View source for List of heads of state of Kenya

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use Kenyan English|date=August 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Politics of Kenya}}

This is a list of the '''heads of state of Kenya''', from the independence of [[Kenya]] in 1963 to the present day.

From 1963 to 1964 the head of state under the [[Constitution of Kenya|Constitution]] of 1963 was the [[queen of Kenya]], [[Elizabeth II]], who was also the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|queen of the United Kingdom]] and the other [[Commonwealth realm]]s. The monarch was represented in Kenya by a governor-general. Kenya became a [[Republics in the Commonwealth of Nations|republic within the Commonwealth]] under a 1964 constitutional amendment and the monarch, governor-general and prime minister were replaced by an executive [[President of Kenya|president]].

==Monarch (1963–1964)==
The succession to the throne was the same as the [[succession to the British throne]].
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:100%;text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" |{{Abbr|No.|Number}}
! rowspan="2" |Portrait
! rowspan="2" |Name<br>{{small|(birth–death)}}
! colspan="3" |Reign
! rowspan="2" |Royal House
! rowspan="2" |[[Prime Minister of Kenya|Prime minister(s)]]
|-
! Reign start
! Reign end
! Duration
|-
! 1
| [[File:Queen Elizabeth II official portrait for 1959 tour (retouched) (cropped) (3-to-4 aspect ratio).jpg|100px]]
| Queen [[Elizabeth II]]<br />{{small|(1926–2022)}}
| {{nowrap|12 December}} 1963
| {{nowrap|12 December}} 1964
| {{age in years|1963|12|12|1964|12|12}} year
| [[House of Windsor|Windsor]]
| [[Jomo Kenyatta|Kenyatta]]
|}

===Governor-general===
The governor-general was the representative of the monarch in Kenya and exercised most of the powers of the monarch. The governor-general was appointed for an indefinite term, serving at the pleasure of the monarch. Since Kenya was granted independence by the Kenya Independence Act 1963, rather than being first established as a semi-autonomous [[dominion]] and later promoted to independence as defined by the [[Statute of Westminster 1931]], the governor-general was to be always appointed solely on the advice of the [[Cabinet of Kenya]] without the involvement of the British government. As Kenya became a republic before Malcolm MacDonald, the former colonial governor, was replaced, this has never happened. In the event of a vacancy the [[Chief Justice of Kenya|chief justice]] would have served as the [[Administrator of the Government|officer administering the government]].

;Status
{{legend|#E6E6AA|Denotes Chief Justice acting as Officer Administering the Government}}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:100%;text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" |{{Abbr|No.|Number}}
! rowspan="2" |Portrait
! rowspan="2" |Name<br />{{small|(birth–death)}}
! colspan="3" |Term of office
! rowspan="2" |Monarch
! rowspan="2" |[[Prime Minister of Kenya|Prime minister]]
|-
! Took office
! Left office
! Time in office
|-
! 1
| [[File:Malcolmmacdonald.jpg|100px]]
| [[Malcolm MacDonald]]<br />{{small|(1901–1981)}}
| {{nowrap|12 December}} 1963
| {{nowrap|12 December}} 1964
| {{age in years|1963|12|12|1964|12|12}} year
| Elizabeth II
| [[Jomo Kenyatta|Kenyatta]]
|}

==Republic (1964–current)==
Under the 1964 Constitutional Amendment establishing the Republic of Kenya, the president replaced the monarch as head of state and the prime minister as chief executive. The president was initially elected by the [[House of Representatives of Kenya]], and, after the merger of the House of Representatives and [[Senate of Kenya|Senate]] into a [[unicameral]] [[National Assembly of Kenya|National Assembly]], by the National Assembly, for a five-year term. In the event of a vacancy the [[Deputy President of Kenya|vice-president]] would have served as [[acting (law)|acting]] president for 90 days until new elections were held.

Following the enactment of the 1969 Constitution of Kenya, the system of election by the National Assembly was replaced by direct elections under a [[first-past-the-post]] system, yet true [[separation of powers]] was still not established; the president had to also be elected as an MP and he had to appoint ministers from among MPs, the president was still able to dissolve the National Assembly, and the Assembly was still able to declare no confidence in the ministers. Additionally, until the first multiparty elections in 1992, only one candidate - that of the Kenya African National Union - was nominated and automatically declared winner of the elections without voting actually being held.

With the enactment of the 2010 Constitution, Kenya's current, the first-past-the-post system was replaced in presidential elections in favor of a [[two-round system]], the post of vice-president was renamed deputy president and was made to automatically succeed to the presidency in case of a vacancy for the remainder of the term in a full, not merely acting, capacity, and the requirement of the president, DP, and ministers to also be MPs was abolished, finally establishing separation of powers between the executive and legislature.

