Politicians Ousted From Their Office
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The Reluctant Exit of Power
There’s something almost poetic about politicians who ascend to power only to be forcibly escorted out—whether by a mob of angry citizens, a coup d’état in the dead of night, or the stern gavel of an impeachment hearing.
The corridors of power, as history teaches us, are lined with ambition, ego, and just a hint of delusion. But when that final exit looms, it is never graceful, no matter how practiced the politician.
From democratically elected leaders who felt untouchable to monarchs clinging to their thrones like a bad habit, the world has witnessed no shortage of political downfalls.
Deposed leaders remind us of one thing: power is fleeting, and the seat of authority can become a trapdoor at a moment’s notice.
What’s particularly entertaining—if you have a dark sense of humor—is how many of these ousted figures thought they were immune to the very fate they met. Call it hubris, call it blind optimism, but when the rug gets pulled out, the fall is rarely soft. And, depending on the method of their removal—coup, impeachment, invasion, or a forced abdication—the descent can be both swift and dramatic.
This list covers some of the most notable politicians who found themselves on the wrong side of power, showcasing the variety of exits that range from embarrassing to downright catastrophic.
Deposed head of state or government politicians
Year | Politician | Country | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 81 BCE | Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Cinna |  Roman Republic | Consuls | Sulla’s civil war |
| 48 BCE | Pompey | Triumvir | Assassinated by Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator while attempting to flee to Egypt during Caesar’s civil war | |
| 44 BCE | Julius Caesar | Dictator perpetuo | Assassinated at the beginning of the Liberators’ civil war | |
| 33 BCE | Mark Antony | Triumvir | War of Actium | |
| 1659 CE | Richard Cromwell |  Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland | Lord Protector | Stuart Restoration |
| 1840 | Pedro de Araújo Lima |  Empire of Brazil | Regent of Brazil | Majority Coup |
| 1841 | Bento Gonçalves da Silva |  Riograndense Republic | President of the Riograndense Republic | Imprisonment during the Ragamuffin War |
| 1852 | Juan Manuel de Rosas |  Argentine Confederation | 17th Governor of Buenos Aires Province, Ruler of Argentina | Brazilian invasion during the Platine War |
| 1861 | Sam Houston |  Republic of Texas | Governor of Texas | Opposed Texas’s secession from the Union and entry into the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War |
| 1863 | José Antonio Páez |  Venezuela | 5th President of Venezuela | |
| 1865 | Jefferson Davis |  Confederate States of America | President of the Confederate States of America | American Civil War |
| 1871 | Mariano Melgarejo |  Bolivia | 15th President of Bolivia | |
| 1900 | Luis Gálvez Rodríguez de Arias |  Republic of Acre | President of the Republic of Acre | Coup d’état |
| 1908 | Cipriano Castro |  Venezuela | President of Venezuela | 1908 Venezuelan coup d’état, removed from office while abroad |
| 1911 | Porfirio Díaz |  Mexico | 33rd President of Mexico | Mexican Revolution |
| 1917 | Alexander Kerensky |  Russian Republic | Minister-President of the Russian Republic | October Revolution |
| 1917, 1926 | Bernardino Machado |  Portugal | Third and eighth President of Portugal | Coup d’état by Sidónio Pais |
| 1930 | Washington Luís |  Brazil | 13th President of Brazil | Brazilian Revolution of 1930 |
| 1930 | Júlio Prestes | President-elect of Brazil | ||
| 1938 | Kurt Schuschnigg |  Austria | Chancellor of Austria | Anschluss |
| 1938 | Edvard Beneš |  Czechoslovakia | President of Czechoslovakia | Occupation of Czechoslovakia |
| 1939 | Manuel Azaña |  Spain | Prime Minister of Spain | Spanish Civil War |
| 1940 | Paul Reynaud |  French Third Republic | Prime Minister of France | Battle of France |
| 1940 | Konstantin Päts |  Estonia | 1st President of Estonia | Soviet invasion of Estonia |
| 1940 | Antanas Smetona |  Lithuania | 1st President of Lithuania | Soviet invasion of Lithuania |
| 1940 | Kārlis Ulmanis |  Latvia | 4th President of Latvia (self proclaimed) | Soviet invasion of Latvia |
