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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider The youngest leaders in the world

The youngest leaders in the world

Published Dec 10, 2019 12:00 am
By Agence France-Presse Finland's Sanna Marin, 34, will be the world's youngest prime minister in office when she is sworn in on Tuesday. Sanna Marin of Finland's Social Democrates is pictured after she was elected to the post of Prime Minister in Helsinki, Finland, on December 8, 2019.(Photo by Vesa Moilanen / Lehtikuva / AFP / Finland OUT/ MANILA BULLETIN) Sanna Marin of Finland is pictured after she was elected to the post of Prime Minister in Helsinki, Finland, on December 8, 2019.(Photo by Vesa Moilanen / Lehtikuva / AFP / Finland OUT/ MANILA BULLETIN) She could, however, soon be dethroned by Austria's Sebastian Kurz, 33, who is negotiating a coalition government after winning parliamentary elections in September. Kurz already served as chancellor for 18 months after being elected in 2017, aged 31, before being removed in a no-confidence vote in May 2019. Here are other sitting world leaders who took power in their thirties: - Ukraine: Lawyer Oleksiy Goncharuk was named prime minister in August 2019, aged 35, by President Volodymyr Zelensky, himself only 41. - Salvador: Conservative businessman Nayib Bukele was sworn in as president in June 2019 aged 37. - Andorra: 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 labor minister, won elections to became president in May 2018 aged 38. - New Zealand: 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 when he was aged 38. - France: At the age of 39, one-time investment banker Emmanuel Macron became France's youngest president in May 2017. - Estonia: Centrist Juri Ratas was named prime minister in November 2016 aged 38. He took over from Taavi Roivas, who was 34 when he took office in 2014. - Malta: Prime Minister Joseph Muscat took power in March 2013 at 39 years old. Excluding democratic governments, other notable young leaders include North Korea's Kim Jong Un, 35, and the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, 39. Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, today aged 39, took power in 2006 when he was just 26.
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