France's new prime minister is 34 years old. Here are the youngest national leaders in the world, ranked by age.

France's newly appointed Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal
France's newly appointed prime minister, Gabriel Attal, is 34 years old. Christian Liewig - Corbis/Getty Images
  • France's new prime minister, Gabriel Attal, is 34 years old.
  • Other countries across the world have leaders in their 30s and early 40s.
  • Chile's Gabriel Boric, 37, and Ecuador's Daniel Noboa, 36, are among the world's youngest leaders.
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On January 9, 34-year-old Gabriel Attal became France's youngest-ever prime minister.

Countries such as Chile, Ecuador, and Saudi Arabia also have leaders in their 30s and 40s.

Here are the youngest national leaders in the world, ranked by age.

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Now 44, Leo Varadkar became Ireland's prime minister at age 38.

Leo Varadkar.
Leo Varadkar. Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

Before becoming Ireland's youngest — and first openly gay — Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar served as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport; Minister for Health; and Minister for Social Protection.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, Varadkar became the fourth openly gay head of government in world history. He is also Ireland's first prime minister of South Asian descent.

Although Varadkar was born and raised in Dublin, his father is from Mumbai. A licensed medical doctor, Varadkar spent time in Mumbai during his medical internship.

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Xavier Espot Zamora, 44, is the prime minister of Andorra.

Xavier Espot Zamora.
Xavier Espot Zamora. Ludovic Marin/Getty Images

In May 2019, the politician and lawyer was appointed prime minister of Andorra, a tiny, independent principality in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain. Andorra is the sixth-smallest European nation and has a population of approximately 77,000.

Before taking the top spot, Zamora was the Minister of Social Affairs, Justice and Interior. He completed his law degrees in Barcelona.

Zamora came out as gay in September, saying in an interview with Andorra Radio and Television: "If this helps many children, young people or teenagers who are going through a difficult time see that in the end, regardless of their condition or sexual orientation, you can prosper in this country and reach the highest magistracy, then I am happy to express it."

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Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, 43, serves as the king of Bhutan.

Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. Danny Martindale/Getty Images

Khesar is the fourth "Dragon King" of Bhutan, a Himalayan nation that borders India and China. He took power at the age of 26 when his father, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, abdicated.

According to the BBC, he studied in the United States and attended Magdalen College in Oxford, England, before returning to Bhutan. He has said one of the aims of his reign is to strengthen democracy in his country.

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The now-43-year-old Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani became the emir of Qatar in 2013.

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

Qatar's current emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, rose to power in 2013 when he was just 33 years old. 

Before becoming emir, he graduated from the Royal Military Academy of Sandhurst in England and later joined Qatar's Armed Forces, according to the Qatar government's official website.

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Nayib Bukele, now 42, became the president of El Salvador at 38.

Nayib Bukele at a podium.
Nayib Bukele. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

Nayib Bukele, a former businessman and mayor of San Salvador, easily won El Salvador's election in February 2019 and was sworn in as president that June. The win for his GANA party (the Grand Alliance for National Unity) ended the dominance of the FMLN and ARENA parties.

Bukele, who has 5.8 million followers on X (formerly known as Twitter), is an avid social-media user who fired officials via tweets after assuming office.

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Turkmenistan's president, Serdar Berdimuhamedow, is 42 years old.

Serdar Berdimuhamedow.
Serdar Berdimuhamedow. Contributor/Getty Images

Before becoming Turkmenistan's president, Serdar Berdimuhamedow held multiple positions in the Turkmenistanian government led by his father, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow. He served as his father's deputy immediately before assuming the role of president. Turkmenistan's local media often refers to him as "the son of the nation," CNN reported.

Berdimuhamedow has been criticized for limiting internet access and imposing various restrictions on women in Turkmenistan, The Diplomat reported.

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Georgia's prime minister, Irakli Garibashvili, is 41 years old.

Irakli Garibashvili.
Irakli Garibashvili. Ullstein Bild/Getty Images

Irakli Garibashvili has been the prime minister of Georgia since February 2021. Before assuming this role, Garibashvili was Georgia's Minister of Defence.

Garibashvili started a program called Peaceful Neighborhood Initiative focusing on economic development in the South Caucus region, which includes Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.

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Vjosa Osmani, 41, currently serves as the second female president of Kosovo.

Vjosa Osmani.
Vjosa Osmani. Franziska Krug/Getty Images

Since 2021, Vjosa Osmani has been Kosovo's president. Her campaign focused heavily on anti-corruption, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported.

According to the Anadolu Agency, she speaks English, Turkish, Spanish, Serbian, and Albanian. After studying law at the University of Pristina in Kosovo, she earned her master's and doctorate at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

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Malian President Assimi Goïta's exact date of birth is unknown, but he is thought to be between 40 and 41 years old.

Assimi Goïta.
Assimi Goïta. Ousamane Makaveli/Gettty Images

The child of a military officer, Assimi Goita grew up expressing interest in following in his father's footsteps, Black Past reported. After climbing the ranks in the Malian military, Goita led a successful coup that led him to power as interim president in June 2021.

Goita is a survivor of attempted assassination. In July 2021, soon after he assumed power, a man tried to stab Goita at a mosque in Bamako.

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Kim Jong Un, who is believed to be 40, has held the position of supreme leader of North Korea since 2011.

