Burundi is a small, landlocked country in East Africa, bordered by Rwanda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It became independent in 1962 as a kingdom. It has been a republic with a president since November 1966 [1].
Since then, power in Burundi has changed hands through coups, assassinations, a plane attack, peace deals and elections. Here is the short answer, followed by the full story of every president.
Quick answer
- Burundi has had 10 presidents since 1966. Pierre Buyoya ruled twice, so there have been 11 presidencies [1].
- 3 presidents were removed in coups (a coup, or coup d’état, is when the army or a small group takes power by force): Michel Micombero in 1976, Jean-Baptiste Bagaza in 1987 and Sylvestre Ntibantunganya in 1996 [1].
- 2 presidents were killed in office: Melchior Ndadaye was murdered during a coup attempt in 1993, and Cyprien Ntaryamira died when his plane was shot down in 1994 [1].
- 3 handovers were peaceful: Buyoya stepped down after losing the 1993 election, Buyoya handed over under a peace deal in 2003, and Domitien Ndayizeye handed over after the 2005 vote [1].
- 1 president died just before his term ended: Pierre Nkurunziza died in June 2020, weeks before his successor was due to take over [2].
- The current president is Évariste Ndayishimiye, in office since 18 June 2020 [2]. He was elected chair of the African Union for 2026 [3].
- His party has named him as its candidate for the next presidential election [4], which is set for 3 May 2027 [5].
All presidents of Burundi at a glance
| # | President | In office | How they left office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michel Micombero | 1966 to 1976 | Overthrown in a military coup [1] |
| 2 | Jean-Baptiste Bagaza | 1976 to 1987 | Overthrown in a military coup while abroad [1] |
| 3 | Pierre Buyoya | 1987 to 1993 | Lost an election and handed over power [1, 2] |
| 4 | Melchior Ndadaye | July to October 1993 | Killed during a coup attempt [1] |
| 5 | Cyprien Ntaryamira | February to April 1994 | Killed when his plane was shot down [1] |
| 6 | Sylvestre Ntibantunganya | 1994 to 1996 | Overthrown in a military coup [1] |
| 7 | Pierre Buyoya (second time) | 1996 to 2003 | Handed over under a peace agreement [1, 2] |
| 8 | Domitien Ndayizeye | 2003 to 2005 | Handed over after Parliament elected a new president [1] |
| 9 | Pierre Nkurunziza | 2005 to 2020 | Term ending; died before the handover [1, 2] |
| 10 | Évariste Ndayishimiye | 2020 to present | Still in office [2] |
Before the presidents: the kings of Burundi
When Burundi became independent in 1962, its head of state was a king, called the Mwami. King Mwambutsa IV was on the throne at independence [1].
In July 1966, his son, Prince Charles Ndizeye, replaced him and took the name Ntare V. Just a few months later, on 28 November 1966, the king was overthrown by his own prime minister, Michel Micombero. Burundi was declared a republic, which ended the monarchy [1].
A quick note on two words used throughout this article. Hutu and Tutsi are Burundi’s two largest social groups. Much of the country’s political violence has run along this divide, with the army long dominated by Tutsi officers [2].
1. Michel Micombero (1966 to 1976)
Micombero was an army officer who took power when he ended the monarchy in November 1966. He formed a government as president in December 1966 [1].
His rule is most remembered for the killings of 1972. After a Hutu-led rebellion, the army and its allies carried out reprisal killings (revenge attacks) against Hutu people. Estimates of the death toll range from 80,000 to 300,000, and one research project at Tufts University puts the figure at around 100,000 [6].
In December 2021, Burundi’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (an official body set up to investigate past crimes) said the 1972 killings of Hutus were a “crime of genocide [7]. The commission also said some Tutsis were victims of crimes against humanity in the same period. Critics accused the commission of bias, because it focused mainly on graves of Hutu victims and is made up almost entirely of ruling party members [7].
How he left office: On 1 November 1976, Micombero was overthrown in a military coup led by Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Baptiste Bagaza [1]. He went into exile in Somalia and died of a heart attack in Mogadishu in 1983 [8].
2. Jean-Baptiste Bagaza (1976 to 1987)
Bagaza took control on 2 November 1976 and was sworn in as president later that month [1]. He ruled for almost 11 years.
How he left office: In September 1987, Bagaza travelled to Quebec, Canada, for a summit of French-speaking countries (the Francophonie). While he was away, Major Pierre Buyoya, who had been left in charge of security, seized power [9]. The takeover was completed on 3 September 1987 [1].
Bagaza later returned to politics. He died at a hospital in Brussels, Belgium, on 4 May 2016, aged 70 [10].
3. Pierre Buyoya, first time (1987 to 1993)
Buyoya ruled at first through a military committee [9]. In 1988, more than 20,000 people, mostly Hutu, were killed in violence in the north of the country. After this, Buyoya formed a cabinet with a Hutu majority [2].
