List of state leaders in 1879

State leaders in 1878 – Events of 1879 – State leaders in 1880 – State leaders by year

Africa

• Ashanti Confederacy – Mensa Bonsu Kumaa, Asantehene (1874-1883)
• Burundi – Mwezi IV Gisabo, King of Burundi (1852-1908)
• Dahomey – Glele, King of Dahomey (1856-1889)
• Ethiopia – Yohannes IV, Emperor of Ethiopia (1871-1889)
• Liberia – Anthony William Gerdner, President of Liberia (1878-1883)
• Sokoto Caliphate
  • Caliph – Mu'adh bin Bello, Sokoto Caliph (1877-1881)
  • Grand Vizier – Abdullah bin Muhammad Fodiye, Sokoto Grand Vizier (c.1874-1886)
• Zanzibar – Barghash ibn Sa'id, Sultan of Zanzibar (1870-1888)
• Zulu – Cetshwayo kaMpande, King of the Zulu (1872-1884)

Asia

• Afghanistan – Shir Ali Khan, Emir of Afghanistan (1868-1879)
  • Ghazni
    1. Declared independence on 24 December
    2. Musa Jan Khan, Emir of Ghazni (1879-1880)
• Burma – Thibaw Min, King of Burma (1878-1885)
• Cambodia – Norodom, King of Cambodia (1860-1904)
• Champasak – Kham Suk, King of Champasak (1863-1900)
• China (Qing Dynasty) – Guangxu, Emperor of China (1875-1908)
• India – Victoria, Empress of India (1876-1901)
• Japan – Monarch – Meiji Emperor, Emperor of Japan (1867-1912)
• Korea (Joseon Dynasty) – Gojong, King of Joseon (1864-1907, Emperor after 1897)
• Luang Phrabang – Unkham, King of Luang Phrabang (1868-1895)
• Nepal – Surendra Bikram Shah Deva, King of Nepal (1847-1881)
• Oman – Turki bin Said, Sultan of Oman (1871-1888)
• Siam – Chulalongkorn (Rama V), King of Siam (1868-1910)
• Vietnam – Tu Duc, Emperor of Vietnam (1847-1883)

Australia and Oceania

Europe

• Andorra – Patrice Mac-Mahon, duc de Magenta (President of France) and Josep Caixal i Estradé (Bishop of Urgel), co-Princes (1873-1879 and 1853-1879)
• Austria-Hungary – Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary (1848-1916)
• Belgium – Leopold II, King of the Belgians (1865-1909)
• Bulgaria – Alexander I Joseph, King of Bulgaria (1879-1886)
• Denmark
  • Monarch – Christian IX, King of Denmark (1863-1906)
  • Prime Minister – Jakob Brønnum Scavenius Estrup, Prime Minister of Denmark (1875-1894)
• France –
  • President –
    1. Patrice Mac-Mahon, duc de Magenta, President of France (1873-1879)
    2. Jules Grévy, President of France (1879-1887)
  • Prime Minister -
    1. Jules Dufaure, President of the Council (1877-1879)
    2. William Henry Waddington, President of the Council (1879)
    3. Charles de Freycinet, President of the Council (1879-1880)
• Germany –
  • Monarch – Wilhelm I, German Emperor (1871-1888)
  • Chancellor – Otto von Bismarck, Chancellor of Germany (1871-1890)
  • see List of German rulers in 1879
• Greece – George I, King of the Hellenes (1863-1913)
• Holy See – Pope Leo XIII, Bishop of Rome (1878-1903)
• Italy
  • Monarch – Umberto I, King of Italy (1878-1900)
  • Prime Minister –
    1. Agostino Depretis, Prime Minister of Italy (1878-1879)
    2. Benedetto Cairoli, Prime Minister of Italy (1879-1881)
• Liechtenstein – Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein (1858-1929)
• Luxembourg – Guillaume III, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (1849-1890)
• Monaco – Charles III, Prince of Monaco (1856-1889)
• Montenegro – Nicholas I, Prince of Montenegro (1860-1910/1918/1921)
• Netherlands –
  • Monarch – William III, King of the Netherlands (1849-1890)
  • Prime Minister –
    1. Jan Kappeyne van de Copello, Former of the Cabinet (1877-1879)
    2. Theo graaf van Lynden van Sandenburg, Former of the Cabinet (1879-1883)
• Norway – Oscar II, King of Norway (1872-1905)
• Portugal – Luis I, King of Portugal (1861-1889)
• Romania – Carol I, Prince of Romania (1866-1881/1914)
• Russia – Alexander II, Tsar of Russia (1855-1881)
• San Marino  – Camillo Bonelli and Pietro Berti, Captains Regent (1878-1879)
• Serbia – Milan II, Prince of Serbia (1868-1882/1889)
• Spain –
  • Monarch – Alfonso XII of Spain, King of Spain (1875-1885)
    1. Antonio Cánovas Del Castillo, Prime Minister of Spain (1874-1875, 1875-1879, 1879-1881, 1884-1885, 1890-1892, 1895-1897)
    2. Arsenio Martínez-Campos Antón, Prime Minister of Spain (1879)
    3. Antonio Cánovas Del Castillo, Prime Minister of Spain (1874-1875, 1875-1879, 1879-1881, 1884-1885, 1890-1892, 1895-1897)
• Sweden – Kingdom of Sweden-Norway
  • Monarch – Oscar II, King of Sweden (1872-1907)
  • Prime Minister – Louis Gerhard De Geer, Prime Minister of Sweden (1876-1880)
• United Kingdom –
  • Monarch – Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1837-1901)
  • Prime Minister – Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1868, 1874-1880)

