List of state leaders in 1961

1960 state leaders - Events of 1961 - 1962 state leaders - State leaders by year-----

See also:
*List of religious leaders in 1961
*List of international organization leaders in 1961

Africa

* Côte d'Ivoire - Félix Houphouët-Boigny, President of Côte d'Ivoire (1960-1993)
* Dahomey - Hubert Maga, President of Dahomey (1960-1963)
* Guinea - Ahmed Sékou Touré, President of Guinea (1958-1984)
* Liberia - William V.S. Tubman, President of Liberia (1944-1971)
* Mali
** President - Modibo Keita, President of Mali (1960-1968)
** Prime Minister - Modibo Keita, Prime Minister of Mali (1960-1965)
* Mauritania
** President - Moktar Ould Daddah, President of Mauritania (1960-1978)
** Prime Minister - Moktar Ould Daddah, Prime Minister of Mauritania (1960-1961)
* Nigeria
** Monarch - Elizabeth II, Queen of Nigeria (1960-1963)
** Governor-General - Nnamdi Azikiwe, Governor-General of Nigeria (1960-1963)
** Prime Minister - Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Prime Minister of Nigeria (1960-1966)
* Senegal
** President - Léopold Sédar Senghor, President of Senegal (1960-1980)
** Prime Minister - Mamadou Dia. Prime Minister of Senegal, (1960-1962)
* Somalia
** President - Aden Abdullah Osman Daar, President of Somalia (1960-1967)
** Prime Minister - Abdirashid Ali Shermarke, Prime Minister of Somalia (1960-1964)
* Togo
** President - Sylvanus Olympio, President of Togo (1960-1963)
** Prime Minister - Sylvanus Olympio, Prime Minister of Togo (1960-1961)
* Upper Volta - Maurice Yaméogo, President of Upper Volta (1960-1966)

Asia

* Afghanistan
**Monarch - Mohammed Zahir Shah, King of Afghanistan (1933-1973)
**Prime Minister - Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan, Prime Minister of Afghanistan (1953-1963)
* Brunei - Omar Ali Saifuddin III, Sultan of Brunei (1950-1967)
* People's Republic of China
** Head of State - Liu Shaoqi, Chairman of the People's Republic of China (1959-1968)
** Premier - Zhou Enlai, Premier of the State Council (1949-1976)
** Head of Communist Party - Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Communist Party of China (1935-1976)
* India -
**President - Rajendra Prasad, President of India (1950-1962)
**Prime Minister - Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India (1947-1964)
*Indonesia - Sukarno, President of Indonesia (1945–1967)
*Japan -
**Monarch - Showa Emperor, Emperor of Japan (1926-1989)
**Prime Minister - Hayato Ikeda, Prime Minister of Japan (1960-1964)
* South Korea -
**President - Yun Boseon, President of the Republic of Korea (1960-1962)
**Head of Government-
**# John Myon Chang, Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea (1960-1961)
**# Chang To-yong, Chief Cabinet Minister of the Republic of Korea (1961)
**# Song Yo-ch'an, Chief Cabinet Minister of the Republic of Korea (1961-1962)
* Malaya -
**Tuanku Syed Putra ibni Almarhum Syed Hassan Jamalullail, Yang di-Pertuan Agong (1960-1965)
**Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Alhaj, Prime Minister of Malaya (1957-1970)
* Pakistan - Muhammad Ayub Khan, President of Pakistan (1958-1969)
* Philippines
*# Carlos P. Garcia, President of the Philippines (1957 - 1961)
*# Diosdado Macapagal, President of the Philippines (1961 - 1965)
* Taiwan (Republic of China)
** President - Chiang Kai-Shek, President of the Republic of China (1947-1975)
** Premier - Chen Cheng, President of the Executive Yuan (1958-1963)

Australia and Oceania

*Australia
**Monarch - Elizabeth II, Queen, Head of the Commonwealth (1952-present)
**Governor-General -
**#William Morrison, Governor-General of Australia (1960-1961)
**#William Sidney, Governor-General of Australia (1961-1965)
**Prime Minister - Sir Robert Menzies, Prime Minister of Australia (1939-1941, 1949-1966)
* New Zealand
** Monarch - Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand (1952–present)
**Governor-General The Viscount Cobham, Governor-General of New Zealand (1957–1962)
** Prime Minister - Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake, Prime Minister of New Zealand (1960–1972)
* Tonga
** Monarch - Salote Tupou III, Queen of Tonga (1918 – 1965)
** Prime Minister - Siaosi Taufa'ahau Tupoulahi, Prime Minister of Tonga, (1949 – 1965)

