This article lists the presidents of Rwanda since the creation of the office in 1961 (during the Rwandan Revolution), to the present day.
| President of the Republic of Rwanda | |
|---|---|
| Perezida wa Repubulika y’u Rwanda (Kinyarwanda) Rais wa Jamhuri ya Rwanda (Swahili) Président de la République du Rwanda (French) | |
 Presidential Standard | |
| Style | Mr President (informal) His Excellency (diplomatic) |
| Type | Head of state Executive president |
| Residence | Village Urugwiro |
| Seat | Kigali |
| Appointer | Popular vote |
| Term length | 5 years |
| Formation | 28 January 1961 |
| First holder | Dominique Mbonyumutwa |
| Salary | US$85,000 annually[1] |
| Website | https://www.gov.rw/president |
The president of Rwanda is the head of state and head of executive[2] of the Republic of Rwanda. The president is elected every seven years by popular vote,[3] and appoints the prime minister and all other members of Cabinet.[4]
A total of four people have served in the office. The incumbent president is Paul Kagame, who took office on 22 April 2000, after being acting president for nearly a month.
Term limits
editThere was a two-term limit for the president in the Constitution of Rwanda. The constitutional referendum in 2015 allowed Paul Kagame third seven-year term, and ability to run for further two five-year terms thereafter.[5]
List of officeholders
edit- Political parties
Party of the Hutu Emancipation Movement (Parmehutu)
Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF)
- Status
Denotes acting president
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Elected | Term of office | Ethnic group | Political party | Prime minister(s) | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||||||
| Republic of Rwanda (part of Ruanda-Urundi) | |||||||||||
| — | Dominique Mbonyumutwa (1921–1986) |
— | 28 January 1961 | 26 October 1961 | 271 days | Hutu | Parmehutu | Kayibanda | |||
| 1 | Grégoire Kayibanda (1924–1976) |
1961 | 26 October 1961 | 1 July 1962 | 248 days | Hutu | Parmehutu | Himself | |||
| Republic of Rwanda (independent country) | |||||||||||
| (1) | Grégoire Kayibanda (1924–1976) |
1965 1969 |
1 July 1962 | 5 July 1973 (Deposed in coup) |
11 years, 4 days | Hutu | Parmehutu | Position abolished | [6][7] | ||
| 2 | Juvénal Habyarimana (1937–1994) [a] |
1978 1983 1988 |
5 July 1973 | 6 April 1994 (Assassinated) |
20 years, 275 days | Hutu | MRND / Military |
Nsanzimana Nsengiyaremye Uwilingiyimana |
[8] | ||
| — | Théodore Sindikubwabo (1928–1998) |
— | 8 April 1994 | 19 July 1994 (Ousted) [b] |
102 days | Hutu | MRND | Kambanda | |||
| 3 | Pasteur Bizimungu (born 1950) |
— | 19 July 1994 | 23 March 2000 (Resigned) |
5 years, 248 days | Hutu | RPF | Twagiramungu Rwigema Makuza |
[9] | ||
| 4 | Paul Kagame (born 1957) |
— | 24 March 2000 | 22 April 2000 | 24 years, 234 days | Tutsi | RPF | Makuza Habumuremyi Murekezi Ngirente |
[10] | ||
| 2003 2010 2017 2024 |
22 April 2000 | Incumbent | |||||||||
Timeline
editLatest election
edit| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Kagame | Rwandan Patriotic Front | 8,822,794 | 99.18 | |
| Frank Habineza | Democratic Green Party | 44,479 | 0.50 | |
| Philippe Mpayimana | Independent | 28,466 | 0.32 | |
| Total | 8,895,739 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 8,895,739 | 99.86 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 12,137 | 0.14 | ||
| Total votes | 8,907,876 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 9,071,157 | 98.20 | ||
| Source: NEC | ||||
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Styled as Chairman of the Committee for Peace and National Unity until 1 August 1973.
- ^ Fled to Zaire at the end of the Rwandan Civil War and the Rwandan genocide.
References
edit- ^ "Top 15 Highest Paid African Presidents 2017". 15 December 2016. Archived from the original on 22 September 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
- ^ CJCR 2003, article 117.
- ^ CJCR 2003, articles 100–101.
- ^ CJCR 2003, article 116.
- ^ Cook, Candace; Siegle, Joseph. "Circumvention of Term Limits Weakens Governance in Africa". Africa Center for Strategic Studies.
- ^ "Military Coup in Rwanda Follows Tribal Dissension". The New York Times. Associated Press. 6 July 1973. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
- ^ "Mission d'information sur le Rwanda" (in French).
Celui-ci s'était construit sur la destruction de la Première République. Entre 1974 et 1977, 56 personnes, pour la plupart d'anciens dirigeants de la Première République, avaient été assassinés par les services de la sécurité. Le premier Président rwandais, Grégoire Kayibanda, était mort en détention en 1976, probablement de faim.
- ^ Ronald Sullivan (7 April 1994). "Juvenal Habyarimana, 57, Ruled Rwanda for 21 Years". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
- ^ "Rwanda President Resigns". The New York Times. 24 March 2000. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
- ^ Declan Walsh (6 April 2024). "From the Horror to the Envy of Africa: Rwanda's Leader Holds Tight Grip". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
- Commission Juridique Et Constitutionnelle Du Rwanda (CJCR) (26 May 2003). "Constitution of the Republic of Rwanda". Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2015.