President for life facts for kids

Mansu Hill Grand Monument in Pyongyang, showing the "eternal leaders" of North Korea, President Kim Il Sung and General Secretary Kim Jong Il.

A President for life is a special title given to a country's leader, letting them stay in charge until they die or decide to step down. Sometimes, these leaders can even choose who will take over after them. While the title "president" usually makes you think of a democracy (where people vote), a "president for life" often means the country is not truly democratic. Instead, one person holds all the power. Some leaders who became "president for life" even changed their country into a monarchy (like a kingdom), making themselves kings!

What is a President for Life?

A president for life is like a ruler who stays in power forever. They are often seen as an autocrat, which means they have total control over their country.

Many leaders who said they would be president for life did not actually stay in power until they died. Most of them were removed from office before that happened. Some were even killed while they were still in charge. However, a few leaders did manage to rule until their natural deaths. These include José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia of Paraguay, Alexandre Pétion and François Duvalier of Haiti, Rafael Carrera of Guatemala, Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, and Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan.

Sometimes, leaders who rule for a very long time are mistakenly called "presidents for life." But they were never officially given that title. They might have had elections, but these were often not fair. The elections were just for show, making sure the leader would win again and again.

Leaders Who Became President for Life

Here is a list of leaders who were officially named "President for Life" or a similar title. The first date listed for each person is when they were given this special status.

Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Country	Title	Took office	Left office	Notes
	Toussaint Louverture (1743–1803)	French Saint-Domingue	Governor for Life of Saint-Domingue	1801	1802	Removed from power in 1802, died in France in 1803.
	Henri Christophe (1767–1820)	Haiti	President for Life of Haiti (Northern)	1807	1811	Became King in 1811, died while reigning in 1820.
	José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia (1766–1840)	Paraguay	Perpetual Supreme Dictator of Paraguay	1816	1840	Died while in office in 1840.
	Alexandre Pétion (1770–1818)	Haiti	President for Life of Haiti (Southern)	1816	1818	Died while in office in 1818.
	Jean-Pierre Boyer (1776–1850)		President for Life of Haiti	1818	1843	Became President for Life right away because the constitution said all his successors would be. Removed from power in 1843, died in 1850.
	Antonio López de Santa Anna (1794–1876)	Mexico (Second Federal Republic)	President for Life of Mexico	1853	1855	Resigned in 1855, died in 1876.
	Rafael Carrera (1814–1865)	Guatemala	President for Life of Guatemala	1854	1865	Died while in office in 1865.
	Adolf Hitler (1889–1945)	Germany (Third Reich)	Chancellor and Führer for life	1934	1945	Died while in office in 1945.
	Tupua Tamasese Meaʻole (1905–1963)	Samoa	O le Ao o le Malo for Life of Samoa	1962	1963	Died while in office in 1963. He was chosen to serve alongside Tanumafili II (see below). The position of O le Ao o le Malo (head of state) is mostly for ceremonies. The Prime Minister holds the real power, and Samoa is a parliamentary democracy.
	Malietoa Tanumafili II (1913–2007)				2007	Died while in office in 2007. He was chosen to serve alongside Meaʻole (see above).
	Sukarno (1901–1970)	Indonesia (Guided Democracy era)	Supreme Commander, Great Leader of Revolution, Mandate Holder of the Provisional People's Consultative Assembly, and President for Life of Indonesia	1963	1966	Named President for Life in 1963. His life term was removed in 1966. He was removed from power in 1967 and died under house arrest in 1970.
	Kwame Nkrumah (1909–1972)	Ghana	President for Life of Ghana	1964	1966	Removed from power in 1966. Died in another country (Romania) in 1972.
	François "Papa Doc" Duvalier (1907–1971)	Haiti	President for Life of Haiti	1964	1971	Died while in office in 1971. He named his son as the next leader (see below).
	Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier (1951–2014)			1971	1986	Named by his father as the next leader (see above). Removed from power in 1986, died in 2014.
	Hastings Banda (1898–1997)	Malawi	President for Life of Malawi	1971	1993	His life term was removed in 1993. He was voted out of office in 1994, and died in 1997.
	Jean-Bédel Bokassa (1921–1996)	Central African Republic	President for Life of the Central African Republic	1972	1976	Became Emperor in 1976 (crowned in 1977). Removed from power in 1979, died in 1996.
	Francisco Macías Nguema (1924–1979)	Equatorial Guinea	President for Life of Equatorial Guinea	1972	1979	Removed from power and executed in 1979.
	Ferdinand Marcos (1917–1989)	Philippines (Martial law regime)	President for Life of the Philippines	1973	1981	His life term was removed in 1981. He was removed from power in 1986 and died in another country in 1989.
	Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980)	Yugoslavia	President for Life of Yugoslavia	1974	1980	Named President for Life by the 1974 Constitution. Died while in office in 1980.
	Habib Bourguiba (1903–2000)	Tunisia	President for Life of Tunisia	1975	1987	Removed from power in 1987. Died under house arrest in 2000.
	Idi Amin (1925–2003)	Uganda (Second Republic)	President for Life of Uganda	1976	1979	Removed from power in 1979. Died in another country (Saudi Arabia) in 2003.
	Lennox Sebe (1926–1994)	South Africa ( Ciskei)	President for Life of Ciskei	1983	1990	Removed from power in 1990, died in 1994.
	Saparmurat Niyazov (1940–2006)	Turkmenistan	President for Life of Turkmenistan	1999	2006	Died while in office in 2006.

See also

In Spanish: Presidente vitalicio para niños