Age of US Presidents when first taking office 1789-2021
Since 1789, 45 different men have served as President of the United States (Grover Cleveland served as the 22nd and 24th president; therefore Joe Biden is officially the 46th president), and the average age of these men when taking office for the first time was approximately 56 years and 261 days. Generally speaking, Republican Party presidents have a fairly even split above and below the average age, whereas around two thirds of Democratic candidates have been younger than this average when assuming office. The first nine U.S. presidents were all older than 57 years old.
While there are many current monarchs or heads of state in their 80s and 90s, very few of them were elected to office; the oldest elected state leaders in recent years were (now-retired) Mahathir bin Mohamad of Malaysia, who was two months shy of 93 when elected to office in 2018, and the current President of Lebanon, Michel Aoun, who was over 81 years old when first elected to power. The Queen of England will turn 95 in April this year, while Pope Francis will celebrate his 85th birthday in December.
Record holders
The youngest presidents to take office were Theodore Roosevelt in 1901 (42 years and 322 days), who ascended following the assassination of William McKinley, and the youngest elected president was John F Kennedy in 1961 (43 years and 236 days). The oldest presidents to take office were Donald Trump in 2017 (70 years and 220 days), and Ronald Reagan in 1981 (69 years and 349 days); until the most recent election saw Joe Biden (78 years, 61 days) become the oldest man to ever become president, by a margin of almost eight years. Historically, there seems to be little correlation between age and electability, and the past five presidents have included the two oldest to ever take office, and two of the youngest.Leaders in other countries
Across the world, there are elected leaders from a wide range of ages. 2020 saw the election of the two youngest sitting world leaders; with 34 year old Sanna Marin's election as the Prime Minister of Finland, and 33 year old Sebastian Kurz's re-election as the Chancellor of Austria (after having also served in this position at 31 years old). Several unelected current-leaders also, came in to power at an even earlier age than this; as North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, assumed office at the age of 28 (possibly 27), while the King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, ascended to the throne at the age of 26. In contrast to this, US presidents must be at least 35 years old upon their inauguration.While there are many current monarchs or heads of state in their 80s and 90s, very few of them were elected to office; the oldest elected state leaders in recent years were (now-retired) Mahathir bin Mohamad of Malaysia, who was two months shy of 93 when elected to office in 2018, and the current President of Lebanon, Michel Aoun, who was over 81 years old when first elected to power. The Queen of England will turn 95 in April this year, while Pope Francis will celebrate his 85th birthday in December.