| 1944, 1945 | Benito Mussolini |  Italian Social Republic | Duce | Italian campaign of World War II |
| 1944 | Juan Federico Ponce Vaides |  Guatemala | President of Guatemala | Guatemalan Revolution |
| 1945 | Karl Dönitz |  Nazi Germany | President of Germany | World War II |
| 1945 | Isaías Medina Angarita |  Venezuela | President of Venezuela | 1945 Venezuelan coup d’état |
| 1945 | Getúlio Vargas |  Brazil | 14th and 17th President of Brazil | 1945 Brazilian coup d’état |
| 1947 | Ferenc Nagy |  Hungary | 40th Prime Minister of Hungary, 1st Prime Minister of the Second Hungarian Republic | Coup d’état |
| 1948 | Teodoro Picado Michalski |  Costa Rica | President of Costa Rica | Costa Rican Civil War |
| 1948 | Rómulo Gallegos | Venezuela | President of Venezuela | 1948 Venezuelan coup d’état |
| 1953 | Mohammad Mosaddegh |  Iran | 35th Prime Minister of Iran | 1953 Iranian coup d’état |
| 1954 | Jacobo Árbenz | Guatemala | President of Guatemala | 1954 Guatemalan coup d’état |
| 1955 | Carlos Luz | Brazil | President of Brazil | Preventative Coup of November 11 |
| 1955 | Café Filho | |||
| 1956 | Imre Nagy |  Hungary | Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Hungarian People’s Republic | Soviet invasion of Hungary |
| 1956 | Bolesław Bierut |  Poland | General Secretary of the Polish United Workers’ Party | Polish October |
| 1958 | Marcos Pérez Jiménez |  Venezuela | Military dictator of Venezuela | Fled the country during the 1958 Venezuelan coup d’état |
| 1959 | Fulgencio Batista[3] |  Cuba | 14th and 17th President of Cuba | Cuban Revolution |
| 1960 | Patrice Lumumba |  Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville) | 1st President of Congo-Leopoldville | Congo Crisis |
| 1960 | Syngman Rhee |  South Korea | 1st President of South Korea | April Revolution |
| 1963 | Nazem al-Qudsi |  Syria | President of Syria | 1963 Syrian coup d’état |
| 1963 | Juan Bosch |  Dominican Republic | President of the Dominican Republic | 1963 Dominican coup d’état |
| 1963 | Ngo Dinh Diem |  South Vietnam | President of South Vietnam | 1963 South Vietnamese coup |
| 1964 | Nikita Khrushchev[4] |  Soviet Union | First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union | Removed from office |
| 1964 | João Goulart | Brazil | 24th President of Brazil | 1964 Brazilian coup d’état |
| 1966 | Kwame Nkrumah |  Ghana | 1st President of Ghana | 1966 Ghanaian coup d’état |
| 1968 | Alexander Dubček | Czechoslovakia | First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia | Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia |
| 1969 | Pedro Aleixo | Brazil | President-designate of Brazil | Removed from the office by the Brazilian Military Junta of 1969 |
| 1973 | Eric Gairy |  Grenada | Premier of Grenada | |
| 1974 | Américo Tomás | Portugal | President of Portugal | Carnation Revolution |
| 1974 | Richard Nixon |  United States | 37th President of the United States | Resigned to avoid removal from office by impeachment process after the Watergate scandal |
| 1975 | Gough Whitlam |  Australia | 21st Prime Minister of Australia | 1975 Australian constitutional crisis |
| 1975 | Nguyễn Văn Thiệu | South Vietnam | President of South Vietnam | 1975 spring offensive |
| 1978 | Mohammed Daoud Khan |  Afghanistan | 1st President of Afghanistan | Saur Revolution |
| 1979 | Idi Amin[5] |  Uganda | 3rd President of Uganda | Uganda–Tanzania War |
| 1979 | Anastasio Somoza Debayle |  Nicaragua | President of Nicaragua | Nicaraguan Revolution |
| 1979 | Pol Pot |  Democratic Kampuchea | General Secretary of the Communist Party of Kampuchea | Cambodian–Vietnamese War |
| 1979 | Ian Smith |  Rhodesia | Prime Minister of Rhodesia | Rhodesian Bush War |
| 1979 | Park Chung Hee |  South Korea | 3rd President of South Korea | Assassinated by Korean Central Intelligence Agency Director Kim Jae-gyu |
| 1979 | Hafizullah Amin |  Afghanistan | General Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan | Operation Storm-333 |
| 1982 | Bachir Gemayel |  Lebanon | President-elect of Lebanon | Lebanese Civil War |
| 1983 | Hudson Austin | Grenada | Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of Grenada | United States invasion of Grenada |
| 1986 | Jean-Claude Duvalier |  Haiti | 35th President of Haiti | Anti-Duvalier protest movement |
