Meet 20 of the Youngest Politicians Around the World

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Sebastian Kurz, only at the age of 30, was selected as chancellor of Austria twice from 2017 - 2019 and again from 2020 - 2021. Just at 24 in 2011, he acquired his first government mandate as state secretary, accountable for socially integrating refugees.

During his first chancellorship, Kurz was credited with mostly following through on his campaign pledges, but his leadership technique was widely criticized as not cooperative and impulsive.

Kurz was the youngest chancellor in Austrian history and the youngest head of government in the world for about four years. 

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Jordon Alexander Steele-John began his political career in 2013 when he was just about 18 years old. He is an Australian politician and disability rights advocate.

At age 23, Jordon was elected by declaration to the Senate in 2017, making him the youngest senator in Australia's history.

Jordon uses a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy. He is an advocate and supporter of disability rights and LGBT rights who has campaigned extensively in the disability, health, and peace spaces.

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Edison Augusto Broce Urriola is one of the youngest Panamanian lawmakers known for his environmental guidelines and raising awareness about plastic pollution.

From 2014 to 2019, when Edison was 23 years old, he served as an alternate member of the National Assembly of Panama. When he reached 28 years old in 2019, he was elected as a deputy before the National Assembly.

Now 31, Broce is the President of the Education, Culture, Science, Technology and Communication Commission of the PARLATINO.

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French politician at the age of 24, Typhanie Degois, has presented the 1st constituency of the Savoie department in the National Assembly.

Degois is a member of La République En Marche! At age 24, Typhanie was the youngest member of the La République En Marche! and the second youngest overall of the National Front after Ludovic Pajot.

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Kenyan politician and women's rights activist Naisula Lesuuda was 20 when she became the youngest female member representing Samburu County in the Senate.

Lesuuda is also the first female member of parliament for the constituency. She was elected in the 2017 election at the age of 33.

Previously, Naisula worked as a journalist at the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, including hosting Good Morning Kenya. In 2010, her work with Laikipia Peace Caravan led to her becoming the youngest Kenyan woman to win the presidential Order of the Grand Warrior.

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Mhairi Black is a member of the Scottish National Party (SNP) who became a Member of Parliament at the age of 20, making her the youngest MP. When Black was elected in May 2015, she was just 20 and 237 days old, making her the youngest MP elected to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since 1832.

Mhairi was the Baby of the House as the youngest member of the House from 2015 to 2019 and still remains the SNP's youngest MP. In 2017, she was re-elected and again in 2019.

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Mark Okoye II, 36, is a Nigerian politician, public service official, and state cabinet member in Anambra State, southeast Nigeria. Previously, he had served as the Senior Special Assistant on Investments to former Governor Peter Obi.

In 2016, Okoye earned national acclaim when he was named the Commissioner for Economic Planning, Budget, and Development Partners, making him the youngest Nigerian to be called a commissioner since the onset of Nigeria's Fourth Republic in 1999.

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At 33 years old, Luigi Di Maio was appointed the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He took over the office on 5 September 2019 and has been operating as Minister of Foreign Affairs since then.

Previously, from 2018 to 2019, Di Maio served as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister of Economic Development, Labour, and Social Policies.

Luigi was the leader of the Five Star Movement, an anti-establishment party founded by Beppe Grillo from September 2017 to January 2020.

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Abby Lea Finkenauer, 33, became the U.S. representative for Iowa's 1st congressional district at the age of 30 from 2019 - 2021. Finkenauer became the second-youngest woman ever to be elected to the U.S. House.

Finkenauer and fellow Democrat Cindy Axne became the first woman from Iowa elected to the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2018.

Finkenauer lost reelection in 2020 and lost a primary election for the United States Senate in 2022.

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American politician and activist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in her late 20s, became the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district. She took over the office in 2019 and had been serving since.

Taking office at age 29, Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest woman ever to serve in the United States Congress. Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib are the first female member of the Democratic Socialists of America elected to serve in Congress.

