# Presidents and Prime Ministers of Djibouti, 1957 to 2026

> Every holder of the office, with dates and a source on each row: Mahamoud Harbi Farah, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, Ahmed Dini Ahmed, Ali Aref Bourhan, Abdallah Mohamed Kamil, Ismail Omar Guelleh and others.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/institutions/leaders-of-djibouti/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## In short

Djibouti, formerly [French Somaliland](/en/relations/france/) and then the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas, is home to Somali (mainly Issa) and Afar communities. World Statesmen notes each leader's community, and the top posts have been shared between the two: both presidents have been Issa, and every Prime Minister since July 1977 has been Afar. ([World Statesmen, Djibouti](https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Djibouti.html))

Each row below gives the holder's name in English and Somali spelling, dates in office and the source for that row. Dates are from [World Statesmen, Djibouti](https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Djibouti.html), [Wikipedia, List of prime ministers of Djibouti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prime_ministers_of_Djibouti); where sources give different dates, the note says so. How we source: [How we check facts](/en/about/how-we-check-facts/).

## Vice Presidents of the Government Council, 1957 to 1967

| Name | In office | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Mahamoud Harbi Farah](/en/people/mahamoud-harbi/) (Maxamuud Xarbi Faarax) | July 1957 to December 1958 | MUR party | [World Statesmen, Djibouti](https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Djibouti.html) |
| [Hassan Gouled Aptidon](/en/people/hassan-gouled-aptidon/) (Xasan Guuleed Abtidoon) | December 1958 to April 1959 | UPA party | [World Statesmen, Djibouti](https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Djibouti.html) |
| [Ahmed Dini Ahmed](/en/people/ahmed-dini-ahmed/) | May 1959 to June 1960 | PMP party | [World Statesmen, Djibouti](https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Djibouti.html) |
| Ali Aref Bourhan | June 1960 to November 1966 | first time | [World Statesmen, Djibouti](https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Djibouti.html) |
| Abdallah Mohamed Kamil | 5 November 1966 to April 1967 |  | [World Statesmen, Djibouti](https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Djibouti.html) |
| Ali Aref Bourhan | 27 April 1967 to 7 July 1967 | second time | [World Statesmen, Djibouti](https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Djibouti.html) |

## Presidents of the Government Council, 1967 to 1977

| Name | In office | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ali Aref Bourhan | 7 July 1967 to 29 July 1976 |  | [World Statesmen, Djibouti](https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Djibouti.html), [Wikipedia, List of prime ministers of Djibouti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prime_ministers_of_Djibouti) |
| Abdallah Mohamed Kamil | 29 July 1976 to 18 May 1977 |  | [World Statesmen, Djibouti](https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Djibouti.html), [Wikipedia, List of prime ministers of Djibouti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prime_ministers_of_Djibouti) |
| [Hassan Gouled Aptidon](/en/people/hassan-gouled-aptidon/) (Xasan Guuleed Abtidoon) | 18 May 1977 to 27 June 1977 | head of government until independence | [Wikipedia, List of prime ministers of Djibouti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prime_ministers_of_Djibouti) |

## Presidents of the Republic, 1977 to now

| Name | In office | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Hassan Gouled Aptidon](/en/people/hassan-gouled-aptidon/) (Xasan Guuleed Abtidoon) | 27 June 1977 to 8 May 1999 | first President; elected 1981, 1987 and 1993 | [World Statesmen, Djibouti](https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Djibouti.html), [Wikipedia, List of presidents of Djibouti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_Djibouti) |
| [Ismail Omar Guelleh](/en/people/ismail-omar-guelleh/) (Ismaaciil Cumar Geelle) | 8 May 1999 to now | elected 1999, 2005, 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026, according to Wikipedia | [World Statesmen, Djibouti](https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Djibouti.html), [Wikipedia, List of presidents of Djibouti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_Djibouti) |

## Prime Ministers, 1977 to now

| Name | In office | Note | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Hassan Gouled Aptidon](/en/people/hassan-gouled-aptidon/) (Xasan Guuleed Abtidoon) | 27 June 1977 to 12 July 1977 | also President | [World Statesmen, Djibouti](https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Djibouti.html), [Wikipedia, List of prime ministers of Djibouti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prime_ministers_of_Djibouti) |
| [Ahmed Dini Ahmed](/en/people/ahmed-dini-ahmed/) | 12 July 1977 to 5 February 1978 |  | [World Statesmen, Djibouti](https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Djibouti.html), [Wikipedia, List of prime ministers of Djibouti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prime_ministers_of_Djibouti) |
| Abdallah Mohamed Kamil | 5 February 1978 to 2 October 1978 |  | [World Statesmen, Djibouti](https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Djibouti.html), [Wikipedia, List of prime ministers of Djibouti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prime_ministers_of_Djibouti) |
| [Barkat Gourad Hamadou](/en/people/barkat-gourad-hamadou/) | 2 October 1978 to 7 March 2001 | longest-serving Prime Minister | [World Statesmen, Djibouti](https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Djibouti.html), [Wikipedia, List of prime ministers of Djibouti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prime_ministers_of_Djibouti) |
| [Dileita Mohamed Dileita](/en/people/dileita-mohamed-dileita/) | 7 March 2001 to 1 April 2013 |  | [World Statesmen, Djibouti](https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Djibouti.html), [Wikipedia, List of prime ministers of Djibouti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prime_ministers_of_Djibouti) |
| Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed | 1 April 2013 to now |  | [World Statesmen, Djibouti](https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Djibouti.html), [Wikipedia, List of prime ministers of Djibouti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prime_ministers_of_Djibouti) |

## Related pages

- [Djibouti and the Somali diaspora](/en/diaspora/djibouti/)
- [Governors of British Somaliland](/en/institutions/governors-of-british-somaliland/)
- [Governors of Italian Somaliland](/en/institutions/governors-of-italian-somaliland/)

## Sources

- [World Statesmen, Djibouti](https://www.worldstatesmen.org/Djibouti.html)
- [Wikipedia, List of prime ministers of Djibouti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prime_ministers_of_Djibouti)

We also publish every row of every office-holder list as one open data file: [office-holders.csv](/data/institutions/office-holders.csv).

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