| 1986 | Ferdinand Marcos[6] |  Philippines | 10th President of the Philippines | People Power Revolution |
| 1987 | Habib Bourguiba |  Tunisia | First President of Tunisia | 1987 Tunisian coup d’état |
| 1987 | Thomas Sankara |  Burkina Faso | President of Burkina Faso | 1987 Burkina Faso coup d’état |
| 1987 | Chun Doo-hwan | South Korea | 5th President of South Korea | June Democratic Struggle |
| 1988 | Ne Win |  Burma | President of Burma | 8888 Uprising |
| 1989 | Alfredo Stroessner[7] |  Paraguay | 42nd President of Paraguay | 1989 Paraguayan coup d’état |
| 1989 | Erich Honecker[8] |  East Germany | General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (effective leader of East Germany) | Peaceful Revolution |
| 1989 | Miloš Jakeš | Czechoslovakia | General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia | Velvet Revolution |
| 1989 | Wojciech Jaruzelski | Poland | President of Poland & First Secretary of the Polish United Workers’ Party | Solidarity Movement |
| 1989 | Todor Zhivkov[9] |  Bulgaria | General Secretary of the Bulgarian Communist Party | Revolutions of 1989 |
| 1989 | Károly Grósz | Hungary | General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party | End of communism in Hungary |
| 1989 | Manuel Noriega[10] |  Panama | Military dictator of Panama from 1983 to 1989 | United States invasion of Panama |
| 1989 | Nicolae Ceaușescu[11] |  Romania | President of Romania | Romanian Revolution |
| 1990 | Hissène Habré |  Chad | 5th President of Chad | 1990 Chadian coup d’état |
| 1991 | Siad Barre |  Somalia | 3rd President of Somalia | Somali Rebellion |
| 1991 | Mengistu Haile Mariam |  Ethiopia | First President of Ethiopia | Forced to flee when the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front began winning the Ethiopian Civil War |
| 1991 | Mikhail Gorbachev | Soviet Union | 1st President of the Soviet Union | Dissolution of the Soviet Union |
| 1991 | Jean-Bertrand Aristide |  Haiti | 39th President of Haiti | 1991 Haitian coup d’état |
| 1992 | Mohammad Najibullah |  Afghanistan | 2nd President of Afghanistan | Afghan Civil War |
| 1992 | Joseph Saidu Momoh |  Sierra Leone | 2nd President of Sierra Leone | Sierra Leone Civil War |
| 1992 | Fernando Collor de Mello | Brazil | 32nd President of Brazil | Impeachment and resignation |
| 1993 | Carlos Andrés Pérez | Venezuela | 40th President of Venezuela | Impeachment |
| 1993, 1999 | Nawaz Sharif |  Pakistan | 12th and 14th Prime Minister of Pakistan | 1999 Pakistani coup d’état |
| 1994 | Juvénal Habyarimana |  Rwanda | 2nd President of Rwanda | Assassinated by an unknown force before the Arusha Accords ending the Rwandan Civil War went into effect |
| 1997 | Mobutu Sese Seko |  Zaire | President of Zaire | First Congo War |
| 1998 | Suharto |  Indonesia | 2nd President of Indonesia | Indonesian Revolution of 1998 |
| 1999 | João Bernardo Vieira |  Guinea-Bissau | 2nd President of Guinea-Bissau | Guinea-Bissau Civil War |
| 2000 | Slobodan Milošević[12] |  Yugoslavia | 3rd President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia | Overthrow of Slobodan Milošević |
| 2001 | Laurent-Désiré Kabila |  Democratic Republic of the Congo | 3rd President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo | Second Congo War |
| 2001 | Joseph Estrada |  Philippines | 14th President of the Philippines | Second EDSA Revolution |
| 2001 | Mullah Omar |  Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan | Leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan | United States invasion of Afghanistan |
| 2002 | Hugo Chávez | Venezuela | President of Venezuela | Reportedly resigned before the 2002 Venezuelan coup d’état attempt |
| 2003 | Saddam Hussein |  Iraq | 5th President of Iraq | Iraq War |
| 2003 | Charles Taylor[13] |  Liberia | 22nd President of Liberia | Second Liberian Civil War |
| 2003 | Eduard Shevardnadze |  Georgia | 1st President of Georgia | Rose Revolution |
| 2004 | Rolandas Paksas | Lithuania | 3rd President of Lithuania | Impeachment |
| 2005 | Lucio Gutiérrez |  Ecuador | 43rd President of Ecuador | Removed from office |
| 2010 | Askar Akayev |  Kyrgyzstan | 1st President of Kyrgyzstan | Tulip Revolution |
| 2006 | Thaksin Shinawatra |  Thailand | 31st Prime Minister of Thailand | 2006 Thai coup d’état |
