Editing List of heads of state of North Korea

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{{about||the de facto leader of North Korea|Supreme Leader (North Korean title)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Politics of North Korea}}

The following is a list of [[heads of state]] of [[North Korea]] since its foundation in 1948.

== History ==
For most of its existence, North Korea has not specified a formal head of state. The 1948 [[Constitution of North Korea|constitution]] did not define a head of state, but with regard to political functions usually performed by the head of state, the [[Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly]] (SPA) could be considered one. [[Kim Il Sung]] was, at the time, as [[Premier of North Korea|Premier]], merely the [[head of government]] but not of state. As his position grew more stable, he wanted to be recognized as the head of state instead. Foreign admirers first started calling him such, and in the 1972 constitution his position was formalized as the [[President of North Korea|President]] of the republic.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Tertitskiy |first=Fyodor |date=5 September 2019 |title=Making sense of Kim Jong Un's new position: who is North Korea's head of state? |work=[[NK News]] |url=https://www.nknews.org/2019/09/making-sense-of-kim-jong-uns-new-position-who-is-north-koreas-head-of-state/ |access-date=12 June 2022}}</ref>

After [[Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung|Kim Il Sung died]] in 1994, the presidency and hence the position of head of state was left vacant. While the late leader was titled the [[Eternal President]] of North Korea, the actual office of the President was written out of the constitution in 1998 making the head of state undefined again. His son and successor, [[Kim Jong Il]], kept official titles given to him by the late president and never formally became the head of state. During this period, the president of the presidium of the SPA exercised many of the functions normally granted to a head of state, such as receiving ambassadors. Titles used by [[Kim Jong Un]] have constitutionally defined him as the [[Supreme Leader of North Korea|Supreme Leader]], but not formal head of state.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Atsuhito |first=Isozaki |date=26 August 2019 |title=North Korea Revamps Its Constitution |work=[[The Diplomat (magazine)|The Diplomat]] |url=https://thediplomat.com/2019/08/north-korea-revamps-its-constitution/ |access-date=25 June 2023}}</ref> However, amendments to the DPRK constitution in 2019 have granted the [[President of the State Affairs of North Korea|chairman of the State Affairs Commission]] (later renamed to president of the State Affairs), a title held by Kim, the status of representing the state and receiving and appointing ambassadors, effectively making him the head of state.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Josh |date=2019-08-29 |title=North Korea changes constitution to solidify Kim Jong Un's rule |language=en |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-north-korea-constitution-idUSKCN1VJ1JQ |access-date=2023-06-25}}</ref>

