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.

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)