Cameroon's Paul Biya has been in office since 1979; Uganda's Yoweri Museveni has been in office since 1986. Togo's Gnassingbe family (father, then son) have been in power since 1967.
Being in power since 1994 isn't that impressive. Belarus' Lukashenko also came to power in 1994. Azerbaijan's Aliyev family (father, then son) have been in power since 1993. Even with all the so-called democratization in the late 1980s and 1990s and the resultant End of History, viz. the conclusive triumph of liberal democracy over all other political systems, there are numerous countries where leaders have and will continue to hang on for a long time.
And there will be more to come. Egypt's el-Sisi hasn't been there that long, but he'll probably still be there for decades to come. Same with Chad's Mahamat Deby. Some of those recent coup leaders in West Africa—Doumbouya, Goita, Tchiani, Traore—could also conceivably be in power for decades to come, even though their countries all looked to be developing multi-party electoral systems in the 2010s.
There has been a lot of what liberal democrats call 'democratic backsliding' in the Africa of the 2010s and 2020s compared to the Africa of the 1990s and 2000s. Though this form of government doesn't look to me to be seriously threatened outside of Africa, I think that it's too soon to declare the End of History thesis either verified or falsified.
It's pretty nutty that the Tutsi rebel leader who eventually won the Rwandan Civil War in 1994, Paul Kagame, is still President in 2025.
For the record, Kagame led the Tutsi rebel forces that defeated the French-backed Hutu genociders in the sitting government.
Cameroon's Paul Biya has been in office since 1979; Uganda's Yoweri Museveni has been in office since 1986. Togo's Gnassingbe family (father, then son) have been in power since 1967.
Being in power since 1994 isn't that impressive. Belarus' Lukashenko also came to power in 1994. Azerbaijan's Aliyev family (father, then son) have been in power since 1993. Even with all the so-called democratization in the late 1980s and 1990s and the resultant End of History, viz. the conclusive triumph of liberal democracy over all other political systems, there are numerous countries where leaders have and will continue to hang on for a long time.
And there will be more to come. Egypt's el-Sisi hasn't been there that long, but he'll probably still be there for decades to come. Same with Chad's Mahamat Deby. Some of those recent coup leaders in West Africa—Doumbouya, Goita, Tchiani, Traore—could also conceivably be in power for decades to come, even though their countries all looked to be developing multi-party electoral systems in the 2010s.
There has been a lot of what liberal democrats call 'democratic backsliding' in the Africa of the 2010s and 2020s compared to the Africa of the 1990s and 2000s. Though this form of government doesn't look to me to be seriously threatened outside of Africa, I think that it's too soon to declare the End of History thesis either verified or falsified.