| 2009 | Marc Ravalomanana |  Madagascar | 5th President of Madagascar | 2009 Malagasy political crisis |
| 2009 | Manuel Zelaya |  Honduras | 52nd President of Honduras | 2009 Honduran coup d’état |
| 2010 | Kurmanbek Bakiyev | Kyrgyzstan | 2nd President of Kyrgyzstan | Kyrgyz Revolution of 2010 |
| 2011 | Zine El Abidine Ben Ali[14] | Tunisia | 2nd President of Tunisia | Tunisian Revolution |
| 2011 | Hosni Mubarak[15] |  Egypt | 4th President of Egypt | 2011 Egyptian revolution |
| 2011 | Muammar Gaddafi |  Libya | Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution of Libya | First Libyan Civil War |
| 2011 | Ali Abdullah Saleh |  Yemen | 1st President of Yemen | Yemeni Revolution |
| 2013 | Mohamed Morsi | Egypt | 5th President of Egypt | 2013 Egyptian coup d’état |
| 2014 | Viktor Yanukovych |  Ukraine | 4th President of Ukraine | Revolution of Dignity |
| 2014 | Yingluck Shinawatra | Thailand | 28th Prime Minister of Thailand | 2014 Thai coup d’état |
| 2016 | Dilma Rousseff | Brazil | 36th President of Brazil | Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff |
| 2017 | Park Geun-hye | South Korea | 11th President of South Korea | Impeachment of Park Geun-hye |
| 2017 | Robert Mugabe |  Zimbabwe | 2nd President of Zimbabwe | 2017 Zimbabwean coup d’état |
| 2017 | Yahya Jammeh |  The Gambia | 2nd President of the Gambia | 2016–2017 Gambian constitutional crisis |
| 2018 | Serzh Sargsyan |  Armenia | 3rd President of Armenia | 2018 Armenian revolution |
| 2019 | Abdelaziz Bouteflika[16] |  Algeria | 7th President of Algeria | 2019 Algerian protests |
| 2019 | Omar al-Bashir[17] |  Sudan | 7th President of Sudan | 2019 Sudanese coup d’état |
| 2021 | Ashraf Ghani |  Afghanistan | 5th President of Afghanistan | 2021 Taliban offensive |
| 2021 | Aung San Suu Kyi |  Myanmar | State Counsellor of Myanmar | 2021 Myanmar coup d’état |
| 2022 | Gotabaya Rajapaksa[18] |  Sri Lanka | 8th President of Sri Lanka | 2022 Sri Lankan political crisis |
| 2022 | Imran Khan | Pakistan | 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan | 2022 Pakistani constitutional crisis |
| 2022 | Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba | Burkina Faso | Interim President of Burkina Faso | September 2022 Burkina Faso coup d’état |
| 2022 | Pedro Castillo |  Peru | 63rd President of Peru | 2022 Peruvian self-coup d’état attempt |
| 2023 | Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou |  Niger | 15th Prime Minister of Niger | 2023 Nigerien coup d’état |
| 2023 | Ali Bongo Ondimba |  Gabon | 3rd President of Gabon | 2023 Gabonese coup d’état |
| 2024 | Sheikh Hasina |  Bangladesh | 10th Prime Minister of Bangladesh | 2024 Non-cooperation movement |
Deposed head of state or government monarchs
Year | Monarch | Country | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
587 BCE | Zedekiah | Kingdom of Judah | King of Judah | Fall of Jerusalem |
| 539 BCE | Nabonidus | Neo-Babylonian Empire | King of the Neo-Babylonian Empire | Fall of Babylon |
| 331 BCE | Darius III |  Achaemenid Empire | King of Kings | Battle of Gaugamela |
| 320 BCE | Perdiccas | Macedonian Empire | Regent of Macedonia | First War of the Diadochi |
| 207 BCE | Qin Er Shi | Qin dynasty | Emperor of China | Fall of the Qin |
| 316 BCE | Olympias | Macedonia | Queen of Macedonia | Second War of the Diadochi |
| 310 BCE | Alexander IV of Macedon and Roxana | King and Queen of Macedon | Assassinated by Cassander during the Third War of the Diadochi | |
| 168 BCE | Perseus of Macedon | Basileus of Macedonia | Third Macedonian War | |
| 63 BCE | Mithridates IV of Pontus | Kingdom of Pontus | King of Pontus | Third Mithridatic War |
| 47 BCE | Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator | Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt | Pharaoh of Egypt | Alexandrian war |
| 30 BCE | Cleopatra | Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt | War of Actium | |
| 41 CE | Caligula | Roman Empire | Roman emperor | Assassinated by the Praetorian Guard and the Roman Senate in favor of his uncle Claudius and attempted abolition of the Principate |
| 68 | Nero | Outlawed and killed during rebellion by Gaius Julius Vindex | ||
| 69 | Galba | Assassinated by the Praetorian Guard during the Year of the Four Emperors | ||
| 69 | Otho | Defeated by Vitellius at the First Battle of Bedriacum | ||
