List of state leaders in 1961

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

Africa

• Guinea – Ahmed Sékou Touré, President of Guinea (1958-1984)

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)
• 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-
    1. John Myon Chang, Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea (1960-1961)
    2. Chang To-yong, Chief Cabinet Minister of the Republic of Korea (1961)
    3. 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)
• 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 -
    1. William Morrison, Governor-General of Australia (1960-1961)
    2. William Sidney, Governor-General of Australia (1961-1965)
  • Prime Minister – Sir Robert Menzies, Prime Minister of Australia (1939-1941, 1949-1966)

Europe

• 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 -
    1. Jussi Sukselainen, Prime Minister of Finland (1959-1961)
    2. 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 Italy (1955-1962)
  • Prime Minister – Amintore Fanfani, Prime Minister of Italy (1960-1963)
• The Netherlands
  • Monarch – Juliana, Queen of The Netherlands (1948 – 1980)
  • Prime Minister – Jan Eduard de Quay, Prime Minister of The Netherlands (1959 – 1963)
• 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)
• Sweden
  • Monarch – Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden, King of Sweden (1950-1973)
  • Prime Minister – Tage Erlander, Prime Minister of Sweden (1946-1969)
• 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 –
    1. Domenico Cardinal Tardini, Cardinal Secretary of State (1952-1961)
    2. 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 (1962-present)
  • Governor General – Georges Vanier, Governor General (1959-1967)
  • Prime Minister – John Diefenbaker, Prime Minister (1957-1963)
• United States –
  1. Dwight Eisenhower, President of the United States (1953-1961)
  2. John Kennedy, President of the United States (1961-1963)

South America

• Brazil –
  1. Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, President of Brazil (1956-1961)
  2. Jânio da Silva Quadros, President of Brazil (1961)
  3. Pascoal Ranieri Mazzilli, Provisional President of Brazil (1961)
  4. 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)