Europe

*Austria -
**President - Adolf Schärf, President of Austria (1957–1965)
**Chancellor -
**#Julius Raab, Chancellor of Austria (1953–1961)
**#Alfons Gorbach, Chancellor of Austria (1961–1964)
* Belgium
** King - Baldwin I, King of the Belgians (1951-1993)
** Prime Minister -
**#Gaston Eyskens, Prime Minister of Belgium (1949-1950, 1958-1961, 1968-1973)
**#Théodore Lefèvre, Prime Minister of Belgium (1961-1965)
* Denmark
** Monarch - Frederick IX, King of Denmark (1947-1972)
** Prime Minister - Viggo Kampmann, Prime Minister of Denmark (1960-1962)
* Finland
** President - Urho Kekkonen, President of Finland (1956-1981)
** Prime Minister -
**#Jussi Sukselainen, Prime Minister of Finland (1959-1961)
**# Martti Miettunen, Prime Minister of Finland (1961-1962 1975-1977)
* France -
**President - Charles de Gaulle, President of France (1959-1969)
**Prime Minister - Michel Debré, Prime Minister of France (1959-1962)
* Federal Republic of Germany -
**President - Heinrich Lübke, President of the Federal Republic of Germany (1959-1969)
**Chancellor - Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (1949-1963)
* German Democratic Republic -
**Communist Party Leader - Walter Ulbricht, General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (1950-1971)
**Head of State - Walter Ulbricht, Chairman of the Council of State (1960-1973)
**Premier - Otto Grotewohl, Chairman of the Council of Ministers (1949-1964)
* Ireland -
**President - Éamon de Valera, President of Ireland (1959-1973)
**Prime Minister - Seán Lemass, Taoiseach (1957-1966)
* Italy -
**President - Giovanni Gronchi, President of the Italian Republic (1955-1962)
**Prime Minister - Amintore Fanfani, Prime Minister of Italy (1960-1963)
* Liechtenstein -
**Monarch - Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein (1938-1989)
**Head of Government - Alexander Frick, Head of Government (1945-1962)
* Luxembourg
**Monarch - Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (1919-1964)
**Regent - Jean, Regent of Luxembourg (1961-1964)
**Prime Minister - Pierre Werner, Prime Minister of Luxembourg (1959-1974, 1979-1984)
*The Netherlands
**Monarch - Juliana, Queen of the Netherlands (1948 - 1980)
**Prime Minister - Jan Eduard de Quay, Prime Minister of The Netherlands (1959 - 1963)
* Norway -
**Monarch - Olav V of Norway, King of Norway (1957-1991)
* Poland
**Communist Party Leader - Władysław Gomułka, First Secretary of the Central Committee of Polish United Workers' Party (1956-1970)
**Head of State - Council of State, Chairman - Aleksander Zawadzki (1952-1964)
**Premier - Józef Cyrankiewicz, President of the Council of Ministers (1954-1970)
* Portugal -
**President - Américo Thomaz, President of Portugal (1958-1974)
**Prime Minister - António de Oliveira Salazar, President of the Council of Ministers (1932-1968)
* Spain
**Generalísimo - Francisco Franco, Head of the Spanish State and President of the Government (1939-1975), (1939-1973)
* Sweden
**Monarch - Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden, King of Sweden (1950-1973)
**Prime Minister - Tage Erlander, Prime Minister of Sweden (1946-1969)
* Turkey
** Head of State - Cemal Gürsel, Head of State, (1960-1961)
** President - Cemal Gürsel, President of Turkey (1961-1966)
** Prime Minister -
**# Cemal Gürsel, Prime Minister of Turkey (1960-1961)
**# Emin Fahrettin Özdilek, Prime Minister of Turkey (1961)
**# İsmet İnönü, Prime Minister of Turkey (1961-1965)
* United Kingdom -
**Monarch - Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom (1952-present)
**Prime Minister - Harold Macmillan, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1957-1963)
*Vatican City
** Pope - John XXIII, Bishop of Rome (1958-1963)
** Secretary of State -
**# Domenico Cardinal Tardini, Cardinal Secretary of State (1952-1961)
**# Amleto Giovanni Cardinal Cicognani, Cardinal Secretary of State (1961-1969)

Middle East

* Israel
**President - Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, President of Israel (1952-1963)
**Prime Minister - David Ben-Gurion, Prime Minister of Israel (1955-1963)
* Oman - Said Bin Taimur, Sultan of Oman (1932-1970)
* United Arab Republic
**President - Gamal Abdel Nasser, President of the United Arab Republic (1958-1970)
**Prime Minister - Gamal Abdel Nasser, Prime Minister of the United Arab Republic (1958-1962)

North America and the Caribbean

*Canada
**Monarch - Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada (1952-present)
**Governor General - Georges Vanier, Governor General (1959-1967)
**Prime Minister - John Diefenbaker, Prime Minister (1957-1963)
*Costa Rica - Mario Echandi Jiménez, President of Costa Rica (1958–1962)
*Dominican Republic - Joaquín Balaguer, President of the Dominican Republic (1960–1962)
* Cuba
** President - Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado, President of Cuba (1959-1976)
** Premier - Fidel Castro, Premier of Cuba (1959-1976)
* El Salvador
**President -
**# Junta of Government (1960–1961)
**# Civic-Military Directory (1961–1962)
* United States -
*# Dwight Eisenhower, President of the United States (1953-1961)
*# John F. Kennedy, President of the United States (1961-1963)

outh America

* Brazil -
*# Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, President of Brazil (1956-1961)
*# Jânio da Silva Quadros, President of Brazil (1961)
*# Pascoal Ranieri Mazzilli, Provisional President of Brazil (1961)
*# João Goulart, President of Brazil (1961-1964)
* Paraguay - Alfredo Stroessner, President of Paraguay (1954-1989)
* Peru - Manuel Prado y Ugarteche, President of Peru (1956-1962)
*Uruguay -
*#Benito Nardone, President of Uruguay (1960-1961)
*#Eduardo Víctor Haedo, President of Uruguay (1961-1962)
*Venezuela - Rómulo Betancourt, President of Venezuela (1959-1964)