President for Life is a title assumed by some dictators to ensure that their authority or legitimacy is never questioned.

The first well-known incident of a leader extending his term indefinitely was Roman dictator Julius Caesar, who made himself "Perpetual Dictator" (commonly mistranslated as 'Dictator-for-life') in 45 BC. His actions would later be mimicked by the French leader Napoleon Bonaparte who was appointed "First Consul for life" in 1802.

Since then, many dictators, especially those in post-colonial Africa, have adopted similar titles.

Ironically, most leaders who proclaim themselves President for Life do not in fact successfully serve a life term. Most are deposed long before their death although some, such as François Duvalier and Josip Broz Tito, have managed to run out the clock. The only current president for life, Saparmyrat Nyyazow, announced he could step down by 2010.

Some very long-serving authoritarian presidents, such as Fidel Castro, who are frequently thought of as examples of Presidents for Life, actually undergo periodic renewal of mandate although many groups such as the University of Miami Institute for Cuban studies dispute the results http://ctp.iccas.miami.edu/FOCUS_Web/Issue36.htm . Ferdinand Marcos also falls into this category.

List of Leaders who became President for Life (with date of proclamation)

• Julius Caesar of Roman Republic (perpetual dictator 45 BC) - assassinated 44 BC.
• Napoleon Bonaparte of France (first consul for life 1802) - became emperor 1804 (deposed 1814).
• Alexandre Sabès dit Pétion of Haiti (1808) - died in office 1818.
• José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia of Paraguay (1816) - died in office 1840.
• Rafael Carrera of Guatemala (1854) - died in office 1865.
• Yuan Shikai of China (1915) - resigned under pressure 1916.
• Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia (1963) - died in office 1980.
• Sukarno of Indonesia (1963) - deposed 1967.
• François Duvalier of Haiti (1964) - died in office 1971.
• Hastings Kamuzu Banda of Malawi (1971) - defeated in elections 1994.
• Jean-Bédel Bokassa of the Central African Republic (1972) - became emperor 1976 (deposed 1979).
• Francisco Macías Nguema of Equatorial Guinea (1972) - deposed 1979.
• Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia (1975) - deposed 1987.
• Idi Amin of Uganda (1976) - defeated in war 1979.
• Lennox Sebe of Ciskei (1983) - deposed 1990.

Current

• Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan (1999)