List of state leaders in 1861 - Events of 1862 - List of state leaders in 1863 - State leaders by year

Africa

• Ashanti Confederacy - Kwaku Dua I Panyin , Asantehene (1834-1867)
• Buganda - Mutesa I, King of Buganda (1856-1884)
• Bunyoro - Kyebambe IV , Omukama of Bunyoro (1852-1869)
• Burundi - Mwezi IV Gisabo, King of Burundi (1852-1908)
• Dahomey - Glele, King of Dahomey (1856-1889)
• Ethiopia - Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia (1855-1868)
• Rwanda - Kigeri IV , King of Rwanda (1853-1895)
• Sokoto Caliphate
  • Caliph - Ahmad bin Atiku , Sokoto Caliph (1859-1866)
  • Grand Vizier - Ibrahim Khalilu , Sokoto Grand Vizier (1859-c.1874)
• Zanzibar - Sayyid Majid bin Said Al-Busaid, Sultan of Zanzibar (1856-1870)
• Zulu - Mpande kaSenzangakhona, King of the Zulu (1840-1872)

Asia

• Afghanistan - Dost Mohammad Khan, King of Afghanistan (1843-1863)
• China
  • Qing Dynasty - Tongzhi, Emperor of China (1861-1875)
  • Heavenly Kingdom of Taiping - Hong Xiuquan, King of Heaven (1851-1864)
• Japan
  • Monarch - Kōmei, Emperor of Japan (1846-1867)
  • Shogun (Tokugawa) - Tokugawa Iemochi, Shogun of Japan (1858-1866)
• Korea (Joseon Dynasty) - Cheoljong, King of Joseon (1849-1864)
• Oman - Thuwaini bin Said , Sultan of Oman (1856-1866)

Europe

• Abkhazia - Mikheil, Prince of Abkhazia (1822-1864)
• Austria - Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria (1848-1916)
• Belgium - Leopold I, King of the Belgians (1831-1865)
• Denmark -
  • Monarch - Frederick VII, King of Denmark (1848-1863)
  • Prime Minister - Carl Christian Hall, Prime Minister of Denmark (1860-1863)
• France - Napoleon III, Emperor of the French (1852-1870)
• German Confederation - Franz Joseph of Austria, President of the German Confederation (1850-1866)
  • Bavaria - Maximilian II, King of Bavaria (1848-1864)
  • Saxony - Johann, King of Saxony (1854-1873)
  • Württemberg - Wilhelm I, King of Württemberg (1816-1864)
• Italy -
  • Monarch - Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Italy (1861-1878)
  • Prime Minister -
    1. Bettino Ricasoli, Prime Minister of Italy (1861-1862 )
    2. Urbano Rattazzi, Prime Minister of Italy (1862)
    3. Luigi Carlo Farini, Prime Minister of Italy (1862-1863)
• Netherlands - William III, King of the Netherlands (1849-1890)
• Norway - Carl IV, King of Norway (1859-1872)
• Ottoman Empire - Abd-ul-Aziz, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1861-1876)
• Papal States - Pope Pius IX (1846-1878)
• Portugal - Luis, King of Portugal (1861-1889)
• Prussia -
  • Monarch - Wilhelm I, King of Prussia (1861-1888)
  • Prime Minister -
    1. Prince Karl Anton of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen , Minister-President of Prussia (1858-1862)
    2. Adolf von Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen , Minister-President of Prussia (1862)
    3. Otto von Bismarck, Minister-President of Prussia (1862-1873)
• Romania - Alexander John Cuza, Prince of Romania (1859-1866)
• Russia - Alexander II, Tsar of Russia (1855-1881)
• Spain - Isabella II, Queen of Spain (1833-1868)
• Sweden - Kingdom of Sweden-Norway
  • Monarch - Charles XV, King of Sweden (1859-1872)
  • Chief Minister - Louis Gerhard De Geer , Prime Minister for Justice of Sweden (1858-1870)
  • Foreign Minister - Ludvig Manderström , Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden-Norway (1858-1868)
• United Kingdom
  • Monarch - Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1837-1901)
  • Prime Minister - Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1859-1865)

Middle East and North Africa

• Abu Dhabi - Zaid ibn Khalifa , Shaikh of Abu Dhabi (1855-1909)
• Egypt - Said, Governor of Egypt (1854-1863)
• Morocco - Mohammed IV, Sultan of Morocco (1859-1873)
• Ottoman Empire
  • Monarch - Abd-ul-Aziz, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1861-1876)
  • Grand Vizier - Keçecizade Mehmed Fuad Pasha , Ottoman Grand Vizier (1861-1863)

North America and Caribbean

• Province of Canada - The Viscount Monck of Ballytrammon, Governor of the Province of Canada (1861-1867)
• Confederate States of America - Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States (1861-1865)
• Costa Rica - José María Montealegre Fernández, President (1859-1863)
• Mexico - Benito Juárez, President of Mexico (1861-1863)
• United States - Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States (1861-1865)

South America

• Brazil - Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil (1831-1889)