Famous People Who Held Political Office a to z

Henry IV Holy Roman Emperor became king of Germany in 1056 and was abdicated in 1105. He overthrew Pope Gregory VII because of a disagreement about imperial rule.

Henry V served as joint king of Germany with Henry IV until he forced his father to abdicate the throne. Holy Roman emperor from 1111 to 1125, he was the last of the Salian line.

Henry VI was the German king and Holy Roman emperor (1165-1197). His main achievement was increasing his dynasty's power by acquiring of the kingdom of Sicily.

Adolf Hitler appointed Rudolf Hess deputy of the Nazi party in 1939. Following World War II, Hess was convicted at the Nuremberg Trials and sentenced to life in prison.

Heinrich Himmler was commander of Hitler's Schutzstaffel, and later of the Gestapo in Nazi Germany. After World War II, he committed suicide to escape capture.

Hirohito is best known for being Japan's longest-reigning emperor. His reign lasted from 1926 until his death in 1989. He was a controversial leader who led Japan's military to surrender to the Allied Forces in 1945.

Statesman Samuel Houston was a key political figure in the creation of the state of Texas. He was elected the first president of the Republic of Texas in 1836.

Mike Huckabee is a Republican politician and former governor of Arkansas. He ran for the 2008 Republican nomination for president, but lost to John McCain.

During his career, jurist Charles Hughes became the governor of New York, U.S. secretary of state and the 11th Supreme Court justice.

Hubert H. Humphrey was an assistant majority leader of the Senate who became the 38th U.S. vice president under Lyndon B. Johnson.

Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter was first elected to represent the San Diego area in 1980. He failed to gain his party's 2008 presidential nomination.

Ivan the Terrible, or Ivan IV, was the first tsar of all Russia. During his reign (1533-1584), Ivan acquired vast amounts of land through ruthless means, creating a centrally controlled government.

Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States. He is known for founding the Democratic Party and for his support of individual liberty.

Jesse Jackson Jr. is the son of the famous Reverend Jesse Jackson. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2012.

Jesse Jackson is an American civil rights leader, Baptist minister and politician who twice ran for U.S. president.

Rachel Jackson was the wife of President Andrew Jackson and is best known for the smears about her honor during her husband's election campaign.

Janet Jagan co-founded the People's Progressive Party. She was the first woman to become prime minister of Guyana and was also Guyana’s first female president.

James I was a Spanish king best known for fighting the Moors during his reign from 1213-'76. He is also known as James I the Conqueror and James I of Aragon.

Muslim statesman Muhammad Ali Jinnah led Pakistan’s independence from India, and was its first governor-general and president of its constituent assembly.

Andrew Johnson was the successor to Abraham Lincoln and was the first president of the United States to be impeached.

James Weldon Johnson was an African-American writer, politician, educator and lawyer. He was also an early civil rights activist and leader of the NAACP.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is the world's first elected black female president and Africa's first elected female head of state.

Kim Jong-un became the leader of North Korea in 2011, having inherited his position from his father Kim Jong-il.

Barbara Jordan was a U.S. congressional representative from Texas and was the first African American congresswoman to come from the Deep South.

Lech Kaczynski was a politician who served as president of Poland until his sudden death in a plane crash in 2010.

First female politician,attorney to serve as solicitor general of the United States of America.

Democrat Tim Kaine served as governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and is currently a member of the U.S. Senate.

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is an Indian scientist and politician who served his country as president from 2002 to 2007.

Joseph P. Kennedy is best known as the father of three political leaders: President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Representative Ted Kennedy and Robert Kennedy, who served as a U.S. senator and attorney general.

A part of the famed American political dynasty, Joseph P. Kennedy became the latest member of his family to win public office in 2012. He won a seat to the U.S. House of Representatives, taking over for the retiring Barney Frank.

Robert Kennedy was Attorney General during his brother JFK's administration. He later served as a U.S. Senator and was assassinated during his run for the presidency.

Imran Khan is a champion cricketer and a Pakistani politician.

Henry Kissinger is an American political scientist and diplomat who won the Nobel Peace Prize for efforts to broker a peaceful settlement of the Vietnam War.

Thomas Klestil was an Austrian statesman and the 10th president of Austria.

Henry Knox was a bookstore owner who became a Major General under George Washington during the American Revolution and later Secretary of War.

Ed Koch was an outspoken attorney, author and media commentator who was the mayor of New York City from 1977 to 1989.

Helmut Kohl served as chancellor of Germany from 1982 to 1988, during which time he oversaw the reunification of East and West Germany.

Toussaint l'Ouverture was a leader of the Haitian independence movement during the French Revolution.

Bernard Law Montgomery led the British Eighth Army in North Africa during World War Two and oversaw British participation during the D-Day invasion.

Vladimir Lenin was founder of the Russian Communist Party, leader of the Bolshevik Revolution and architect and first head of the Soviet state.

John Lindsay was a U.S. congressman and was the mayor of New York City during the 1960s. He is known for his "ghetto walks" and clashes with labor groups.

Henry Cabot Lodge was an American politician from Massachusetts and the first U.S. Senate majority leader.

Antonio López de Santa Anna was a 19th century Mexican military officer who acted as the country’s president and dictator at different periods.

Wangari Maathai was a Kenyan political and environmental activist and her country's assistant minister of environment, natural resources and wildlife.

Sean MacBride was an Irish politician and the former chief of staff of the IRA

Winnie Mandela was the controversial wife of Nelson Mandela who spent her life in varying governmental roles.

The fourth U.S. president, James Madison believed in a robust yet balanced federal government and is known as the "Father of the Constitution."

Wilma Mankiller worked for several years as a leading advocate for the Cherokee people, and became the first woman to serve as their principal chief in 1985.

Horace Mann was an American politician and education reformer, best known for promoting universal public education and teacher training in "normal schools."

Imelda Marcos spent more than 20 years as the first lady of the Philippines. She became infamous for her spending habits and enormous shoe collection.

John Marshall became the fourth chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1801. He is largely responsible for establishing the Supreme Court's role in federal government.

Thomas R. Marshall was a governor of Indiana and served as U.S. vice president under Woodrow Wilson.

Cindy McCain is an Arizona businesswoman, a philanthropist who works with international nonprofit organizations, and the wife of U.S. Senator John McCain.

John McCain is a military hero and Republican U.S. Senator defeated by Barack Obama in the 2008 United States presidential election.

American politician Eugene J. McCarthy challenged Lyndon B. Johnson in the race for the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination, which led to Johnson's withdrawal.

Bob McDonnell, a prominent Republican politician, became governor of Virginia in 2010.

Though he helped reform the Democratic Party, U.S. Senator George S. McGovern lost his 1972 presidential campaign to Richard Nixon.

Dmitry Medvedev served under Vladimir Putin and succeeded him as president of Russia in 2008.

Angela Merkel is a German politician best known as the first female chancellor of Germany and one of the architects of the European Union.

Explorer and mountaineer Reinhold Messner is famous for making the first solo ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen.

Kweisi Mfume is the former President and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

For three decades, Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland has served in the U.S. Congress and been a strong supporter of women's issues.

Harvey Milk became one of the first openly gay officials in the United States in 1977, when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Tragically, he was killed the following year.