15 of the Shortest Reigns of Power in History

Like the time you dated that really hot person for, like, a week, sometimes greatness lasts for a really short time. Also, no, we’re not talking about ourselves and just blatantly projecting, focus. In this Pictofact, we examine 15 of the shortest reigns of power in history. And we had fun with it: Some of them lasted a few days, others a few months, but in each case it all ended way too soon and we were left wondering what we did to deserve getting ghosted. Wait, no, what were we talking about?

Oh yes, history. Yeah, that person’s old history, trust us. They probably think we still care but we don’t even think about them anymore, we don’t know why you even brought them up. Also, how about that British Prime Minister lady, uh? Because of course she’s on this list. Will she be number one? Will we mock her with annoying sarcasm and the heartfelt Schadenfreude of seeing political ghouls fail? Perhaps. You’ll just have to see. And maybe contact us. We don’t mean to brag, but we did date a hot person for, like, two days, you know.

15 Liz Truss

Shortest Reigns 50 days Liz Truss In another win for corporate-coddling, poverty- creating, planet-burning conservatives everywhere, in 2022 Truss became the UK's shortest-serving prime minister after helming the position for 50 magnificent days. She will be fondly remembered for her charisma and powerful speeches on cheese. She was followed not by a general election but by another Tory politician, a sure recipe for success. CRACKED.COM — *Shag 7799/Shutterstock*
*The Guardian*

14 William Henry Harrison

Shortest Reigns 31 days William Henry Harrison The ninth president of the U.S. rocked the position from March 4 to April 4, 1 841. Harrison was one of the three presidents the Whig Party ever had, and caught a deadly cold just three weeks after getting elected. Today, he's fondly remembered for not changing his clothes after a rainstorm, because that's communism. CRACKED.COM — *William Henry Harrison by James Reid Lambdin/Wiki Commons*
Wikipedia

13 Pope Urban VII

Shortest Reigns 13 days Pope Urban VII Urban pope'd it out for nearly two weeks in September 1590, before dying of malaria. And he was pretty cool for a Pope, probably because of his awesome rapper name. Не fought nepotism, cut down on luxury items for his court members, and subsidized bakeries and public work projects. CRACKED.COM — *Portrait of Pope Urban VII Castagna, by Jacopo del Conte*
Wikipedia

12 Jane Grey

Shortest Reigns LA 9 days Jane Grey Grey (not to be confused with the mutant) was Queen of England and Ireland in 1553. She was picked by King Edward VI over his half-sister Mary, because Grey was a protestant. However, support for her quickly declined, and she was publicly beheaded on February 12, 1554, around the age of 17. CRACKED.COM — *The Streatham Portrait of Lady Jane Grey*
Wikipedia

11 Carlos Luz

Shortest Reigns 3 days Carlos Luz After the 1954 suicide of Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas, a crisis led to the next three people in line to hold the office during a period of 16 months. Luz lasted the shortest, from November 8 to November 11, 1955. Не was replaced over fears he'd prevent the new president-elect from taking office in 1956. CRACKED.COM — *Public Domain*
Wikipedia

10 Napoleon II

Shortest Reigns 2 days Napoleon II The inferior sequel, Napoleon Bonaparte's son was Emperor of the French from April 2 to April 4, 1814. His dad abdicated after ruling the French empire for ten years, but when he tried to get his 20-year-old kid on the gig, the international coalition that had just defeated him did not like the idea. CRACKED.COM — *Portrait by Moritz Michael Daffinger*
Wikipedia

9 Wanyan Chenglin

Shortest Reigns Wanyan Chenglin Also known as Emperor Mo of Jin, Wanyan Chenglin was the shortest-ruling Chinese emperor. Не inherited the position in 1234 after the last great battle in the Mongol conquest of China, but was then immediately killed while trying to defend his city. 1 day CRACKED.COM — *Public Domain*
Wikipedia

8 Saul Wahl

Shortest Reigns Saul Wahl Saul Wahl Katzenellenbogen was king of Poland on August 18, 1587. This apparently happened because the actual king died, and custom demanded that the throne always be occupied, even by a foreigner. Now, this is all the stuff of legend, but historians think there is a kernel of truth. 1 day CRACKED.COM — *tomertu/Shutterstock*
Wikipedia

7 Joseph Goebbels

Shortest Reigns 1 day Joseph Goebbels Goebbels was German chancellor for about a day in early May, 1945. After Hitler killed himself, Goebbels unsuccessfully tried to surrender to the Soviets, and then poisoned his children along with his doctor and his wife. The couple then killed themselves too, proving the one major talent of the Nazis: losing. CRACKED.COM — *Bundesarchiv, Bild/WikiCommons*
Listverse
Wikipedia

6 Michael II

Shortest Reigns 18 hours Michael II of Russia Right between Nicholas Il's abdication and the Russian Revolution, Michael II was briefly Emperor of Russia in March, 1917, and we do mean briefly. Не was not ratified, though, as Russia's provisional government did not agree with the succession. Ultimately, Michael was killed by the Revolution. CRACKED.COM — *Portrait by Ilya Repin*
Wikipedia

5 Antipope Philip

Shortest Reigns A few hours Antipope Philip For a little while, Philip was the awesome-sounding Antipope. On July 31, 768, Philip was hanging out in his monastery when a Lombard army named him Pope following the death of Paul I. This was immediately declared invalid, and Philip returned home, never to be heard from again. Hey, you tried, buddy! CRACKED.COM — *Steve Lovegrove/Shutterstock*
Wikipedia

4 Pedro Lascuráin

Shortest Reigns 45 minutes Pedro Lascuráin On February 19, 1913, Lascuráin had the shortest presidency in Mexican history. It was all a ruse to make another guy president. (Also, he was named Pedro José Domingo de la Calzada Manuel María Lascuráin Paredes, something we had to mention.) CRACKED.COM — *Public Domain*
Wikipedia

3 Luis

Shortest Reigns 20 minutes Luis II of Portugal For 20 glorious minutes, prince Luís Filipe was king of Portugal. Except that it was an awful 20 minutes, because he was king just for as long as he lived after an attack that first killed his father, King Carlos I, in February of 1908. CRACKED.COM — *Public Domain*
Wikipedia

2 Louis XIX

Shortest Reigns 20 minutes Louis XIX of France Louis got the no non-gig after King Charles X abdicated in 1830, and he apparently spent his entire reign having his wife telling him not to abdicate as well. Most perfect sitcom pilot ever. CRACKED.COM — *Portrait by William Corden the Elder*
Wikipedia

1 Siaka Stevens

Shortest Reigns Siaka Stevens Stevens was both the shortest- and longest-serving prime minister of Sierra Leone. A military coup arrested him in 1967 just a few minutes after been sworn in. However, he returned some days later, took over again, and save for some interruptions and elections, ruled the country from 1968 until 1985. A few minutes (and 17 years) CRACKED.COM — *Quirinale.it/Wiki Commons*
Wikipedia

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