Middle East and North Africa

• Abu Dhabi – Zaid ibn Khalifa, Shaikh of Abu Dhabi (1855-1909)
• Egypt –
  • Monarch –
    1. Ismail, Khedive of Egypt (1867-1879)
    2. Tawfiq, Khedive of Egypt (1879-1892)
• Morocco – Hassan I, Sultan of Morocco (1873-1894)
• Oman – Turki ibn Sa'id, Sultan of Oman (1871-1888)
• Ottoman Empire
  • Monarch – Abd-ul-Hamid II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1876-1909)
  • Chief Minister  –
    1. Tunuslu Hayreddin Pasha, Chief Minister of the Ottoman Empire (1878-1879)
    2. Arifi Pasha, Chief Minister of the Ottoman Empire (1879)
    3. Küçük Mehmed Said Pasha, Chief Minister of the Ottoman Empire (1879-1882)
• Persia – Nasir ed-Din, Shah of Persia (1848-1896)
• Tunis – Muhammad as-Sadiq, Bey of Tunis (1859-1882)

North America and the Caribbean

• Canada -
  • Monarch – Victoria, Queen of Canada (1837-1901)
  • Governor General – Marquess of Lorne, Governor-General of Canada (1878-1883)
  • Prime Minister – John A. Macdonald, Prime Minister of Canada (1867-1891)
• Costa Rica – Tomás Guardia, Acting President of Costa Rica (1877-1880/1882)
• Dominican Republic – Council of Secretaries of State (1878-1879)
• El Salvador – Rafael Zaldívar, President of El Salvador (1876-1885)
• Guatemala – Justo Rufino Barrios, President of Guatemala (1873-1885)
• Haiti –
  1. Pierre Théoma Boisrond-Canal, President of Haiti (1876-1879)
• Honduras – Marco Aurelio Soto, President of Honduras (1876-1883)
• Mexico – Porfirio Diaz, President of Mexico (1876-1880)
• Nicaragua –
  1. Pedro Joaquín Chamorro, President of Nicaragua (1875-1879)
  2.  ???
• United States – Rutherford B. Hayes, President of the United States (1877-1881)

South America

• Argentina – Nicolás Avellaneda, President of Argentina (1874-1880)
• Bolivia – Hilarión Daza, Provisional President of Bolivia (1876-1879)
• Brazil – Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil (1831-1889)
• Chile – Aníbal Pinto, President of Chile (1876-1881)
• Colombia – Julián Trujillo Largacha, President of Colombia (1878-1880)
• Ecuador – Ignacio de Veintemilla, Supreme Chief of Ecuador (1876-1878/1883)
• Paraguay – Cándido Bareiro, President of Paraguay (1878-1880)
• Peru –
  1. Mariano Ignacio Prado, President of Peru (1876-1879)
  2.  ???
• Uruguay – Lorenzo Latorre, Provisional Governor of Uruguay (1876-1879)
• Venezuela – Jacinto Gutiérrez Martínez, acting President of Venezuela (1878-1879)