In this article, Platinum Times Nigeria will work you through top 10 youngest presidents in Africa.
African countries have often had elder statesmen ascend the seat of power being wisdom is believed to reside with the elderly.
In recent times, giving to the level of civilisation and global transformations, young and vibrant Africans have braced up to take different political positions and they have handled them effectively.
A young president ensures that the voices and aspirations of the youth are genuinely heard and understood regardless of the circumstances involved. African has recently experienced a paradigm shift of power from the elderly to the younger generation. This article looks through some young Africans who have emerged to be presidents and leaders in Africa countries.
Summary of top 10 youngest presidents in Africa.
President Age Country
Ibrahim Traoré 36 Burkina Faso
Mahamat Deby 39 Chad
Colonel Assimi Goita 41 Mali
Mamadou Doumbouya 44 Guinea
Bassirou Diomaye Faye 44 Senegal
Abiy Ahmed 47 Ethiopia
Andry Rajeolina 49 Madagascar
Evariste Ndayishimiye 55 Kenya
Mswati III 55 Burundi
William Ruto 57 Swaziland
Ibrahim Traore
Ibrahim Traoré tops the list as the youngest African President and second youngest serving leader globally.
He is Burkinabè military officer who has been the interim leader of Burkina Faso since the 30 September 2022 coup d’état that removed interim president Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.
He was born on 14th March, 1988 in Kéra, Bondokuy, Mouhoun Province and is a graduate of Geology from the University of Ouagadougou.
Mahamat Deby
Mahamat Idriss “Kaka” Deby is a Chadian four-star general serving as the transitional president of Chad, he was born on 4th April, 1984.
He previously served as the second in-command of the military for the Chadian Intervention in Northern Mali (FATIM).
He became the president of the Transitional Military Council on 20 April 2021 when his father, the late Chadian President Idriss Déby, died in action while commanding troops in the Northern Chad offensive.
He was nominated as the Patriotic Salvation Movement’s candidate for the 2024 Chadian presidential election on January 13, 2024, by party secretary Mahamat Zene Bada.
Colonel Assimi Goïta
Colonel Assimi Goïta is the third youngest African President who currently sits as the interim president of Mali since May 2021.
He was born in 1983 and was the leader of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People, a military force that seized power from former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta in the 2020 Malian coup d’état.
Goïta later seized power from Bah Ndaw in the 2021 Malian coup d’état and has since been declared interim president of Mali.
Mamadou Doumbouya
Mamady Doumbouya is the fourth youngest African serving president.
He is a Guinean military officer who has served as the interim president of Guinea since 1st October 2021.
He was born on 4th March, 1980 and he is a member of the Special Forces Group of the Guinean military and a former French legionnaire.
Bassirou Diomaye Faye
Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye is a Politician and former tax inspector who sits as the President-elect of Senegal.
He is the general secretary of the banned party PASTEF and won the 2024 Senegalese presidential election in place of disqualified candidate Ousmane Sonko.
He was born on March 25th, 1980 and ranks as the fifth youngest African President.
Abiy Ahmed
Abiy Ahmed Ali is is the current Prime Minister of Ethiopia since 2018.
He served as the third chairman of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea in 2019.
He was born on 15th August, 1976 and is recorded as the sixth youngest African President.
Andry Rajeolina
Andry Nirina Rajoelina is a Malagasy-French politician and businessman who has served as president of Madagascar since 2023.
Before entering the political arena, Rajoelina was involved in the private sector, including a printing and advertising company called Injet in 1999 and the Viva radio and television networks in 2007.
He previously served as president from 2019 to 2023, and was president of a provisional government from 2009 to 2014.
Evariste Ndayishimiye
Évariste Ndayishimiye is the current President of Burundi since 18th June, 2020.
He shrunk the cabinet ministers from 21 to 15 and mainly nominated ex-regime hardliners to take up key positions.
He became involved in the rebel National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy (Conseil National Pour la Défense de la Démocratie – Forces pour la Défense de la Démocratie, CNDD–FDD).
Mswati III
Mswati III is the King of Swaziland, a crown he inherited from his father Sobhuza III.
He was introduced as the crown prince in 1983 and was crowned on April 25 1986, at the age of 18 and the head of the Swazi Royal Family.
Mswati III was born on 19 April 1968 and is well known for his practice of polygamy and currently has 15 wives.
Although he is respected and fairly popular in Swaziland, his policies and lavish lifestyle have led to local protests and international criticism.
William Ruto
William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto was born on 21st December 1966 is a Kenyan politician who is the fifth and current president of Kenya since 13 September 2022.
He served as the first elected deputy president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022.
He previously served in three cabinet portfolios as the Minister for Home Affairs, the Minister of Agriculture and as Minister for Higher Education.