List of heads of state of Guyana


This is a list of the heads of state of Guyana, from independence in 1966 to the present day.
From 1966 to 1970 the head of state under the Guyana Independence Act 1966 was the Queen of Guyana, Elizabeth II, who was also the Monarch of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. The Queen was represented in Guyana by a Governor-General. Guyana became a republic under the Constitution of 1970 and the Monarch and Governor-General were replaced by a ceremonial President, by that time. Currently, the President of Guyana is both head of state and head of government and is elected by the National Assembly.

Monarch (1966–1970)

The succession to the throne was the same as the succession to the British throne.

Governor-General

The Governor-General was the representative of the Monarch in Guyana 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. The Governor-General was appointed solely on the advice of the Cabinet of Guyana without the involvement of the British government. In the event of a vacancy the Chief Justice served as Officer Administering the Government.
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President of Guyana

Under the 1970 Constitution of the Republic of Guyana, the President replaced the Monarch as ceremonial head of state. The President was elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term. In the event of a vacancy the Prime Minister served as Acting President. In 1980, the powers of the President were increased, with the establishment of the executive presidency.
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Timeline


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Period = from:1970 till:03/06/2018
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text:"Political parties:"
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bar:ForbesBurnham
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bar:JanetJagan
bar:BharratJagdeo
bar:DonaldRamotar
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width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift: anchor:till
bar:SirEdwardLuckhoo
from: 23/02/1970 till: 17/03/1970 color:none text:"Sir Edward Luckhoo"
bar:ArthurChung
from: 17/03/1970 till: 06/10/1980 color:none text:"Arthur Chung"
bar:ForbesBurnham
from: 06/10/1980 till: 06/08/1985 color:peoplesnationalcongress text:"Forbes Burnham"
bar:DesmondHoyte
from: 06/08/1985 till: 09/10/1992 color:peoplesnationalcongress text:"Desmond Hoyte"
bar:CheddiJagan
from: 09/10/1992 till: 06/03/1997 color:peoplesprogressiveparty text:"Cheddi Jagan"
bar:SamHinds
from: 06/03/1997 till: 19/12/1997 color:peoplesprogressiveparty text:"Sam Hinds"
bar:JanetJagan
from: 19/12/1997 till: 11/08/1999 color:peoplesprogressiveparty text:"Janet Jagan"
bar:BharratJagdeo
from: 11/08/1999 till: 03/12/2011 color:peoplesprogressiveparty text:"Bharrat Jagdeo"
bar:DonaldRamotar
from: 03/12/2011 till: 16/05/2015 color:peoplesprogressiveparty text:"Donald Ramotar"
bar:DavidGranger
from: 16/05/2015 till: end color:peoplesnationalcongress text:"David Granger"

Standards

Living former heads of state

There are four living former Guyana Heads of State:
ImageNameTerm/ReignOfficeDate of birth
Elizabeth II1966–1970Queen of Guyana
Sam Hinds1997President of Guyana
Bharrat Jagdeo1999–2011President of Guyana
Donald Ramotar2011–2015President of Guyana