== Heads of state of North Korea (1948–present) ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan=2| Portrait
! rowspan=2| Name<br />{{small|(Birth–Death)}}
! colspan=3| Term of office
! colspan=2 rowspan=2| Political party
! rowspan=2| Election
! rowspan=2| Supreme leader
|-
! Took office
! Left office
! Time in office
|-
! colspan=9| Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly
|-
| rowspan=2| [[File:Kim Tu-bong 2.jpg|100px]]
| rowspan=2| '''[[Kim Tu-bong]]'''<br />{{lang|ko|김두봉}}<br />{{small|(1889–1958)}}
| rowspan=2| 9 September 1948
| rowspan=2| 20 September 1957
| rowspan=2| {{ayd|1948|09|09|1957|09|20}}
! style="background:{{party color|Workers' Party of Korea}};" |
| [[Workers' Party of North Korea]]
| rowspan=2| [[1948 North Korean parliamentary election|1st SPA]]
| rowspan=4| [[Kim Il Sung]]
|-
| style="background:{{party color|Workers' Party of Korea}} |
| [[Workers' Party of Korea]]
|-
| rowspan=2| [[File:Ch'oe Yonggŏn.JPG|100px]]
| rowspan=2| '''[[Choe Yong-gon (official)|Choe Yong-gon]]'''<br />{{lang|ko|최용건}}<br />{{small|(1900–1976)}}
| rowspan=2| 20 September 1957
| rowspan=2| 28 December 1972
| rowspan=2| {{ayd|1957|09|20|1972|12|28}}
! style="background:{{party color|Korean Social Democratic Party}};" |
| [[Korean Social Democratic Party]]
| rowspan=2| [[1957 North Korean parliamentary election|2nd SPA]]<br />[[1962 North Korean parliamentary election|3rd SPA]]<br />[[1967 North Korean parliamentary election|4th SPA]]
|-
! style="background:{{party color|Workers' Party of Korea}};" |
| [[Workers' Party of Korea]]
|-
! colspan=9| President of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
|-
| [[File:Kim Il Sung Portrait.png|100px]]
| '''[[Kim Il Sung]]'''<br />{{lang|ko|김일성}}<br />{{small|(1912–1994)}}
| 28 December 1972
| [[Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung|8 July 1994]] †
| {{ayd|1972|12|28|1994|07|08}}
! style="background:{{party color|Workers' Party of Korea}};" |
| [[Workers' Party of Korea]]
| [[1972 North Korean parliamentary election|5th SPA]]<br />[[1977 North Korean parliamentary election|6th SPA]]<br />[[1982 North Korean parliamentary election|7th SPA]]<br />[[1986 North Korean parliamentary election|8th SPA]]<br />[[1990 North Korean parliamentary election|9th SPA]]
| Himself
|-
| colspan=9 style="background:#EEEEEE" | Vacant<br />{{small|(8 July 1994 – 5 September 1998)<br />[[Yang Hyong-sop]] as Chairman of the SPA Standing Committee<br/>[[Kim Jong Il]] as supreme leader}}
|-
! colspan=9| President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly
|-
| [[File:Kim Yong-nam in Moscow (cropped).jpg|100px]]
| '''[[Kim Yong-nam]]'''<br />{{lang|ko|김영남}}<br />{{small|(born 1928)}}
| 5 September 1998
| 11 April 2019
| {{ayd|1998|09|05|2019|04|11}}
! style="background:{{party color|Workers' Party of Korea}};" |
| [[Workers' Party of Korea]]
| [[1998 North Korean parliamentary election|10th SPA]]<br />[[2003 North Korean parliamentary election|11th SPA]]<br />[[2009 North Korean parliamentary election|12th SPA]]<br />[[2014 North Korean parliamentary election|13th SPA]]
| [[Kim Jong Il]]<br />[[Kim Jong Un]]
|-
! colspan=9| President of the State Affairs Commission
|-
| [[File:Kim Jong-un April 2019 crop.jpg|100px]]
| '''[[Kim Jong Un]]'''<br />{{lang|ko|김정은}}<br />{{small|(born 1984)}}
| 11 April 2019
| ''Incumbent''
| {{ayd|2019|04|11}}
! style="background:{{party color|Workers' Party of Korea}};" |
| [[Workers' Party of Korea]]
| [[2019 North Korean parliamentary election|14th SPA]]
| Himself
|}

==Timeline==
{{#tag:timeline|
ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:13
PlotArea  = top:10 bottom:80 right:150 left:20
AlignBars = late

Define $today = {{#time:d/m/Y}}

Colors =
  id:nkwp value:red                 legend:Workers'_Party_of_North_Korea
  id:kwp  value:rgb(0.84,0.08,0.22) legend:Workers'_Party_of_Korea
  id:ksdp value:rgb(0.96,0.77,0.85) legend:Korean_Social_Democratic_Party

  id:gray1  value:gray(0.85)
  id:gray2  value:gray(0.95)

DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period     = from:09/09/1948 till:$today
TimeAxis   = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:1950
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1949

Legend     = columns:1 left:150 top:35 columnwidth:170
 
TextData =
  pos:(20,38) textcolor:black fontsize:M
  text:"Political party:"

BarData =
 bar:tu-bong
 bar:yong-gon
 bar:il-sung
 bar:yong-nam
 bar:jong-un

PlotData =
  width:5 align:left fontsize:9 shift:(5,-4) anchor:till

 bar: tu-bong
  from: 09/09/1948 till: 24/06/1949 color:nkwp
  from: 24/06/1949 till: 20/09/1957 color:kwp  text:"[[Kim Tu-bong]]"
 bar: yong-gon
  from: 20/09/1957 till: 28/12/1972 color:ksdp text:"[[Choe Yong-gon (official)|Choe Yong-gon]]"
 bar: il-sung
  from: 28/12/1972 till: 08/07/1994 color:kwp  text:"[[Kim Il Sung]]"
 bar: yong-nam
  from: 05/09/1998 till: 11/04/2019 color:kwp  text:"[[Kim Yong-nam]]"
 bar: jong-un
  from: 11/04/2019 till: $today     color:kwp  text:"[[Kim Jong Un]]"

}}

==See also==
{{Portal|North Korea}}
* [[Supreme Leader (North Korean title)]]
* [[Government of North Korea]]
* [[Politics of North Korea]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{North Korea topics}}
{{NKPres}}

[[Category:Government of North Korea|Heads of state]]
[[Category:Heads of state of North Korea| ]]
[[Category:Lists of heads of state|Korea, North]]
[[Category:Politics of North Korea|Heads of state]]
[[Category:North Korea politics-related lists|Heads of state]]
[[Category:Lists of North Korean people]]