A regent is a person selected to act as head of state (ruling or not) because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated.[1] The following is a list of regents throughout history.

Gustaf Mannerheim as regent of Finland (sitting) and his adjutants (from the left) Lt. Col. Lilius, Cap. Kekoni, Lt. Gallen-Kallela, Ensign Rosenbröijer.

Regents in extant monarchies

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Those who held a regency briefly, for example during surgery, are not necessarily listed, particularly if they performed no official acts; this list is also not complete, presumably not even for all monarchies included. The list includes some figures who acted as regent, even if they did not themselves hold the title of regent.

Asia

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Cambodia

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Japan

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Jordan

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  • Prince Naif bin Al-Abdullah from 20 July to 5 September 1951, due to the schizophrenia of his brother King Talal, who was in a Swiss mental hospital.
  • A regency council (Ibrahim Hashem, Suleiman Toukan, Abdul Rahman Rusheidat and chairing Queen Mother Zein al-Sharaf Talal) took over during the king's ailment and continued after the king's forced abdication (on 11 August 1952), serving from 4 June 1952 to 2 May 1953, until King Hussein came of age.
  • Crown Prince Hassan, from 4 July 1998 to 19 January 1999 while his brother King Hussein was undergoing cancer treatments.

Malaysia and its constitutive monarchies

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Terengganu
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  • Tengku Muhammad Ismail (eight-years of age at the time), co-reigned with the three-member Regency Advisory Council (Majlis Penasihat Pemangku Raja) from 2006 to 2011. His father, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin the Sultan of Terengganu was elected as 13th King of Malaysia. The Malaysian constitution does not allow a simultaneous reign as both the King of Malaysia and as monarch of the King's native state (deemed absent on the State throne). Sultan Mizan was crowned as King on 13 December 2006 and the prince as the Regent (Pemangku Raja) of Terengganu effective on the same date.

Oman

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Qatar

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Saudi Arabia

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  • 30 March 1964 – 2 November 1964 Crown Prince Faisal (b. 1906 – d. 1975) –Regent for his brother King Saud, and later his successor
  • 1 January 1996 – 21 February 1996 formally, but de facto until 1 August 2005 Crown Prince Abdullah (b. 1924 – d. 2015) –Regent for his brother King Fahd, and later his successor

Thailand

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Africa

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Morocco

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Lesotho

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Swaziland

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Europe

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Belgium

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Denmark

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Liechtenstein

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Luxembourg

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Monaco

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Netherlands

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Norway

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Spain

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Sweden

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Sten Sture the Elder, long-serving regent of Sweden

United Kingdom and its predecessor realms

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House of Stewart
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South America

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Afro-Bolivian monarchy

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Regents in defunct monarchies

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The same notes apply; inclusion in this list reflects the political reality, regardless of claims to the throne.

Asia

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China

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Afghanistan

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Before the 1881 unification, there were essentially four rulers' capitals: Kabul, Herat, Qandahar and Peshawar (the last now in Pakistan); all their rulers belonged to the Abdali tribal group, whose name was changed to Dorrani with Ahmad Shah Abdali. They belong either to the Saddozay segment of the Popalzay clan (typically styled padshah, king) or to the Mohammadzay segment of the Barakzay clan (typically with the style Amir, in full Amir al-Mo´menin "Leader of the Faithful"). The Mohammadzay also furnished the Saddozay kings frequently with top counselors, who served occasionally as (Minister-)regents, identified with the epithet Mohammadzay.

Ahom Kingdom

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Madurai

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Mughal Empire

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Vijayanagara Empire

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Qutub Shahi dynasty

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Travancore

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Both before and during the British raj (colonial rule), most of India was ruled by several hundred native princely houses, many of which have known regencies, under the raj subject to British approval

Vakataka Kingdom

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Iran

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Iraq

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In the short-lived Hashemite kingdom, there were three regencies in the reign of the third and last king Faysal II (b. 1935 – d. 1958; also Head of the 'Arab Union', a federation with the Hashemite sister-kingdom Jordan, from 14 February 1958) :

  • 4 April 1939 – 1 April 1941 Prince 'Abd al-Ilah (1st time) (b. 1913 – d. 1958)
  • 1 April 1941 – 1 June 1941 Sharaf ibn Rajih al-Fawwaz (b. 1880 – d. 1955)
  • 1 June 1941 – 2 May 1953 Crown Prince 'Abd al-Ilah (2nd time)

Korea

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Mongolia

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Myanmar

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Mysore

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Nepal

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Ryukyu

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Tibetan Empire

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Turkey

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The regent Yariri (r.) and his successor Kamani (l.), on a relief from Carchemish. An example of regency from ancient history.

Vietnam

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Africa

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Egypt

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Ethiopia

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Americas

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Brazil

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Princess Maria Leopoldina acting as regent of the Kingdom of Brazil on behalf of her husband Prince Pedro in 1822, as depicted in Sessão do Conselho de Estado
 
The oath of the provisional triumviral regents of the Empire of Brazil in 1831, during the regency period.
 
Isabel, Princess Imperial taking oath as regent of the Empire of Brazil on behalf of her father Pedro II, c. 1870

Europe

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Austria

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Bulgaria

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Finland

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After the abdication of Nicholas II of Russia, the throne of the Grand Duke of Finland was vacant and according to the constitution of 1772, a regent was installed by the Finnish Parliament during the first two years of Finnish independence, before the country was declared a republic.

France

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Greece

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German Empire

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Anhalt
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Baden
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Bavaria
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Brunswick
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Hanover
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Hesse-Darmstadt
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Hesse-Homburg
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Hesse-Kassel
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Lippe
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Mecklenburg-Schwerin
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Mecklenburg-Strelitz
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Prussia
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Württemberg
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Saxe-Altenburg
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Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
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Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
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Saxe-Eisenach
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Saxe-Hildburghausen
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Saxe-Jena
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Saxe-Meiningen
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Saxe-Merseburg
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Saxe-Weimar
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Saxony
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Waldeck
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Hungary

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Iceland

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Italy

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Mantua
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Parma
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Savoy
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Kievan Rus'

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Portugal

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Romania

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Russia

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Serbia

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Serbian regents abroad
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Yugoslavia

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Oceania

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Hawaii

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  • Queen Kaʻahumanu, between 1824 and 1832 during the rule of the infant Kamehameha III; she was also Kuhina Nui (co-ruler), regent, of Kamehameha II
  • Elizabeth Kīnaʻu, between 5 June 1832 – 17 March 1833 after Kaʻahumanu's death and before Kamehameha III became 20 years old[9]

Notes

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  1. ^ The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term as "A person appointed to administer a State because the Monarch is a minor, is absent or is incapacitated."
  2. ^ "Kronprins Christian skal være regent for første gang – TV 2". nyheder.tv2.dk (in Danish). 30 January 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  3. ^ "Kronprins Christian bliver for første gang regent | Nyheder". DR (in Danish). 30 January 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b Pryde, E. B., ed. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology. Cambridge University Press. pp. 45–46. ISBN 978-0-521-56350-5.
  5. ^ Barlow, Frank 2002. The Godwins Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. Pages 27-28.
  6. ^ Mason, Emma 2004. The House of Godwine : The History of a Dynasty London: Hambledon and London. Page 33.
  7. ^ Trevor Bryce: The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms: A Political and Military History. Oxford, New York 2012, p. 95.
  8. ^ Shaw, Ian (2000). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 291.
  9. ^ "Kuhina Nui 1819–1864". Centennial Exhibit. State of Hawaii Department of Accounting and General Services. Retrieved 3 October 2009.