; Political parties

{{legend|#FF0000|[[Kenya African National Union]] (KANU)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend|#1889C7|[[National Rainbow Coalition]] (NARC)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend|#5D76CB|[[Party of National Unity (Kenya)|Party of National Unity]] (PNU)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend|#FF0000|[[The National Alliance]] (TNA)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend|#FF0000|[[Jubilee Party]] (Jubilee)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend|{{party color|United Democratic Front (Malawi)}}|[[United Democratic Alliance (Kenya)|United Democratic Alliance]] (UDA)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
; Status
{{legend|#E6E6AA|Denotes acting president}}

; Symbols

{{note label|†|†|†}} Died in office

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2" |{{Abbr|No.|Number}}
! rowspan="2" |Portrait
! rowspan="2" |Name<br>{{small|(birth–death)}}
! rowspan="2" |Elected
! colspan="3" |Term of office
! rowspan="2" style="width: 120pt;" |Political party
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" style="width: 100pt;" |Vice president<br>{{small|(1964–2013)}}<br>Deputy president<br>{{small|(since 2013)}}
|-
! style="width: 100pt;" |Took office
! style="width: 100pt;" |Left office
! style="width: 100pt;" |Time in office
|-
! rowspan="5" style="background:{{party color|Kenya African National Union}}; color:white;" | 1
| rowspan="5" | [[File:Jomo Kenyatta.jpg|100px]]
| rowspan="5" | [[Jomo Kenyatta]]<br />{{small|(1897–1978)}}
| rowspan="3" | —
| rowspan="5" | 12 December 1964
| rowspan="5" | 22 August 1978{{ref label|†|†|†}}
| rowspan="5" | {{ayd|1964|12|12|1978|8|22}}
| rowspan="5" | [[Kenya African National Union|KANU]]
! style="background:{{party color|Kenya African National Union}}" |
| [[Jaramogi Oginga Odinga]]
|-
! style="background:{{party color|Kenya African National Union}}" |
| [[Joseph Murumbi]]
|-
! rowspan="4" style="background:{{party color|Kenya African National Union}}" |
| rowspan="4" | [[Daniel arap Moi]]
|-
| [[1969 Kenyan general election|1969]]
|-
| [[1974 Kenyan general election|1974]]
|-
! rowspan="11" style="background:{{party color|Kenya African National Union}}; color:white;" | 2
| rowspan="11" | [[File:Daniel arap Moi 1979b.jpg|100px]]
| rowspan="11" | [[Daniel arap Moi]]<br />{{small|(1924–2020)}}
|—
| style="background:#e6e6aa;" | 22 August 1978
| style="background:#e6e6aa;" | 8 November 1978
| rowspan="11" | {{ayd|1978|8|22|2002|12|30}}
| rowspan="11" |[[Kenya African National Union|KANU]]
|-
| [[1978 Kenyan presidential election|1978]]
| rowspan="10" | 8 November 1978
| rowspan="10" | 30 December 2002
! rowspan="3" style="background:{{party color|Kenya African National Union}}" |
| rowspan="3" | [[Mwai Kibaki]]
|-
| [[1979 Kenyan general election|1979]]
|-
| [[1983 Kenyan general election|1983]]
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[1988 Kenyan general election|1988]]
! rowspan="1" style="background:{{party color|Kenya African National Union}}" |
| rowspan="1" | [[Josephat Karanja]]
|-
! rowspan="3" style="background:{{party color|Kenya African National Union}}" |
| rowspan="3" | [[George Saitoti]]
|-
| [[1992 Kenyan general election|1992]]
|-
| rowspan="4" | [[1997 Kenyan general election|1997]]
|-
| colspan="2" rowspan="1" | Vacant
|-
! rowspan="1" style="background:{{party color|Kenya African National Union}}" |
| rowspan="1" | [[George Saitoti]]
|-
! rowspan="2" style="background:{{party color|Kenya African National Union}}" |
| rowspan="2" | [[Musalia Mudavadi]]
|-
! rowspan="3" style="background:{{party color|National Rainbow Coalition}}; color:white;" | 3
| rowspan="5" | [[File:Mwai Kibaki (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| rowspan="5" | [[Mwai Kibaki]]<br />{{small|(1931–2022)}}
| rowspan="3" | [[2002 Kenyan general election|2002]]
| rowspan="5" | 30 December 2002
| rowspan="5" | 9 April 2013
| rowspan="5" | {{ayd|2002|12|30|2013|4|9}}
| rowspan="3" | [[National Rainbow Coalition|NARC]]<br>{{small|(until 2007)}}
|-
! rowspan="1" style="background:{{party color|National Rainbow Coalition}}" |
| rowspan="1" | [[Michael Kijana Wamalwa]]
|-
! rowspan="1" style="background:{{party color|National Rainbow Coalition}}" |
| rowspan="2" | [[Moody Awori]]
|-
! rowspan="2" style="background:#5D76CB | (3)
| rowspan="2" | [[2007 Kenyan general election|2007]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Party of National Unity (Kenya)|PNU]]
! rowspan="1" style="background:#5D76CB" |
|-
! rowspan="1" style="background:{{party color|Wiper Democratic Movement – Kenya}}" |
| rowspan="1" | [[Kalonzo Musyoka]]
|-
! rowspan="2" style="background:#F5051c; color:white;" | 4
| rowspan="2" | [[File:2017 22 Inauguration Ceremony -21 (32236367533) (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Uhuru Kenyatta]]<br />{{small|(born 1961)}}
| [[2013 Kenyan general election|2013]]
| rowspan="2" | 9 April 2013
| rowspan="2" | 13 September 2022
| rowspan="2" | {{ayd|2013|4|9|2022|9|13}}
| rowspan="1" | [[The National Alliance|TNA]]<br>{{small|(until Sept. 2016)}}
! rowspan="2" style="background:{{party color|Jubilee Party}}" |
| rowspan="2" | [[William Ruto]]
|-
| [[October 2017 Kenyan presidential election|2017]]
| rowspan="1" | [[Jubilee Party|Jubilee]]
|-
! rowspan="2" style="background:{{party color|United Democratic Alliance (Kenya)}}; color:black;" | 5
| rowspan="2" | [[File:President Ruto Potrait 2022 (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| rowspan="2" | [[William Ruto]]<br />{{small|(born 1966)}}
| rowspan="2" | [[2022 Kenyan general election|2022]]
| rowspan="2" | 13 September 2022
| rowspan="2" | Incumbent
| rowspan="2" | {{ayd|2022|9|13}}
| rowspan="2" | [[United Democratic Alliance (Kenya)|UDA]]
! rowspan="2" style="background:{{party color|United Democratic Alliance (Kenya)}}" |
| [[Rigathi Gachagua]]
|-
| [[Kithure Kindiki]]
|}

