days Caria Caria, British Guiana Indo-Guyanese of Bhojpuri descent [36][37]
21 Kailash Purryag
(born 1947)
President of Mauritius Head of state  Mauritius 21 July 2012 29 May 2015 2 years, 312 days Camp Fouquereaux, British Mauritius Indo-Mauritian of Bhojpuri descent [38][39]
22 Ameenah Gurib-Fakim
(born 1959)
President of Mauritius Head of state  Mauritius 5 June 2015 23 March 2018 2 years, 291 days Surinam, British Mauritius Indo-Mauritian of Gujarati descent [40][41]
23 António Costa
(born 1961)
Prime Minister of Portugal Head of government  Portugal 26 November 2015 2 April 2024 8 years, 128 days Lisbon, Portugal Indo-Portuguese of Goan descent [42][43]
24 Pravind Jugnauth
(born 1961)
Prime Minister of Mauritius Head of government  Mauritius 23 January 2017 13 November 2024 7 years, 295 days Vacoas-Phoenix, British Mauritius Indo-Mauritian of Bhojpuri descent [44]
25 Leo Varadkar
(born 1979)
Taoiseach Head of government  Ireland 14 June 2017 27 June 2020 4 years, 127 days Dublin, Ireland Irish Indian of Konkani descent [45][46]
17 December 2022 9 April 2024
26 Halimah Yacob
(born 1954)
President of Singapore Head of state  Singapore 14 September 2017 14 September 2023 6 years, 0 days Singapore City, British Singapore Indian Singaporean of Malayali descent [47][48]
27 Prithvirajsing Roopun
(born 1959)
President of Mauritius Head of state  Mauritius 2 December 2019 2 December 2024 5 years, 0 days Quatre Bornes, British Mauritius Indo-Mauritian of Bhojpuri descent [49][50]
28 Chan Santokhi
(born 1959)
President of Suriname Head of state, Head of government  Suriname 16 July 2020 Incumbent 4 years, 154 days Lelydorp, Suriname Indo-Surinamese of Bhojpuri descent [51]
29 Irfaan Ali
(born 1980)
President of Guyana Head of state, Head of government  Guyana 2 August 2020 Incumbent 4 years, 137 days Leonora, Guyana Indo-Guyanese of Bhojpuri descent [52][53]
30 Wavel Ramkalawan
(born 1961)
President of Seychelles Head of state, Head of government  Seychelles 26 October 2020 Incumbent 4 years, 52 days Mahé, British Seychelles Indo-Seychellois of Bhojpuri descent [54][55]
31 Rishi Sunak
(born 1980)
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Head of government  United Kingdom 25 October 2022 5 July 2024 1 year, 254 days Southampton, England, United Kingdom British Indian of Punjabi descent [56][57]
32 Christine Kangaloo
(born 1961)
President of Trinidad and Tobago Head of state  Trinidad and Tobago 20 March 2023 Incumbent 1 year, 272 days San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies Federation Indo-Trinidaian and Tobagonian of Bhojpuri descent [58]
33 Dharam Gokhool
(born 1949)
President of Mauritius Head of state  Mauritius 6 December 2024 Incumbent 11 days Plaine des Roches, British Mauritius Indo-Mauritian of Bhojpuri descent [59]

See also

[edit]

References

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