| 69 | Vitellius | Defeated by Vespasian at the Second Battle of Bedriacum | ||
| 193 | Commodus | Assassinated at the beginning of the Year of the Five Emperors | ||
| 193 | Pertinax | Assassinated by the Praetorian Guard during the Year of the Five Emperors | ||
| 193 | Didius Julianus | Assassinated in revolt by Septimius Severus during the Year of the Five Emperors | ||
| 193 | Pescennius Niger | Killed by the Imperial Roman army while retreating from Antioch | ||
| 197 | Clodius Albinus | Claim to the emperorship defeated during the Year of the Five Emperors, decisively defeated at the Battle of Lugdunum | ||
| 220 | Emperor Xian of Han | Han dynasty | Emperor of China | End of the Han dynasty |
| 235 | Severus Alexander | Roman Empire | Roman emperor | Assassinated by the Imperial Roman army at the beginning of the Crisis of the Third Century |
| 238 | Maximinus Thrax | Assassinated by the Legio II Parthica during the siege of Aquilea | ||
| 238 | Gordian I | Committed suicide after defeat of his forces at the Battle of Carthage | ||
| 238 | Gordian II | Roman Empire | Co-emperor | Killed at the Battle of Carthage |
| 238 | Pupienus | Roman emperor | Assassinated by Balbinus during the Year of the Six Emperors | |
| 238 | Balbinus | Assassinated by the Praetorian Guard during the Year of the Six Emperors | ||
| 249 | Cao Shuang | Cao Wei | Regent of Cao Wei | Incident at the Gaoping Tombs |
| 251 | Decius and Herennius Etruscus | Roman Empire | Roman emperors | Gothic War |
| 260 | Valerian I | Roman emperor | Battle of Edessa | |
| 307 | Severus II | Civil wars of the Tetrarchy | ||
| 312 | Maxentius | Battle of the Milvian Bridge | ||
| 324 | Valens | Eastern Roman emperor | Battle of Adrianople | |
| 475 | Julius Nepos |  Western Roman Empire | Western Roman emperor | Defeated in rebellion by Orestes |
| 476 | Romulus Augustulus | Fall of the Western Roman Empire | ||
| 493 | Odoacer | Kingdom of Italy | King of Italy | Killed by Theodoric the Great during the Ostrogothic conquest of Italy |
| 626 | Emperor Gaozong of Tang | Tang dynasty | Emperor of China | Xuanwu Gate Incident |
| 628 | Khosrow II |  Sasanian Empire | King of Kings | Sasanian civil war of 628–632 |
| 649 | Emperor Taizong of Tang | Tang dynasty | Emperor of China | Transition from Sui to Tang |
| 652 | Yazdegerd III | Sasanian Empire | King of Kings | Muslim conquest of Persia |
| 695 | Justinian II | Roman Empire | Roman Emperor | Justinian II |
| 705 | Wu Zetian | Zhou dynasty | Empress of China | Coup d’état by Emperor Zhongzong of Tang |
| 960 | Guo Zongxun | Later Zhou dynasty | Emperor of China | Coup at Chen Bridge |
| 1013 | Æthelred the Unready |  England | King of England | Overthrown by Danish invasion |
| 1126 | Emperor Qinzong | Northern Song dynasty | Emperor of China | Jingkang incident |
| 1167 | Diarmaid mac Murchadha | Kingdom of Leinster | King of Leinster | Deposed by the Irish High King Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair for allegations that he had kidnapped Derbforgaill ingen Maeleachlainn |
| 1206 | Alexios IV Angelos and Alexios V Doukas |  Byzantine Empire | Eastern Roman emperor | Fourth Crusade |
| 1248 | Sancho II of Portugal |  Kingdom of Portugal | King of Portugal | Deposed by Pope Innocent IV in the bull Grandi non immerito |
| 1279 | Zhao Bing | Southern Song dynasty | Emperor of China | Mongol conquest of China |
| 1298 | Adolf, King of the Romans |  Holy Roman Empire | King of the Romans | Deposed by prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire |
| 1327 | Edward II of England[1] | England | King of England | Forced to abdicate by Parliament of 1327 |
| 1370 | Toghon Temür | Yuan dynasty | Emperor of China | Red Turban Rebellions |
| 1399 | Richard II of England[2] | England | King of England | Invasion of England by Henry Bolingbroke |
| 1400 | Wenceslaus, King of the Romans | Holy Roman Empire | King of the Romans | Deposed by Sigismund of Luxembourg in favor of Rupert III |
| 1453 | Constantine XI Palaiologos | Byzantine Empire | Eastern Roman emperor | Fall of Constantinople, conquest of the former Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire |
| 1461 | Henry VI of England | England | King of England | Wars of the Roses |
| 1470 | Edward IV of England | |||
| 1483 | Edward V of England | Abducted to the Tower of London during the Wars of the Roses | ||