Kim Jong Un speaking at a podium.
Kim Jong Un. API/Getty Images

The supreme leader of North Korea has been groomed for power for most of his life, and he took control of the hermit kingdom in 2011.

A diehard basketball fan who was educated at a private school in Switzerland, Kim has had a life unlike any other world leader. His nuclear ambitions and bellicose rhetoric also mean he occupies a place on the world stage completely out of proportion with his nation's power.

There has been some debate over his age: As Business Insider's Ellen Cranley previously reported, 1982 is his official birth year — which would make him 42 this year — but it may have been changed from another year for symbolic reasons. When the US Treasury Department sanctioned him in 2016 for "notorious abuses of human rights," his official birthdate was listed as January 8, 1984, making him 40 today.

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Succès Masra, 40, became prime minister of Chad on January 1.

Succes Masra
Succes Masra. Denis Sassou Gueipeur/AFP via Getty Images

Masra was appointed prime minister by Chad's transitional president, Mahamat Déby. As president of The Transformers party, Masra is a longtime opposition leader who went into exile in October 2022 after protests broke out against the military regime, France 24 reported. He returned to Chad after a reconciliation agreement was reached in November that allowed him to continue his work in politics.

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At 39, Mahamat Déby is the transitional president of Chad.

Mahamat Déby in a military uniform.
Mahamat Déby. Reuters

The son of Chad's former president Idriss Déby, Mahamat Déby rose to power at just 38 following his father's death just days after his reelection in April 2021.

The council that appointed Mahamat Déby to take his father's position ensured the people of Chad that fair and free elections would be held within 18 months of Déby's leadership. However, in October 2022, the elections were pushed back by two years.

A highly trained soldier with experience fighting against rebel groups, Mahamat Déby climbed the military's ranks and is a four-star general in Chad's army.

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Mohammed bin Salman, 38, is the crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia.

Mohammed bin Salman.
Mohammed bin Salman. Leon Neal/Getty Images

Mohammed bin Salman, often referred to as "MBS," is the son of Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz. Before his political career, Prince Mohammed bin Salman worked in the private sector, specifically in corporate leadership and finance.

He has been a controversial figure on the world stage, particularly since the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. The CIA concluded Khashoggi was killed on the prince's orders. Prince Mohammed was also accused of hacking the phone of then-Amazon CEO and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos in 2018. UN investigators backed the claims, which the Saudi government called "absurd."

He is also known for his lavish spending.

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Gabriel Boric, 37, is Chile's current president.

Gabriel Boric.
Gabriel Boric. Martin Bernetti/Getty Images

Boric was politically active as a college student, and he has remained involved in politics ever since. At 35, he won Chile's presidential election. Upon his election, he announced to a roaring crowd, "I guarantee that I will be a president who cares for Democracy ... and attends to the needs of the people daily."

During his presidency, Boric has attempted to push Chile leftward, The New York Times reported. In September 2022, he pushed for a progressive constitutional referendum that was ultimately rejected by the Chilean population.

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Gaetano Troina, 36, is one of the two heads of state of San Marino, known as Captains Regent.

Gaetano Troina
Gaetano Troina. RTV San Marino

Gaetano Troina has served as Captain Regent of San Marino alongside Filippo Tamagnini since October 1, 2023.

Troina was previously elected as a member of San Marino's Grand and General Council in 2019, RTV San Marino reported. He studied law at the University of Bologna.

Milojko Spajić, Montenegro's prime minister, is 36 years old.

Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milojko Spajic
Milojko Spajic. Umeys Sulejman/Anadolu via Getty Images

Milojko Spajic holds a master's degree in economics from HEC Paris in France and worked at banks in Tokyo and Singapore before entering politics, according to the government of Montenegro's official website. He served as Montenegro's minister of finance and social welfare from 2020 to 2022, and has held the role of prime minister since 2023.

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The president of Ecuador is 36-year-old Daniel Noboa.

Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa
Daniel Noboa. Karen Toro/Reuters

As heir to a banana trade fortune, Noboa's only political experience prior to becoming president of Ecuador was as a member of the National Assembly that the previous president, Guillermo Lasso, dissolved in May, AP reported.

In a speech at his swearing-in ceremony in November, Noboa vowed to "reduce violence and make progress a habit."

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Ibrahim Traoré, 35, is the interim leader of Burkina Faso.

Ibrahim Traoré surrounded by soldiers.
Ibrahim Traoré (center). Anonymous Contributor/Getty Images

Before becoming junta chief of Burkina Faso, Traoré was a student of geology, and he later attended Georges Namonao Military School, The Hindu reported.

The then-34-year-old rose to power after a coup d'etat in September 2022 that forced former leader Paul-Henri Damiba out of power, Reuters reported. Supporters of the coup cited Damiba's inability to deal with jihadist forces as the motivation for his removal. Surrounded by soldiers, Traoré announced he would be assuming leadership.

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At 34 years old, Gabriel Attal became the prime minister of France on January 9.

France's newly appointed Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal
France's newly appointed prime minister, Gabriel Attal, is 34 years old. Christian Liewig - Corbis/Getty Images

French President Emmanuel Macron appointed Gabriel Attal as France's youngest and first openly gay prime minister.

Attal rose to fame as a government spokesman, and went on to serve as a junior finance minister and education minister in the French government, Reuters reported.

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