He then introduced a new constitution in 1992 that allowed multiparty elections [2]. A constitution is the country’s highest set of rules about how it is governed.
How he left office: In Burundi’s first free presidential election, on 1 June 1993, Buyoya lost to Melchior Ndadaye. Ndadaye won 64.7% of the vote and Buyoya won 32.3% [9]. Buyoya accepted defeat and handed over power on 10 July 1993, which was rare in the region at the time [9].
4. Melchior Ndadaye (July to October 1993)
Ndadaye was Burundi’s first Hutu president and the first chosen in a free election [2]. He was inaugurated (formally sworn in) on 10 July 1993 [1].
How he left office: He was killed during an attempted military coup on 21 October 1993, after only about 100 days in office [1]. Soldiers from the Tutsi-led army took him to an army barracks, claiming they were protecting him, and killed him with bayonets (blades attached to rifles). Other senior officials were also killed [11].
His death set off waves of revenge killings on both sides [11]. Up to 150,000 Tutsi were killed in retribution, and perhaps 50,000 more people died in smaller outbreaks [2]. The violence grew into a civil war that lasted about a decade, and more than 300,000 civilians were killed in total [11].
For a few days after the murder there was no clear leader. A former interior minister, François Ngeze, briefly acted as head of state, then said Prime Minister Sylvie Kinigi should take control of the government [11]. Neither is usually counted as a president.
In 1999, five men were convicted of Ndadaye’s murder and sentenced to death [11].
5. Cyprien Ntaryamira (February to April 1994)
Ntaryamira was elected by the National Assembly (Burundi’s parliament) on 13 January 1994 and sworn in on 5 February 1994 [1].
How he left office: On 6 April 1994, he was flying home from a regional meeting on board the plane of Rwanda’s president, Juvénal Habyarimana. As the plane approached Kigali airport in Rwanda, it was hit by a surface-to-air missile (a rocket fired from the ground at aircraft). All 12 people on board died, including both presidents [12].
The attack was followed within hours by the start of the genocide in Rwanda [12]. Who fired the missiles “has never been conclusively determined” [13]. Different investigations have blamed Hutu extremists in Rwanda and leaders of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) rebel group, and the question remains disputed [13].
6. Sylvestre Ntibantunganya (1994 to 1996)
Ntibantunganya became provisional (temporary) president on 8 April 1994, two days after the plane attack. Parliament then elected him president on 30 September 1994 [1]. He led a power-sharing government, meaning the main parties agreed to divide top jobs between them, while fighting continued [2].
How he left office: In late July 1996, the army took control of the country, removed Ntibantunganya and installed Pierre Buyoya as leader again [9].
7. Pierre Buyoya, second time (1996 to 2003)
Buyoya’s second coup led neighbouring countries to impose sanctions (trade and travel punishments) on Burundi, which were eased in 1997 and lifted in 1999 [2].
Peace talks were led first by Tanzania’s former president Julius Nyerere and then by South Africa’s Nelson Mandela. They produced the Arusha Agreement in 2000, a peace deal named after the Tanzanian city where it was signed [2]. Under the deal, a transition government took office on 1 November 2001. Buyoya would lead for 18 months, then hand over to a Hutu leader [9].
How he left office: As agreed, Buyoya handed power to his vice-president, Domitien Ndayizeye, on 30 April 2003 [9].
In November 2020, a court in Burundi sentenced Buyoya to life in prison in absentia (meaning he was tried without being present) over Ndadaye’s 1993 assassination. He called the trial political [14]. He died of COVID-19 in Paris on 17 December 2020, aged 71 [14].
8. Domitien Ndayizeye (2003 to 2005)
Ndayizeye was sworn in on 30 April 2003 [1]. Later that year, he and rebel leaders signed peace accords that largely ended the civil war [2].
How he left office: A new power-sharing constitution was adopted in 2005. Parliament then elected Pierre Nkurunziza as president, and Ndayizeye handed over when Nkurunziza was sworn in on 26 August 2005 [1, 2].
9. Pierre Nkurunziza (2005 to 2020)
Nkurunziza was a former rebel leader from the CNDD-FDD party, which still rules Burundi today. In 2005, Parliament elected him by 151 votes to 9 [1]. In 2010, he was re-elected with more than 90% of the vote after all six challengers withdrew [2].
His decision to seek a third term in 2015 triggered a major crisis. Critics said it broke the term limits in the Arusha Agreement and the constitution, but the Constitutional Court ruled it was allowed [2]. On 13 and 14 May 2015, General Godefroid Niyombare led a coup attempt while Nkurunziza was abroad, but it failed and Nkurunziza returned [1].
Nkurunziza won the 2015 election, which the opposition boycotted (refused to take part in) [2]. An estimated 1,200 people were killed and more than 400,000 displaced (forced from their homes) between April 2015 and October 2017 [2].