| 1532 | Huáscar |  Inca Empire | Sapa Inca | Inca Civil War |
| 1533 | Atahualpa | Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire | ||
| 1567 | Mary, Queen of Scots |  Kingdom of Scotland | Queen of Scotland | |
| 1572 | Túpac Amaru | Neo-Inca State | Sapa Inca | |
| 1623 | Gwanghaegun of Joseon |  Joseon | Korean Emperor | Overthrown by the Westerner faction in favor of Injo of Joseon |
| 1640 | Philip III of Portugal |  Kingdom of Portugal
| King of Portugal King of the Algarve | Portuguese Restoration War |
| 1644 | Chongzhen Emperor | Ming dynasty | Emperor of China | Late Ming peasant rebellions |
| 1645 | Li Zicheng | Shun dynasty | Transition from Ming to Qing | |
| 1649 | Charles I of England | England
| King of England King of ScotlandKing of Ireland | English Civil War |
| 1688 | James II of England | England
| King of England King of ScotlandKing of Ireland | Glorious Revolution |
| 1695 | Zumbi dos Palmares | Palmares | King of Palmares | |
| 1735 | Stanisław Leszczyński |  Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth | King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania | War of the Polish Succession |
| 1790 | Maria Christina and Albert Casimir |  Austrian Netherlands | Governor of the Austrian Netherlands | Brabant Revolution |
| 1792 | Louis XVI |  Kingdom of France | King of France | French Revolution |
| 1795 | Stanisław August Poniatowski | Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth | King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania | Third Partition of Poland |
| 1806 | Francis II | Holy Roman Empire | Holy Roman Emperor | Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire at the end of the War of the Third Coalition, remained Emperor of Austria |
| 1807 | Selim III |  Ottoman Empire | Sultan of the Ottoman Empire | Ottoman coups of 1807–1808 |
| 1808 | Mustafa IV | |||
| 1809 | Gustav IV Adolf |  Sweden
| King of Sweden Grand Prince of Finland | Finnish War and Coup of 1809 |
| 1810 | Ferdinand VII of Spain |  Spanish Empire | King of Spain and the Indies | Forced to abdicate by Napoleon at the beginning of the Peninsular War, which also led to the Spanish American wars of independence in which Spain lost most of its colonies |
| 1814 | Christian Frederick |  Denmark-Norway | King of Norway | Swedish–Norwegian War (1814) |
| 1814-15 | Napoleon I |  First French Empire | Emperor of the French | Exiled to Elba after defeat in the War of the Sixth Coalition, returned and restored control of France but was defeated again in the Battle of Waterloo and exiled in Saint Helena |
| 1815 | Louis XVIII |  Kingdom of France | King of France | Briefly deposed in Napoleon’s Hundred Days |
| 1823 | Augustin I of Mexico |  First Mexican Empire | Emperor of Mexico | Casa Mata Plan Revolution |
| 1830 | Charles X | Kingdom of France | King of France | July Revolution |
| 1848 | Louis Philippe I | Kingdom of France | French Revolution of 1848 | |
| 1858 | Bahadur Shah Zafar[19] | Mughal Empire | Mughal emperor | British defeat of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 |
| 1864 | Christian IX of Denmark |  Duchy of Schleswig
| Duke of Schleswig Duke of Holstein Duke of Lauenberg | Second Schleswig War |
| 1866 | Franz Joseph I of Austria |  German Confederation | President of the German Confederation | Austro-Prussian War |
| 1866 | George V of Hanover |  Hanover | King of Hanover | |
| 1866 | Frederick William, Elector of Hesse |  Hesse | Elector of Hesse | |
| 1866 | Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg |  Nassau | Duke of Nassau | |
| 1867 | Maximilian I of Mexico |  Mexico | Emperor of Mexico | Defeat of Second French intervention in Mexico |
| 1868 | Isabella II of Spain |  Spain | Queen of Spain | Glorious Revolution (Spain) |
| 1871 | Napoleon III | Second French Empire | Emperor of the French | Franco-Prussian War |
| 1889 | Pedro II of Brazil | Empire of Brazil | Emperor of Brazil | Decline and fall of Pedro II of Brazil |
| 1893 | Liliʻuokalani |  Hawaiian Kingdom | Queen of the Hawaiian Islands | Overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom |
| 1896 | Frederick William Koko Mingi VIII of Nembe | Nembe Kingdom | King of Nembe | Deposed by the British Empire |
| 1898 | Guangxu Emperor |  China | Emperor of China | Defeat of Hundred Days’ Reform |