== Timeline ==
{{#tag:timeline|
ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:21
PlotArea  = top:10 bottom:80 right:120 left:20
AlignBars = late

Define $today = {{#time:d/m/Y}}

Colors =
  id:kanu value:rgb(0.96,0.02,0.1) legend:Kenya_African_National_Union
  id:narc value:rgb(0.2,0.52,0.79) legend:National_Rainbow_Coalition
  id:pnu value:rgb(0.48,0.44,0.73) legend:Party_of_National_Unity 
  id:tna value:rgb(0.93,0.11,0.15) legend:The_National_Alliance
  id:jubilee value:rgb(0.75,0.02,0) legend:Jubilee_Party
  id:uda value:rgb(1,0.84,0) legend:United_Democratic_Alliance
  id:gray1  value:gray(0.85)
  id:gray2  value:gray(0.95)

DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period     = from:01/01/1964 till:$today
TimeAxis   = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:gray1 unit:year increment:5 start:1965
ScaleMinor = gridcolor:gray2 unit:year increment:1 start:1964

Legend     = columns:1 left:150 top:35 columnwidth:170

TextData =
  pos:(20,38) textcolor:black fontsize:M
  text:"Political party:"

BarData =
 bar:JKenyatta
 bar:arapMoi
 bar:Kibaki
 bar:UKenyatta
 bar:Ruto

PlotData =
  width:5 align:left fontsize:9 shift:(5,-4) anchor:till

 bar:JKenyatta
  from: 12/12/1964 till: 22/08/1978 color:kanu    text:"[[Jomo Kenyatta]]"
 bar:arapMoi
  from: 22/08/1978 till: 30/12/2002 color:kanu    text:"[[Daniel arap Moi]]"
 bar:Kibaki
  from: 30/12/2002 till: 16/09/2007 color:narc
  from: 16/09/2007 till: 09/04/2013 color:pnu     text:"[[Mwai Kibaki]]"
 bar:UKenyatta
  from: 09/04/2013 till: 07/09/2016 color:tna
  from: 07/09/2016 till: 13/09/2022 color:jubilee text:"[[Uhuru Kenyatta]]"
 bar:Ruto
  from: 13/09/2022 till: $today     color:uda     text:"[[William Ruto]]"

}}


==Standards==
<gallery class="center">
File:Flag of the Governor-General of Kenya (1963–1964).svg|Governor-General's Standard
File:Kenya presidential standard JOMO KENYATTA.svg|Presidential Standard of Jomo Kenyatta
File:Kenya presidential standard DANIEL ARAP MOI.svg|Presidential Standard of Daniel Arap Moi
File:Kenya presidential standard MWAI KIBAKI.svg|Presidential Standard of Mwai Kibaki
File:Kenya presidential standard UHURU KENYATTA.svg|Presidential Standard of Uhuru Kenyatta
File:Kenya Presidential Standard.svg|Presidential Standard of William Ruto – current
</gallery>

==External links==
{{reflist}}

*[http://rulers.org/ruljk.html#kenya Rulers.org – Kenya]
{{Heads of State of Kenya}}{{Kenya topics}}
{{Representatives of the monarch in Commonwealth realms and Dominions}}

[[Category:Heads of state of Kenya|*]]
[[Category:Lists of political office-holders in Kenya|H]]
[[Category:Presidents of Kenya|*]]
[[Category:Lists of national presidents|k]]
[[Category:Lists of rulers of Kenya|Heads of state]]
[[Category:Lists of heads of state|Kenya]]