Story so far: Across Asia, Africa and even America, political dynasts have been elected to power this year. Starting from Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina in January to Paetongtarn Shinawatra in August, voters increasingly chose ex-Presidents’ kin to lead their country. Of these, seven leaders are from Asia itself – leading Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, North Korea, Pakistan, Philippines and Cambodia.
Kicking off the year, incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, daughter of Bangladesh’s first Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was re-elected for the fourth straight time in January, ushering in her fifth term. Following her was Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto, elected as President along with Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka in February – both kins of former Indonesian Presidents.
In March, Pakistan re-elected Shehbaz Sharif, brother of exiled ex-PM Nawaz Sharif, for a second time in spite of independent candidates backed by jailed ex-PM Imran Khan winning the largest number of directly elected seats in the National Assembly. He chose ally Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Asif Ali Zardari, widower of late PM Benazir Bhutto, as his President.
Meanwhile, in August, Thailand’s Parliament chose its youngest PM – Paetongtarn, daughter of ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra. Her aunt Yingluck too had been PM before her term was cut short in 2014 when military rule was imposed.
There are six other political heirs currently leading Canada (Justin Trudeau), Uruguay (Luis Lacalle Pou), Philippines (Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr), Malta (Robert Abela), North Korea (Kim Jong-Un) and Cambodia (Hun Manet).
Here is look at these dynasts journey to the top post
Elected in 2024
Bangladesh: Sheikh Hasina
Surviving the massacre that wiped out her family in 1975, Sheikh Hasina returned to Bangladesh in 1981 and joined hands with her rival Khaleda Zia in 1988 to bring an end to military rule. She was elected for the first time as Prime Minister in 1996 and took the nation on a secular, democratic, and progressive path. After she was re-elected in 2008, she won three more consecutive terms in 2014, 2018, and 2024. During her 15-year term, she consolidated power by cracking down on Opposition, extremists involved in the 1971 war and jailing her critics.
In spite of being elected virtually unopposed in January, she faced a massive student protest seeking the abolishment of 30% quota for descendants of freedom fighters and basic reform of the reservation system. Amid intense police crackdown, the street protests snowballed into a demand for her resignation. With no other respite, Bangladesh’s longest-serving PM was forced to step down and flee to India.
Indonesia: Prabowo Subianto & Gibran Rakabuming Raka
In February, Indonesia chose to repose faith in former general and defence minister – 73 year-old Prabowo Subianto, to lead the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation. Mr. Subianto, married to the nation’s longest-serving Prime Minister Suharto’s daughter Siti Hediati Hariyadi, had previously lost the presidential election to Joko Widodo in 2014 and 2019. With Mr. Widodo completing his maximum two-term limit, he backed Mr. Subianto’s bid. He also fielded his 36-year-old son Gibran Rakabuming Raka as Mr. Subianto’s running mate. The two were awarded a landslide win as they ran virtually unopposed.
Pakistan: Shehbaz Sharif & Asif Ali Zardari
In April 2022, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) voted out Imran Khan, replacing him with Shebaz Sharif, brother of ex-PM Nawaz Sharif. After Mr. Khan was arrested in connection with a corruption case while he was appearing in an Islamabad court in May 2023, violent protests broke out across Pakistan.
As Mr. Khan’s incarceration continued, his popularity swelled leading to the Election Commission stripping his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) off its iconic ‘bat’ symbol and Mr. Khan being barred from contesting polls for five years. Banking on public sympathy, PTI-backed Independents won 92 seats in the polls held in March, emerging as the largest bloc in the 272 seats in direct contest, but failed to clinch a majority. With the PML-N and PPP coalition winning a comfortable victory, Mr. Sharif was chosen as PM while PPP chief Asif Ali Zardari – widower of ex-PM Benazir Bhutto – was elected as President, for the second time.
Thailand: Paetongtarn Shinawatra
August saw the rise of Thailand’s youngest Prime Minister – 38-year-old Paetongtarn Shinawatra, following her billionaire father Thaksin and aunt Yingluck’s footsteps. With the end of the military rule in Thailand in 2022, Ms. Shinawatra was chosen as one of the three Prime ministerial candidates for her party – Pheu Thai Party (PTP) ahead of the May 2023 elections.
As the general elections threw up a mixed result with PTP winning 141 of the 500 seats, it was forced to join hands with 10 other parties, including military-backed United Thai Nation Party and Palang Pracharat Party. Initially, PTP chose real estate mogul Srettha Thavisin as its PM pick and appointed Ms. Shinawatra as its party’s leader. Mr. Srettha was dismissed as PM by Thailand’s constitutional court on August 14 for ‘gross ethical violations’ in appointing Ms. Thaksin’s former lawyer, Pichit Chuenban, to his cabinet, paving the way for Ms. Shinawatra’s elevation to the top post.
Leading countries in 2024
Canada: Justin Trudeau
Carrying on the legacy of his father – Pierre Trudeau, ex-PM of Canada, 44-year-old Justin Trudeau led the Liberals to victory in 2015, winning 184 of the 338 seats. Ending a nine-year run of the Conservatives, Mr. Trudeau shook off accusations of inexperience and incapable of governing to bring glamour, youth and charisma to Ottawa. He battled a tough re-election in 2019 and won 157 seats. With the support of a smaller left-leaning party, the scandal-ridden Prime Minister formed a stable minority government to usher in his second term.
