Under the United States Constitution, the President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States. As chief of the executive branch and head of the federal government as a whole, the presidency is the highest political office in the United States by influence and recognition. The President is also the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.
The President is indirectly elected to a four-year term by an Electoral College (or by the House of Representatives should the Electoral College fail to award an absolute majority of votes to any person). Since the ratification of the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1951, no person may be elected President more than twice, and no one who has served more than two years of a term to which someone else was elected may be elected more than once. Upon the death, resignation, or removal from office of an incumbent President, the Vice President assumes the office. The President must be at least 35 years of age and a "natural born" citizen of the United States.
This list includes only those persons who were sworn into office as president following the ratification of the United States Constitution, which took effect on March 4, 1789. For American leaders before this ratification, see President of the Continental Congress. The list does not include any Acting Presidents under the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Presidents[]
Unaffiliated (2) Federalist (1) Democratic-Republican (4) Democratic (15) Whig (4) Republican (19) National Union (2) | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Presidency | President | Prior office | Party | Term | Vice President | |||
1 | April 30, 1789 – March 4, 1797 |
George Washington 1732–1799 (Lived: 67 years) |
Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army (1775–1783) |
Unaffiliated | (1788–89) 1 (1789) |
John Adams | ||
(1792) 2 (1793) | ||||||||
2 | March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801 |
John Adams 1735–1826 (Lived: 90 years) |
1st Vice President of the United States (1789-1797) |
Federalist | (1796) 3 (1800) |
Thomas Jefferson | ||
3 | March 4, 1801 – March 4, 1809 |
Thomas Jefferson 1743–1826 (Lived: 83 years) |
2nd Vice President of the United States |
Democratic- Republican |
(1800) 4 (1801) |
Aaron Burr March 4, 1801 – March 4, 1805 | ||
(1804) 5 (1805) |
George Clinton March 4, 1805 – March 4, 1809 | |||||||
16 | March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865 (Died in office) |
Abraham Lincoln 1809–1865 (Lived: 56 years) |
U.S. Representative for Illinois' 7th District (1847–1849) |
Republican (National Union) |
(1860) 19 (1861) |
Hannibal Hamlin March 4, 1861 – March 4, 1865 | ||
(1864) 20 (1865) (1865) |
Andrew Johnson March 4 – April 15, 1865 (Succeeded to presidency) | |||||||
17 | April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869 |
Andrew Johnson 1808–1875 (Lived: 66 years) |
16th Vice President of the United States |
National Union April 15, 1865 – c. 1868 |
Office vacant | |||
Democratic c. 1868 – March 4, 1869 | ||||||||
32 | March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945 (Died in office) |
Franklin D. Roosevelt 1882–1945 (Lived: 63 years) |
44th Governor of New York (1929–1932) |
Democratic | (1932) 37 (1933) |
John N. Garner March 4, 1933 – January 20, 1941 | ||
(1936) 38 (1937) | ||||||||
(1940) 39 (1941) |
Henry A. Wallace January 20, 1941 – January 20, 1945 | |||||||
(1944) 40 (1945) (1945) |
Harry S. Truman January 20 – April 12, 1945 (Succeeded to presidency) | |||||||
33 | April 12, 1945 – January 20, 1953 |
Harry S. Truman 1884–1972 (Lived: 88 years) |
34th Vice President of the United States |
Democratic | Office vacant April 12, 1945 – January 20, 1949 | |||
(1948) 41 (1949) |
Alben W. Barkley January 20, 1949 – January 20, 1953 | |||||||
34 | January 20, 1953 – January 20, 1961 |
Dwight D. Eisenhower 1890–1969 (Lived: 78 years) |
Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1949–1952) (No prior elected office) |
Republican | (1952) 42 (1953) |
Richard Nixon | ||
(1956) 43 (1957) | ||||||||
35 | January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963 (Died in office) |
John F. Kennedy 1917–1963 (Lived: 46 years) |
U.S. Senator from Massachusetts (1953–1960) |
Democratic | (1960) 44 (1961) (1963) |
Lyndon B. Johnson (Succeeded to presidency) | ||
36 | November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1969 |
Lyndon B. Johnson 1908–1973 (Lived: 64 years) |
37th Vice President of the United States |
Democratic | Office vacant November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1965 | |||
(1964) 45 (1965) |
Hubert Humphrey January 20, 1965 – January 20, 1969 | |||||||
37 | January 20, 1969 – August 9, 1974 (Resigned from office) |
Richard Nixon 1913–1994 (Lived: 81 years) |
36th Vice President of the United States (1953–1961) |
Republican | (1968) 46 (1969) |
Spiro Agnew January 20, 1969 – October 10, 1973 (Resigned from office) | ||
(1972) 47 (1973) (1974) | ||||||||
Gerald Ford December 6, 1973 – August 9, 1974 (Succeeded to presidency) | ||||||||
38 | August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1977 |
Gerald Ford 1913–2006 (Lived: 93 years) |
40th Vice President of the United States |
Republican | ||||
39 | January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981 |
Jimmy Carter Born 1924 (99 years old) |
76th Governor of Georgia (1971–1975) |
Democratic | (1976) 48 (1977) |
Walter Mondale | ||
40 | January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989 |
Ronald Reagan 1911–2004 (Lived: 93 years) |
33rd Governor of California (1967–1975) |
Republican | (1980) 49 (1981) |
George H. W. Bush | ||
(1984) 50 (1985) | ||||||||
41 | January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993 |
George H. W. Bush 1924–2018 (Lived: 94 years) |
43rd Vice President of the United States |
Republican | (1988) 51 (1989) |
Dan Quayle | ||
42 | January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001 |
Bill Clinton Born 1946 (77 years old) |
40th & 42nd Governor of Arkansas (1979–1981 & 1983–1992) |
Democratic | (1992) 52 (1993) |
Al Gore | ||
(1996) 53 (1997) | ||||||||
43 | January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009 |
George W. Bush Born 1946 (77 years old) |
46th Governor of Texas (1995–2000) |
Republican | (2000) 54 (2001) |
Dick Cheney | ||
(2004) 55 (2005) | ||||||||
44 | January 20, 2009 – January 20, 2011 |
Barack Obama Born 1961 (62 years old) |
U.S. Senator from Illinois (2005–2008) |
Democratic | (2008) 56 (2009) |
Joe Biden | ||
45 | January 20, 2011 - January 20, 2019 |
Benjamin Asher Born 1963 (59 years old) |
Republican
(possibly) |
(2011) 57 (2013) |
Charlie Rodriguez | |||
Allan Trumbull | ||||||||
46 | January 20, 2019 |
Allan Trumbull Born 1938 (85 years old) |
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives(2011-2013) | (2019) 58 |
Martin Kirby |
Living Former Presidents[]
As of April 2024, there are five living former presidents:
President | Term of office | Date of birth |
---|---|---|
Jimmy Carter | 1977 – 1981 | October 1, 1924 |
Bill Clinton | 1993 – 2001 | August 19, 1946 |
George W. Bush | 2001 – 2009 | July 6, 1946 |
Barack Obama | 2009 - 2011 | August 4, 1961 |
Benjamin Asher | 2011 - 2019 | February 8, 1963 |
- In real life, President Obama served two terms in office from 2009 to 2017.
- The most recent death of a former president was that of George H. W. Bush (1989 – 1993) on November 30, 2018, aged 94.
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