| 1908 | Abdul Hamid II[20] | Ottoman Empire | Sultan of the Ottoman Empire | Young Turk Revolution |
| 1910 | Manuel II of Portugal |  Portugal | King of Portugal | 5 October 1910 revolution |
| 1912 | Puyi | China | Emperor of China | 1911 Revolution |
| 1914 | Peter I of Serbia |  Serbia | King of Serbia | Serbian campaign of World War I |
| 1917 | Nicholas II of Russia | Russia | Emperor of all the Russias | February Revolution |
| 1918 | Charles I of Austria |  Austria-Hungary | Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary | Dissolution of Austria-Hungary as a result of World War I |
| 1918 | Wilhelm II, German Emperor |  Germany | German Emperor | German Revolution of 1918–1919 |
| 1922 | Mehmed VI | Ottoman Empire | Sultan of the Ottoman Empire | Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire during the Turkish War of Independence |
| 1931 | Alfonso XIII | Spain | King of Spain | Abdicated after the monarchists were overwhelmingly defeated in the 1931 Spanish local elections |
| 1939 | Zog I of Albania |  Albanian Kingdom | King of Albania | Italian invasion of Albania |
| 1940 | Charlotte |  Luxembourg | Grand Duchess of Luxembourg | German invasion of Luxembourg |
| 1940 | Wilhelmina of the Netherlands |  Netherlands | Queen of the Netherlands | German invasion of the Netherlands |
| 1941 | Reza Shah | Iran | Shah of Iran | Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran |
| 1941 | George II of Greece |  Greece | King of Greece | German invasion of Greece |
| 1947 | George VI |  British Raj | Emperor of India | Independence of India |
| 1947 | Michael I of Romania | Romania | King of Romania | Soviet occupation of Romania |
| 1952 | Farouk of Egypt[21] |  Egypt | King of Egypt | Egyptian revolution of 1952 |
| 1958 | Faisal II of Iraq |  Iraq | King of Iraq | 14 July Revolution |
| 1962 | Muhammad al-Badr |  North Yemen | King and Imam of Yemen | North Yemen Civil War |
| 1964 | Jamshid bin Abdullah of Zanzibar |  Zanzibar | Sultan of Zanzibar | Zanzibar Revolution |
| 1967 | Constantine II of Greece | Greece | King of Greece | 1967 Greek counter-coup |
| 1969 | Idris of Libya[22] |  Libya | King of Libya | 1969 Libyan coup d’état |
| 1973 | Mohammed Zahir Shah |  Afghanistan | King of Afghanistan | 1973 Afghan coup d’état |
| 1974 | Haile Selassie[23] |  Ethiopia | Emperor of Ethiopia | 1974 Ethiopian coup d’état |
| 1975 | Sisavang Vatthana |  Laos | King of Laos | Laotian Civil War |
| 1978 | Mohammad Reza Pahlavi | Imperial State of Iran | Shah of Iran | Iranian Revolution |
| 1987 | Elizabeth II of Fiji |  Fiji | Queen of Fiji | Fijian monarchy abolished after the 1987 Fijian coups d’état |
Kingdom of the Algarve
Duchy of Holstein 
Duchy of Saxe-LauenburgDeposed politicians and monarchs at subnational level
Year | Politician | Division | Country | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1660 | Salvador de Sá | Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro |  State of Brazil
| Governor of the Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro | Cachaça Revolt |
| 1662 | Frederick Coyett |  Governorate of Formosa |  Dutch Republic | Governor of Formosa | Siege of Fort Zeelandia |
| 1666 | Jerônimo de Mendonça Furtado | Captaincy of Pernambuco | State of Brazil
| Governor of the Captaincy of Pernambuco | Imprisionment during the Conjuration of Our Father |
| 1789 | César-Constantin-François de Hoensbroeck |  Prince-Bishopric of Liège | Holy Roman Empire | Prince-Bishop of Liège | Liège Revolution |
| 1870 | William Woods Holden |  North Carolina | United States | Governor of North Carolina | Impeachment |
| 1871 | David Butler |  Nebraska | Governor of Nebraska | ||
| 1913 | William Sulzer |  New York | Governor of New York | ||
| 1917 | James Edward Ferguson |  Texas | Governor of Texas | ||
| 1923 | Jack Walton |  Oklahoma | Governor of Oklahoma | ||
| 1929 | Henry Simpson Johnston | Oklahoma | Governor of Oklahoma | ||
| 1930 | João Pessoa |  Paraíba | Brazil | Governor of Paraíba | Assassinated |
| 1988 | Evan Mecham |  Arizona | United States | Governor of Arizona | Impeachment |
| 1992 | Edmundo Pinto |  Acre | Brazil | Governor of Acre | Assassinated |
| 2005 | Diepreye Alamieyeseigha |  Bayelsa State |  Nigeria | Governor of Bayelsa State | Impeachment |