In 2018, a referendum (a public vote on one question) changed the constitution. It extended presidential terms from five to seven years, with a limit of two terms in a row, and brought back the post of prime minister [2].
How he left office: Nkurunziza did not run in 2020. He died in early June 2020, aged 56, just weeks before his successor was due to be sworn in. The government said the cause was a heart attack [15].
10. Évariste Ndayishimiye (2020 to present)
Ndayishimiye is an army general and former head of the ruling party [4]. He won the presidential election of 20 May 2020 [2], a vote marked by fraud allegations and the disqualification of his main rival [4]. After Nkurunziza’s death, the Constitutional Court allowed him to take office early, on 18 June 2020 [2].
He promised to restore the rule of law and fight corruption, and some international sanctions were eased in 2022 [2]. In September 2022, he fired Prime Minister Alain-Guillaume Bunyoni, who was later sentenced to life in prison in December 2023 [2]. Bunyoni was released on medical grounds in early 2026 [4]. Human rights groups say there has been no meaningful improvement in human rights [2].
In February 2026, Ndayishimiye was elected chair of the African Union for one year [3]. In April 2026, the ruling party named him its candidate for a seven-year term [4]. The election is set for 3 May 2027, and opposition parties boycotted the meeting where the date was announced [5].
Patterns in Burundi’s presidential history
Looking at all 11 presidencies, a few patterns stand out:
- The army has been the biggest kingmaker. Three presidents took power by force (Micombero, Bagaza and Buyoya twice), and three were removed by force [1].
- The 1993 to 1994 period was the deadliest. Burundi lost two presidents in less than six months [1].
- The longest-serving president was Pierre Nkurunziza, at almost 15 years [1].
- The shortest presidency was Cyprien Ntaryamira’s, at about two months [1].
- No president has yet lost an election and stayed alive in politics to win again. Buyoya returned to power by coup, not by vote [9].
Myths vs facts
| Claim | Verdict | What the evidence says |
|---|---|---|
| It is known who shot down the 1994 plane that killed Burundi’s president | Myth | The shooter’s identity has never been conclusively determined [13] |
| Pierre Nkurunziza died of COVID-19 | Unproven | The official cause was a heart attack. Some suspected COVID-19 because his wife was reportedly treated for it, but this was never confirmed [15] |
| Pierre Buyoya peacefully handed power to an elected rival in 1993 | True | He accepted defeat and handed over on 10 July 1993 [9] |
| The 2015 coup attempt removed Nkurunziza from power | Myth | The coup failed and he returned the next day [1] |
| The 1972 killings have been officially called a genocide in Burundi | True | The Truth and Reconciliation Commission said so in December 2021, though critics questioned its neutrality [7] |
| Burundi’s president can rule for unlimited terms | Myth | Since 2018, terms are seven years, limited to two in a row [2] |
| Ndadaye was killed by ordinary rioters | Myth | He was killed by soldiers at an army barracks during a coup attempt [11] |
Bottom line
Since 1966, Burundi has had 10 presidents across 11 presidencies. Only three of those changes happened peacefully. The others came through coups, assassination, a missile attack and a death in office.
The 2000 Arusha peace deal and the 2005 constitution gave Burundi its longest stretch without a successful coup. However, the 2015 crisis showed that disputes over term limits can still turn deadly. The next test comes with the presidential election on 3 May 2027, when Évariste Ndayishimiye will seek a second term [5].
Disclaimer: This article is for general education only and does not replace professional historical, legal or political advice. If you notice an error or would like to send feedback or corrections, please contact us.
References
[1] Burundi (1962-present), University of Central Arkansas
[2] Burundi: The Third Republic, Encyclopaedia Britannica
[3] Burundi President elected 2026 AU Chair, Mahama secures First Vice position, Citi Newsroom
[4] Burundi President Ndayishimiye named ruling party candidate for 2027 election, Africanews
[5] Burundi Sets Date for 2027 Presidential Election, News Central TV
[6] Burundi: Counter-coup reprisal killings, Mass Atrocity Endings, Tufts University
[7] Burundi commission says 1972 Hutu killings were genocide, JusticeInfo.net
[8] Michel Micombero, Wikipedia
[9] Pierre Buyoya, CIDOB
[10] Former Burundi president dies in Belgium, Africanews
[11] Burundian President Is Assassinated, EBSCO Research Starters
[12] Unlawful Interference Dassault Falcon 50 9XR-NN, 6 April 1994, Aviation Safety Network
[13] Rwanda genocide of 1994: Genocide, Encyclopaedia Britannica
[14] Burundi ex-president Pierre Buyoya dies from Covid-19, Africanews
[15] Burundi says president Nkurunziza has died of heart attack, PBS NewsHour