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Gabriel Boric Font, 36, is the 37th President of Chile who took over the office on March 11, 2022. Previously, he served in the Chamber of Deputies from Magallanes from 2018 to 2022.

Boric is the youngest president in Chile's history, the youngest state leader in the world, and the president selected with the highest number of votes in the country's history.

Boric is also a founding member of Social Convergence, which is one of the constituent parties of the Broad Front. 

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Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba became the president of Burkina Faso at the age of 41 years old. He took over the office on 24 January 2022.

Damiba is also a Burkinabé military officer who leads MPSR (Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration).  He is a former member of the Regiment of Presidential Security, the former presidential guard of Blaise Compaoré.

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Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez, at the age of 37 became the 43rd president of El Salvador on 1 June 2019. Bukele was 30 years old when he became Mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlán and after a year in 2015 he won the mayoralty of San Salvador.

Bukele founded the International Commission Against Impunity in El Salvador, whose primary purpose is to combat a variety of criminalities, including drug trafficking, corruption, and white-collar crimes.

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Serdar Gurbangulyýewiç Berdimuhamedow became the president of Turkmenistan at the age of 40 years old. He took over the office on 19 March 2022.

Serdar rose to the political spotlight at the age of 36 after being appointed the deputy minister of foreign affairs in 2018. After a year, in 2019, he was elevated to the post of governor of Ahal province.

Present President Serdar was already making a career in politics at a young age. He was 31 when he served as the head of the European Department of the Turkmen Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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Georgian politician Irakli Garibashvili became the 11th president of Georgia at the age of 39, on 22 February 2021. Previously, he operated as prime minister from 20 November 2013 until his resignation on 30 December 2015.

Irakli was the youngest person to bear the PM office, aged 31 at his ascension. During his first term, he was the second-youngest state leader in the world after Kim Jong-un.

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Colonel Assimi Goïta took over the position of the Interim President of Mali at the age of 36/37 on 28 May 2021. Previously, he was the leader of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People.

Goïta served as a colonel in the Autonomous Special Forces Battalion, the special forces unit of the Malian Armed Forces. He heads the Malian special forces in the country's center with the rank of colonel.

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North Korean politician Kim Jong-un became the Supreme Leader of North Korea in 2011 at around the age of 27/28 after his father, Kim Jong-il, Korea's second supreme leader, died in 2011. Since 2012, Kim has been the head of the Worker's Party of Korea.

The leader of North Korea, Kim, holds various titles, including Chairman of the Central Military Commission,  President of the State Affairs Commission, and General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea.

Kim leads North Korea as a totalitarian dictatorship, and his leadership has heeded his father and grandfather, Kim II-sung, the founder of North Korea.

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Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, also known as Mahamat Kaka, became the president of Chad at age 37 after his father, Idriss Déby, the former president of Chad, died in 2021.

Previously, Mahamat served as the military's second-in-command for the Chadian Intervention in Northern Mali. Kaka is also the Chadian army general and the president of the Transitional Military Council.

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Finnish politician Sanna Mirella Marin, at the age of 34, took over the position of prime minister. She was selected as prime minister on December 8, 2019.

Marin is the youngest individual to hold the office in Finnish history and is also the world's third-youngest state leader.

The leader of the Finnish government, Sanna, is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Finland and has been a member of Parliament since 2015. 

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At the age of 36, Montenegrin politician Dritan Abazović was successful in being selected as the prime minister of Montenegro on April 28, 2022. Previously, he held the position of deputy prime minister in the cabinet of Zdravko Krivokapić from 2020 until 2022.

Dritan is presently the president of URA, and from 2015 to 2020, he served as one of its parliamentary representatives. The new government, composed of a broad coalition of both pro-European and pro-Serb parties, with Abazović as Prime Minister was formed in April 2022.

The new government priorities will be more sustainable investments, a fight against corruption, protection, the surroundings' development, and better care for children and youth.