| 2006 | Rasheed Ladoja |  Oyo State | Governor of Oyo State | ||
| 2006 | Ayo Fayose |  Ekiti State | Governor of Ekiti State | ||
| 2006 | Joshua Dariye |  Plateau State | Governor of Plateau State | ||
| 2006 | Peter Obi |  Anambra State | Governor of Anambra State | ||
| 2009 | Rod Blagojevich |  Illinois | United States | Governor of Illinois | Impeachment and removed from the office |
| 2009 | Marcelo Miranda |  Tocantins | Brazil | Governor of Tocantins | Removed from the office by the Superior Electoral Court |
| 2014 | Murtala Nyako |  Adamawa State | Nigeria | Governor of Adamawa State | Impeachment |
| 2020 | Wilson Witzel |  Rio de Janeiro | Brazil | Governor of Rio de Janeiro | Impeachment of Wilson Witzel |
Deposed politicians and monarchs at local level
Year | Politician | Place | Division | Country | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1865 | Philip Tomppert |  Louisville |  Kentucky | United States | Mayor of Louisville | Impeachment |
| 1964 | Pelópidas da Silveira |  Recife |  Pernambuco | Brazil | Mayor of Recife | Imprisionment during the 1964 Brazilian coup d’état |
| 1965 | Edgard Grecco |  Mauá |  São Paulo | Mayor of Mauá | Impeachment | |
| 2011 | Hélio de Oliveira Santos |  Campinas | Mayor of Campinas | |||
| 2011 | Demétrio Vilagra | Campinas | ||||
| 2015 | Juan Rosario Mazzone |  El Bordo |  Salta | Argentina | Mayor of El Bordo | |
| 2022 | Jorge Muñoz Wells |  Lima | Lima Province | Peru | Mayor of Lima | |
| 2024 | Alice Guo |  Bamban |  Pampanga | Philippines | Mayor of Bamban | Dismissal by Ombudsman |
The Illusion of Invincibility
Many of the leaders on this list had one thing in common: they believed their positions were secure, perhaps forgetting that political power is as sturdy as a house of cards. Whether toppled by coups, ousted by military invasions, or ceremoniously impeached, they all faced the harsh reality of political mortality.
It’s funny how quickly an iron grip on power can slip when the tides turn. A general’s once-loyal army suddenly turns its guns, a parliament loses confidence, or a neighboring country decides to redraw borders—whatever the case, the invincibility cloak slips off. And so, these political figures tumble down from their high towers, some landing softer than others.
Even in countries with democratic safeguards, the process of removal can be just as ruthless. Impeachments are rarely about justice; they’re about politics, pure and simple. And when power becomes inconvenient for those who hold the keys to the machinery, even the most well-entrenched leaders find themselves packing their bags.
When the Throne Becomes a Trapdoor
Deposed leaders often have two choices: walk out with whatever dignity remains or be dragged out kicking and screaming. History has seen both. Forced abdications usually involve a veneer of civility, a carefully orchestrated exit where everyone pretends it’s for the good of the country. But behind the closed doors of palaces and presidential offices, it’s another story—a tale of backroom deals, whispered threats, and quiet desperation.
And then there are the invasions. These are the hard exits, where leaders barely have time to grab their personal effects before they’re escorted out, sometimes in chains. In these cases, the notion of sovereignty gives way to the reality of might, and the once-proud leaders are left to navigate the uncertain waters of exile.
In the end, the fate of these deposed figures becomes a lesson in the precariousness of power. Whether by coup, impeachment, invasion, or forced abdication, the result is the same—a leader is out, and the question remains: who will be next?
The Aftermath of Political Ousting
For some, exile in a friendly country, far from the political fray, is a comfortable retirement. For others, it’s a life of perpetual paranoia, always looking over their shoulder for the next attempt on their lives. A few even manage to stage comebacks, finding their way back to power or at least public sympathy. Yet, for most, the end of their political careers marks the beginning of an obscure, quiet life—or a not-so-quiet one behind bars.
The stories of deposed leaders serve as cautionary tales, reminding those currently in power that their position is anything but permanent.
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