As Chile Elects 35-Yr-Old Prez, a Look at the World's Youngest Political Leaders
Ardern, Macron, Kim Jong-un are some of the prominent leaders who've been ruling since they've been in their 30s.
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Gabriel Boric, the president-elect of Chile, will become Chile's youngest president in March 2022, after defeating incumbent José Antonio Kast in the country's 2021 presidential elections.
"We are a generation that emerged in public life demanding our rights be respected as rights and not treated like consumer goods or a business,” the leftist candidate told a massive crowd in Santiago, after emerging victorious with almost 56 percent of the vote, BBC reported.
Gabriel Boric, the president-elect of Chile.
(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@aishe_ghosh)
Boric, who belongs to the left-wing Social Convergence Party, is only 35 years old, and will become the second youngest head of the state in the world at the moment.
Who is the youngest? And who are the other young politicians who are leading their countries? Here's a look at some young political leaders from across the world.
Emmanuel Macron, President, France
Emmanuel Macron, President of France.
(Photo Courtesy: European Union)
At the age of 39, Emmanuel Macron became the youngest French president in the country's history when he got elected in 2016.
Prior to his presidency, he worked in the Inspectorate General of Finances before working as an investment banker for Rothschild & Co.
Macron sparked controversy when his government introduced a new counterterrorism bill that would surveil 'jihadist' websites, drawing sharp criticism from privacy advocates.
His stance on immigration has also been contentious after he said that France must have a robust plan to "anticipate and protect itself from a wave of migrants" from Afghanistan (in response to the Taliban takeover that occurred earlier this year), The Guardian reported.
Macron was therefore accused of pandering to the far-right.
He is up for elections in April 2022.
Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister, New Zealand
Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern.
(File Photo)
The prime minister of New Zealand became the world's youngest female head of government in the world when she assumed office in October 2017 at the age of 37.
Ardern is also the youngest leader of the country since Premier Edward Stafford (who also started governing at the age of 37 in 1856) and the youngest leader of her party, the Labour Party.
She is known for her sober leadership and her progressive policies. Her government has focused on the housing crisis and social inequality.
Ardern's handing of New Zealand's response to the COVID-19 pandemic has also received worldwide praise.
Giacomo Simoncini, Captain Regent, San Marino
Giacomo Simoncini, Captain Regent of San Marino.
(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@SanmaCalcio)
As one of the two Captain Regents of San Marino and the youngest head of state in the world, 27-year-old Giacomo Simoncini is also the world's only head of state under 30 years of age as of right now.
He assumed office on 1 October this year, 26 years old at the time.
The other Captain Regent of San Marino is Francesco Mussoni, who is almost double Simoncini's age at 50.
The tiny landlocked country is surrounded by Italy on all sides, and has one of the highest GDPs per capita in Europe and in the world.
Simoncini joined the Socialist Party of San Marino when he was a teenager, but has also worked as the general manager of the San Marino national futsal team.
Kim Jong-un, Supreme Leader of North Korea
Kim Jong-un, Supreme Leader of North Korea.
(File Photo)
Kim Jong-un took charge of North Korea when he was only 27 years old.
The youngest son of his predecessor Kim Jong-il, the current supreme leader of North Korea leads the Workers' Party of Korea (as general secretary), the army, and the state.
He is known for his hostile attitude towards South Korea and the US, thereby leading a reckless nuclear weapon's program, but also for being the only North Korean leader to bring a US president (Donald Trump) to the negotiation table with respect to the security situation of the Korean Peninsula.
Most recently, Kim has been in the news after North Korea banned laughing, drinking, and shopping for its citizens for 11 days since 17 December, to commemorate the death anniversary of his father.
Sanna Marin, Prime Minister, Finland
Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland.
(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@MarinSanna)
At the age of 34, Sanna Marin became the youngest person to hold the office in Finnish history.
A member of the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Finland, Marin became a Member of Parliament in 2015 when she was only 30, and also briefly served as the Minister of Transport and Communications.
Marin became embroiled in a controversy earlier this month when she was photographed at a nightclub in Helsinki a few hours after reports had emerged of Finland's foreign minister testing positive for COVID-19.
She later apologised about the incident, saying she should have had better judgement.
Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister, Georgia
Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia.
(File Photo)
Serving as the prime minister of Georgia (for the second time) since February 2021, Irakli Garibashvili became the youngest person to hold the country's top post when he became PM in 2013, aged only 31.
He resigned in December 2015, but was reappointed earlier this year after the previous PM resigned due to internal conflicts within his own political party.
Garibashvili is a strong ally of the US, the EU, and NATO, and believes in de-escalation of tensions with Russia.
He has clearly stated that Russia "does not respect the sovereignty and the unity of our country and continues to occupy the territories of our country", and that his government is taking steps to reduce regional security threats, according to Caucus Watch.
Vjosa Osmani, President, Kosovo
Vjosa Osmani, president of Kosovo.
(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@VjosaOsmaniPRKS)
A jurist by profession, Vjosa Osmani became the president of the Republic of Kosovo when she was 38 years old.
Osmani has famously declared that she wants to normalise relations with Serbia, which continues to claim that Kosovo is a part (albeit autonomous) of Serbian territory. Kosovo, however, declared itself to be a republic in 2008.
She began her political participation when she was just a teenager, engaging in activism for the Democratic League of Kosovo.
Osmani even worked for Kosovo's Constitution Commission, and defended the legality of the disputed republic's claims to independence at the International Court of Justice.
Nayib Bukele, President, El Salvador
Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador.
(Photo Courtesy: Amnesty)
After becoming president at the age of 37, Nayib Bukele has made the headlines quite a few times for his governance of El Salvador.
Founder of the far-right populist political party called Nuevas Ideas, Bukele has been accused of ruling his country in a highly authoritarian manner.
In February last year, he ordered his troops to enter the legislative assembly of his country to ensure that a bill that would increase funding for the military was passed.
Additionally, earlier this year, his government made El Salvador the only country in the world to recognise Bitcoin as legal tender, and he wants to create an entire city based on cryptocurrency.
(With inputs from BBC, Caucus Watch, and The Guardian)
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