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"@type" : "ListItem", "position" : 2, "item" : { "@id" : "https://www.britannica.com/browse/World-Leaders", "name": "World Leaders" } } , { "@type" : "ListItem", "position" : 3, "item" : { "@id" : "https://www.britannica.com/browse/Presidents", "name": "Presidents & Heads of States" } } ] } </script> <nav class="breadcrumb justify-content-center"> <span class="breadcrumb-item "> <a href="/" class="link-white">Home</a> </span> <span class="breadcrumb-item "> <a class="link-white" href="/browse/Politics-Law-Government">Politics, Law & Government</a> </span> <span class="breadcrumb-item "> <a class="link-white" href="/browse/World-Leaders">World Leaders</a> </span> <span class="breadcrumb-item "> Presidents & Heads of States </span> </nav> <h1 class="font-serif mt-30 mb-20">Presidents & Heads of States</h1> <div class="font-serif grid"> <div class="col-sm-70 col-sm-offset-15"> President, in government, the officer in whom the chief executive power of a nation is vested. The president of a republic is the head of state, but the actual power of the president varies from country to country; in the United States, Africa, and Latin America the presidential office is charged with great powers and responsibilities, but the office is relatively weak and largely ceremonial in Europe and in many countries where the prime minister, or premier, functions as the chief executive officer.</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="container"> <h2 class="label my-30">Presidents & Heads of States Encyclopedia Articles</h2> <div class="grid top g-10 mb-40"> <div class="col-33 col-sm-20 col-md-16 col-lg-10"> <div class="border shadow p-10 text-center "> <a class="font-weight-bold font-14 " href="/browse/Presidents/1">ABA-BUC</a> </div> </div> <div class="col-33 col-sm-20 col-md-16 col-lg-10"> <div class="border shadow p-10 text-center "> <a class="font-weight-bold font-14 " href="/browse/Presidents/2">BUC-FAL</a> </div> </div> <div class="col-33 col-sm-20 col-md-16 col-lg-10"> <div class="border shadow p-10 text-center "> <a class="font-weight-bold font-14 " href="/browse/Presidents/3">FAR-JAG</a> </div> </div> <div class="col-33 col-sm-20 col-md-16 col-lg-10"> <div class="border shadow p-10 text-center "> <a class="font-weight-bold font-14 " href="/browse/Presidents/4">JAG-MAD</a> </div> </div> <div class="col-33 col-sm-20 col-md-16 col-lg-10"> <div class="border shadow p-10 text-center "> <a class="font-weight-bold font-14 " href="/browse/Presidents/5">MAG-OSM</a> </div> </div> <div class="col-33 col-sm-20 col-md-16 col-lg-10"> <div class="border shadow p-10 text-center "> <a class="font-weight-bold font-14 " href="/browse/Presidents/6">OTU-SAN</a> </div> </div> <div class="col-33 col-sm-20 col-md-16 col-lg-10"> <div class="border shadow p-10 text-center "> <a class="font-weight-bold font-14 " href="/browse/Presidents/7">SAN-WAH</a> </div> </div> <div class="col-33 col-sm-20 col-md-16 col-lg-10"> <div class="border shadow p-10 text-center "> <a class="font-weight-bold font-14 " href="/browse/Presidents/8">WAL-ʿĀR</a> </div> </div> </div> <h2 class="label my-30 text-center">Featured Articles</h2> <div class="js-pinboard grid gy-20"> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex js-pin col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abraham-Lincoln" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/23/62223-050-D8BF8591/President-Abraham-Lincoln-painting-George-Healy-1887-National-Portrait-Gallery.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Abraham Lincoln portrait" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abraham-Lincoln" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">Abraham Lincoln</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States (1861–65), who preserved the Union during the American Civil War and brought about the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.... </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex js-pin col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Adams-president-of-United-States" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/90/18290-050-7EDEDFD8/United-States-President-John-Adams-painting-1826-Gilbert-Stuart-Smithsonian.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Gilbert Stuart: portrait of John Adams" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Adams-president-of-United-States" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">John Adams</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> John Adams was an early advocate of American independence from Great Britain, a major figure in the Continental Congress (1774–77), the author of the Massachusetts constitution (1780), a signer of the... </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex js-pin col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/head-of-state" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/24/243624-050-65D55978/King-Charles-III-Queen-Camilla-wave-balcony-Buckingham-Palace-Coronation-May-6-2023.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="The newly crowned royal couple" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/head-of-state" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">head of state</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Head of state, the highest representative of a sovereign state, who may or may not also be its head of government. 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The president of a republic is the head of state, but the actual power of the president varies from country... </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex js-pin col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Barack-Obama" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/164789-050-D6B5E2C7/Barack-Obama-2012.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Barack Obama" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Barack-Obama" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">Barack Obama</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Barack Obama is the 44th president of the United States (2009–17) and the first African American to hold the office. 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