In a controversial bid to regain a majority in the House of Commons, Mr. Trudeau called a snap elections in September 2021 to get ‘business of the country done’ as Canada struggled through a COVID-19 wave. While the Opposition termed the move as ‘unnecessary and potentially dangerous’ amid a deadly COVID-19 wave, Mr. Trudeau was re-elected for a third straight term. However, his gamble failed as the Liberals won 157 seats the same number they won in 2019, 13 short of the 170 needed for a majority in the House of Commons. With inflation, unpopularity, immigration woes and diplomatic tensions hitting the Liberals, Mr. Trudeay faces a very tough re-election in 2025.
Uruguay: Luis Lacalle Pou
Riding the global political wave to the Right, Uruguay elected Luis Lacalle Pou, son of ex-President Luis Alberto Lacalle, in November 2019. Ending a 15-year-run of the left-wing Broad Front government, 46-year-old Luis Lacelle, took oath as Uruguay’s 42nd President. Four years after his father’s term as President, Luis Lacelle joined his father’s party centre-right Partido Nacional (PN) in 1999 and gained national prominence in 2011 when he was elected president of the House of Representatives.
He ran a failed presidential run in 2014 against Tabare Vazquez but managed to beat him in 2019. Mr. Lacelle’s re-election was unsuccessful as Uruguay’s Left, led by returned to power in November. In March 2025, Mr. Lacelle will transfer power to the Centre-left coalition’s leader – Yamandu Orsi.
Philippines: Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr
Seeking to distance himself from his late father ex-Prez Ferdinand Marcos, his son Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr known as ‘Bongbong’, promised to be a “President for all Filipinos” after he was elected President in June 2022. Interestingly, his running mate was Sara Duterte – former President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter. The duo sought common ground across political divides as they campaigned for more jobs, lower prices and more investment in agriculture and infrastructure. With this win, the Marcos family will return to power after 30 years since they were forced to flee in 1986 due to People Power revolution.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., center right, and Vice President Sara Duterte, daughter of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, raise hands during the inauguration ceremony at National Museum on Thursday, June 30, 2022 in Manila, Philippines. | Photo Credit: Aaron Favila
The late dictator Marcos Sr’s 21-year old rule was marked by human rights abuses and widespread corruption, according to the BBC. After his regime was overthrown, Marcos Sr died in exile in Hawaii three years later. Led by his son ‘Bongbong’, the Marcos family returned to the Philippines in 1991 and made concentrated efforts to rebrand the family’s image. Through the years, several Marcos became wealthy, influential politicians, with successive family members representing province – Ilocos Norte.
Cambodia: Hun Manet
The 45-year-old Hun Manet, second son of ex-PM Hun Sen – Cambodia’s longest serving Prime Minister, who was re-elected in July 2023, took over the top post as his father stepped down in August that year. Seventy-one-year-old Hun Sen tightened his grip on Cambodia during his 38 years in office as he ushered in a free-market economy and raised standards of living. Clamping down any Opposition, the ex-PM appointed his son Hun Manet as the country’s Deputy Commander-in-Chief in 2018.
The four-star General, who was announced as a prime ministerial candidate in 2021, prepared for the top post by engaging in egional defence diplomacy, meeting officials from India, China, Japan and the U.S and making trips to neighbouring nations. In a one-sided election, which has been termed “neither free nor fair” by international poll watchers, the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) swept to power in a landslide victory and Gen. Hun Manet won a seat in Phnom Penh. While Hun Sen stepped down for his son, he retained a large amount of control as his party’s president and the Senate president.
Malta: Robert Abela
In 2020, Robert Abela, son of ex-President George Abela, took over as Prime Minister after incumbent PM Joseph Muscat resigned due to scandal involving murder of the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. The junior Abela, who is a lawyer by profession, has been involved in politics since late 90’s when his father was the Labour party’s deputy leader. During his father’s presidency (2009-2014), Mr. Abela’s law firm represented several government entities, attracting accusations of conflict of interest.
In 2017, he was elected to Parliament for the first time, from the District 6 and soon rose through the party’s ranks. He led Labour to its third consecutive victory in 2022 running a campaign based on a strong economy and his government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
North Korea: Kim Jong-Un
Inheriting the leadership of North Korea after its head, Kim Jong Il’s death, Kim Jon Un -his youngest son by his third wife, was chosen as its Supreme leader in 2011. Since 1948, when it gained independence from Japan, the Kim family has ruled with an iron-fist. Dubbed as a ‘democratic republic’, North Korea follows the one-party system like China. The Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) is the nation’s sole ruling party, which controls the Army and the People’s Assembly. First led by Kim Il Sung (1948-94) – North Korea’s first Supreme Leader, then by his eldest son Kim Jong Il (1994-2011), the WPK elected his youngest son Kim Jong Un as its general secretary.
Since taking control of the nation, Kim Jong Un, who had little political or military experience, has made North Korea a global threat by rapidly developing North Korea’s nuclear and missile programme. As his periodic tests of ballistic missiles worried the global order, Kim Jong Un negotiated a possible denuclearisation with US President Donald Trump in 2018. However, talks failed as Mr. Trump refused to lift sanctions till North Korea completely dismantled its nuclear programme.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, along with his daughter, walks away from an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in this undated photo released on November 19, 2022 by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)
Since then, Kim Jong Un has roped in his sister Kim Yo Jong to steer ‘overall state affairs’ and frame Pyongyang’s policy towards the US and South Korea. Kim Jong Un’s preteen daughter Ju-Ae has recently stepped in the public eye, hinting at her role as North Korea’s leader.
Published – December 25, 2024 01:19 pm IST
