List of state leaders in 1861

This is a list of heads of state, government leaders, and other rulers in the year 1861.

Africa

• Ashanti Confederacy – Kwaku Dua I Panyin, Asantehene (1834–1867)
• Kingdom of Buganda – Muteesa I (1856–1884)
• Bunyoro – Kyebambe IV, Omukama of Bunyoro (1852–1869)
• Kingdom of Burundi – Mwezi IV Gisabo (1852–1908)
• Kingdom of Dahomey – Glele (1856–1889)
• Ethiopian Empire – Tewodros II (1855–1868)
• Liberia – Stephen Allen Benson, President of Liberia (1856–1864)
• Kingdom of Rwanda – Kigeli IV (1853–1895)
• Sokoto Caliphate
  • Caliph – Ahmad bin Atiku (1859–1866)
  • Grand Vizier - Ibrahim Khalilu (1859-c. 1874)
• Wituland – Ahmad ibn Fumo Bakari, Sultan (1858–1885)
• Sultanate of Zanzibar – Sayyid Majid bin Said Al-Busaid (1856–1870)
• Zulu – Mpande kaSenzangakhona, King of the Zulu (1840–1872)

Asia

• Emirate of Afghanistan – Dost Mohammad Khan (1843–1863)
• China
  • Qing dynasty
    1. - Xianfeng Emperor (1850–1861)
    2. - Tongzhi Emperor (1861–1875)
  • Taiping Heavenly Kingdom – Hong Xiuquan (1851–1864)
• Empire of Japan
  • Monarch – Kōmei (1846–1867)
  • Tokugawa shogunate – Tokugawa Iemochi (1858–1866)
  • Ryukyu Kingdom - Shō Tai (1848-11 March 1879)
• Joseon (Korea) – Cheoljong (1849–1864)
• Sultanate of Oman – Thuwaini bin Said (1856–1866)
• Đại Nam (Nguyễn dynasty) - Tự Đức, Emperor (1847–1883)

Europe

• Principality of Abkhazia – Mikhail (1822–1864)
• Belgium
  • Monarch – Léopold I, King of the Belgians (1831–1865)
  • Cabinet Chief - Charles Rogier (1847–1852, 1857–1868)
• Kingdom of Denmark –
  • Monarch – Frederick VII (1848–1863)
  • Prime Minister - Carl Christian Hall (1860–1863)
• Second French Empire – Napoleon III (1852–1870)
• Kingdom of Italy
  • Monarch – Vittorio Emanuele II (1861–1878)
  • Prime Minister -
    1. Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour (1861)
    2. Bettino Ricasoli (1861–1862)
• German Confederation – Franz Joseph of Austria, President (1850–1866)
  • Austrian Empire – Franz Joseph I (1848–1916)
  • Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
    • Monarch – William III of the Netherlands (1849–1890)
    • Prime Minister - Victor de Tornaco (1860–1867)
  • Kingdom of Prussia –
    • Monarch -
      1. Friedrich Wilhelm IV (1840–1861)
      2. Wilhelm I (1861–1888)
    • Regent -
      1. Prince Wilhelm, Regent of Prussia (1858–1861)
      2. became King
    • Minister-President - Karl Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1858–1862)
  • Kingdom of Bavaria – Maximilian II (1848–1864)
  • Kingdom of Saxony – Johann (1854–1873)
  • Kingdom of Hanover – George (1851–1866)
  • Kingdom of Württemberg – William (1816–1864)
• Kingdom of Greece –
  • Monarch – Otto (1832–1862)
  • Prime Minister - Athanasios Miaoulis (1857–1862)
• Kingdom of Hungary – Franz Joseph I of Austria (1848–1916)
• Kingdom of the Netherlands
  • Monarch – William III (1849–1890)
  • Chairman of the Dutch Council of Ministers -
    1. Floris Adriaan van Hall,(1853–1857, 1860–1861)
    2. Jacob van Zuylen van Nijevelt (1861)
    3. Schelto van Heemstra (1861–1862)
• Ottoman (Turkish) Empire
  • Sultan -
    1. Abdülmecid I (1839–1861)
    2. Abdülaziz (1861–1876)
  • Grand Vizier -
    1. Kıbrıslı Mehmed Emin Pasha (1860–1861)
    2. Mehmed Emin Aali Pasha (1861)
    3. Mehmed Fuad Pasha (1861–1863)
• Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves
  • Monarch -
    1. Pedro V (1853–1861)
    2. Luís I (1861–1889)
  • President of the Council of Ministers - Marquess of Loulé (1860–1862)
• United Principalities – Alexandru Ioan Cuza (1859–1866)
• Russian Empire – Alexander II (1855–1881)
• Kingdom of Spain – Isabella II (September 29, 1833 – 1868)
• Kingdom of Sweden – United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway - Charles XV (1859–1872)
• United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland –
  • Monarch – Victoria (1837–1901)
  • Prime Minister - Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (1859–1865)

Middle East and North Africa

• Egypt Eyalet – Sa'id, Governor of Egypt (1854–1863)
• Sultanate of Morocco – Muhammad IV (1859–1873)

North America

• Province of Canada:
  1. Sir Edmund Walker Head, Governor of the Province of Canada (1854–1861)
  2. The Viscount Monck of Ballytrammon, Governor of the Province of Canada (1861–1867)
• Confederate States of America – Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America (1861–1865)
• Costa Rica – José María Montealegre Fernández, President of Costa Rica (1859–1863)
• Mexico: Benito Juárez, President of Mexico (1861–1863)
• United States of America:
  1. James Buchanan, President of the United States (1857–1861)
  2. Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States (1861–1865)

Oceania

• Kingdom of Hawaii – Kamehameha IV (1854–1863)
• Mangareva – Joseph Gregorio II, King of Mangareva (1857–1868)
• Samoa – Malietoa Talavou Tonumaipe’a, Malietoa (1860–1880)
• Tonga – Tāufaʻāhau, Tu'i Kanokupolu (1845–1893)

South America

• Argentina
  1. Santiago Derqui, President of Argentina (1860–1861)
  2. Juan Esteban Pedernera, acting President of Argentina (1861)
  • State of Buenos Aires
    1. Bartolomé Mitre, Governor of Buenos Aires Province (1860–1862)
• Bolivia
  1. José María Linares Lizarazu, President of Bolivia (1857–1861)
  2. José María Achá Valiente, President of Bolivia (1861–1864)
• Empire of Brazil –
  • Monarch – Pedro II (1831–1889)
  • Prime Minister -
    1. Ângelo Moniz da Silva Ferraz, Baron of Uruguaiana (1859–1861)
    2. Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Marquis of Caxias (1861–1862)
• Chile
  1. Manuel Montt Torres, President of Chile (1851–1861)
  2. José Joaquín Pérez Mascayano, President of Chile (1861–1871)
• Ecuador – Gabriel García Moreno, President of Ecuador (1859–1865)
• Granadine Confederation
  1. Mariano Ospina Rodríguez, President (1858–1861)
  2. Julio Arboleda, President (1861–1862)
• Paraguay – Carlos Antonio López, President of Paraguay (1844–1862)
• Peru – Ramón Castilla, President of Peru (1855–1862)
• Uruguay – Bernardo Berro, President of Uruguay (1860–1864)
• Venezuela
  1. Manuel Felipe de Tovar, President of Venezuela (1859–1861)
  2. Pedro Gual Escandón, President of Venezuela (1861)
  3. José Antonio Páez, President of Venezuela (1861–1863)