List of presidents of Burundi facts for kids
The president of Burundi is like the main leader of the country, Burundi. They are both the head of state (the symbolic leader) and the head of government (the one who runs the country day-to-day). The president is also in charge of Burundi's army, called the National Defence Force.
The job of president started on November 28, 1966. This was when Michel Micombero announced that Burundi was a republic. The first rules for the president's job were written in 1974. These rules confirmed Micombero as the first president. Today, the president's powers come from the current constitution. This constitution was put in place in 2005 after the Burundian Civil War and the 2000 Arusha Accords.
Since Burundi became a republic, nine different people have been president. Only one president, Pierre Buyoya, served two times, but not one right after the other. Sylvie Kinigi was the first and only woman to be president, though it was for a short time. The current president is Évariste Ndayishimiye. He has been president since June 18, 2020.
Who Has Been President?
Here is a list of the people who have served as president of Burundi.
- Political Parties
Union for National Progress (UPRONA) Front for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU) National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD–FDD)
- Special Notes
Means they were an acting president for a short time
- A symbol next to a name means they passed away while in office.
Number | Picture | Name (Born–Died) |
Elected | Time in Office | Political Party | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Started | Ended | Total Time | |||||||
1 | ![]() |
Michel Micombero (1940–1983) |
— | 28 November 1966 | 1 November 1976 (Removed from power) |
9 years, 339 days | UPRONA / Military |
||
2 | ![]() |
Jean-Baptiste Bagaza (1946–2016) |
1984 | 1 November 1976 | 3 September 1987 (Removed from power) |
10 years, 306 days | UPRONA / Military |
||
3 | ![]() |
Pierre Buyoya (1949–2020) |
— | 3 September 1987 | 10 July 1993 | 5 years, 310 days | UPRONA / Military |
||
4 | ![]() |
Melchior Ndadaye (1953–1993) |
1993 | 10 July 1993 | 21 October 1993 (Passed away) |
103 days | FRODEBU | ||
— | ![]() |
François Ngeze![]() (born 1953) |
— | 21 October 1993 | 27 October 1993 | 6 days | UPRONA / Military |
||
— | ![]() |
Sylvie Kinigi![]() (born 1953) |
— | 27 October 1993 | 5 February 1994 | 101 days | UPRONA | ||
5 | ![]() |
Cyprien Ntaryamira (1955–1994) |
1994 | 5 February 1994 | 6 April 1994 (Passed away) |
60 days | FRODEBU | ||
6 | ![]() |
Sylvestre Ntibantunganya (born 1956) |
— | 6 April 1994![]() |
1 October 1994 | 2 years, 110 days | FRODEBU | ||
1994 | 1 October 1994 | 25 July 1996 (Removed from power) |
|||||||
(3) | ![]() |
Pierre Buyoya (1949–2020) |
— | 25 July 1996![]() |
11 June 1998 | 6 years, 279 days | UPRONA | ||
11 June 1998 | 30 April 2003 | ||||||||
7 | ![]() |
Domitien Ndayizeye (born 1951) |
— | 30 April 2003 | 26 August 2005 | 2 years, 118 days | FRODEBU | ||
8 | ![]() |
Pierre Nkurunziza (1964–2020) |
2005 2010 2015 |
26 August 2005 | 8 June 2020 | 14 years, 287 days | CNDD–FDD | ||
No president (June 8, 2020 – June 18, 2020) | |||||||||
9 | ![]() |
Évariste Ndayishimiye (born 1968) |
2020 | 18 June 2020 | Incumbent | 5 years, 38 days | CNDD–FDD |
Timeline of Presidents
This timeline shows when each president served and which political party they belonged to.

More About Burundi's Leaders
- Politics of Burundi
- List of kings of Burundi
- Vice President of Burundi
- Prime Minister of Burundi
See also
In Spanish: Anexo:Gobernantes de Burundi para niños