This article discusses the past presidents of Djibouti since the establishment of the office and the term limits of the office holders.
This is a list of presidents of Djibouti. Since the establishment of the office of president in 1977, there have been two presidents. The president is both head of state and head of government of Djibouti and the commander-in-chief of the Djibouti Armed Forces. The current president is Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, since 1999.
Read: POLITICAL HISTORY OF DJIBOUTI
Overview
The first president of Djibouti was Hassan Gouled Aptidon, one of the leaders of the Ligue Populaire Africaine pour l’Indépendance (LPAI), who took office on 27 June 1977, the day on which Djibouti was declared a republic.
Term limits
There was a two-term limit for the president in the Constitution of Djibouti. This limit was lifted in 2010.
List of officeholders
| No. | Name (Birth–Death) |
Elected | Term of office | Political party | |||
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
| • Republic of Djibouti (1977–present) • | |||||||
| 1 | Hassan Gouled Aptidon (1915–2006) |
1981 1987 1993 |
27 June 1977 | 8 May 1999 | 21 years, 315 days | RPP | |
| 2 | Ismaïl Omar Guelleh (born 1946) |
1999 2005 2011 2016 2021 |
8 May 1999 | Incumbent | 24 years, 111 days | RPP | |
Latest election
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
| Ismaïl Omar Guelleh | People’s Rally for Progress | 155,291 | 97.30 | |
| Zakaria Ismael Farah | MDEND | 4,314 | 2.70 | |
| Total | 159,605 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 159,605 | 96.81 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 5,261 | 3.19 | ||
| Total votes | 164,866 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 215,687 | 76.44 | ||
| Source: journal officiel | ||||