Lists of office-holders

Presidents and Prime Ministers of Djibouti, 1957 to 2026

Djibouti has had two presidents since independence on 27 June 1977: Hassan Gouled Aptidon, until 1999, and his nephew Ismail Omar Guelleh, since 8 May 1999. It has had five prime ministers. Before independence, the French territory had a local Government Council from 1957, led first by a vice president and from 1967 by a president.

Last checked 2026-11-12 3 sources Reading time: 3 min

In short

Djibouti, formerly French Somaliland 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)

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, Wikipedia, List of prime ministers of Djibouti; where sources give different dates, the note says so. How we source: How we check facts.

Vice Presidents of the Government Council, 1957 to 1967

Name In office Note Source
Mahamoud Harbi Farah (Maxamuud Xarbi Faarax) July 1957 to December 1958 MUR party World Statesmen, Djibouti
Hassan Gouled Aptidon (Xasan Guuleed Abtidoon) December 1958 to April 1959 UPA party World Statesmen, Djibouti
Ahmed Dini Ahmed May 1959 to June 1960 PMP party World Statesmen, Djibouti
Ali Aref Bourhan June 1960 to November 1966 first time World Statesmen, Djibouti
Abdallah Mohamed Kamil 5 November 1966 to April 1967 World Statesmen, Djibouti
Ali Aref Bourhan 27 April 1967 to 7 July 1967 second time World Statesmen, Djibouti

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, Wikipedia, List of prime ministers of Djibouti
Abdallah Mohamed Kamil 29 July 1976 to 18 May 1977 World Statesmen, Djibouti, Wikipedia, List of prime ministers of Djibouti
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

Presidents of the Republic, 1977 to now

Name In office Note Source
Hassan Gouled Aptidon (Xasan Guuleed Abtidoon) 27 June 1977 to 8 May 1999 first President; elected 1981, 1987 and 1993 World Statesmen, Djibouti, Wikipedia, List of presidents of Djibouti
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, Wikipedia, List of presidents of Djibouti

Prime Ministers, 1977 to now

Name In office Note Source
Hassan Gouled Aptidon (Xasan Guuleed Abtidoon) 27 June 1977 to 12 July 1977 also President World Statesmen, Djibouti, Wikipedia, List of prime ministers of Djibouti
Ahmed Dini Ahmed 12 July 1977 to 5 February 1978 World Statesmen, Djibouti, Wikipedia, List of prime ministers of Djibouti
Abdallah Mohamed Kamil 5 February 1978 to 2 October 1978 World Statesmen, Djibouti, Wikipedia, List of prime ministers of Djibouti
Barkat Gourad Hamadou 2 October 1978 to 7 March 2001 longest-serving Prime Minister World Statesmen, Djibouti, Wikipedia, List of prime ministers of Djibouti
Dileita Mohamed Dileita 7 March 2001 to 1 April 2013 World Statesmen, Djibouti, Wikipedia, List of prime ministers of Djibouti
Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed 1 April 2013 to now World Statesmen, Djibouti, Wikipedia, List of prime ministers of Djibouti

Sources

We also publish every row of every office-holder list as one open data file: office-holders.csv.

Sources

  1. World Statesmen, Djibouti · worldstatesmen.org
  2. Wikipedia, List of prime ministers of Djibouti · en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, List of presidents of Djibouti · en.wikipedia.org

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