1787 state leaders - Events of 1788 - 1789 state leaders - State leaders by year

Africa

• Ashanti Confederacy - Osei Kwame Panyin, Asantehene (1777-1803)
• Dahomey - Kpengla, King of Dahomey (1774-1789)
• Zulu - Senzangakona, King of the Zulu (1781-1816)

Americas

• United States - Cyrus Griffin, President of the United States in Congress Assembled (1788-1789)
• Vermont - Thomas Chittenden, Governor of Vermont (March 13, 1778-October 13, 1789)

Asia

• Afghanistan - Timur Shah, King of Afghanistan (1772-1793)
• China (Qing Dynasty) - Qianlong, Emperor of China (1735-1796)
• Japan
  • Monarch - Kokaku, Emperor of Japan (1780-1817)
  • Shogun (Tokugawa) - Tokugawa Ienari, Shogun of Japan (1786-1837)
• Korea (Joseon Dynasty) - Jeongjo, King of Joseon (1776-1800)

Australia and Oceania

• Colony of New South Wales
  • Monarch - George III, King of Great Britain, (1760-1801)
  • Governor - Captain Arthur Phillip, Governor of New South Wales (1788-1792)

Europe

• Andorra - Coprinces:
  • Josep de Boltas, Bishop of Urgell (1785-1795)
  • Louis XVI, King of France (1774-1792)
• Denmark
  • Monarch - Christian VII, King of Denmark (1766-1808)
  • Prime Minister - Andreas Peter, Minister of State of Denmark (1784-1797)
• France - Louis XVI, King of France (1774-1792)
• Genoa - Raffaele De Ferrari Rodino, Doge of Genoa (1787-1789)
• Great Britain -
  • Monarch - George III, King of Great Britain (1760-1820)
  • Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Prime Minister of Great Britain (1783-1801, 1804-1806)
• Holy Roman Empire - Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (1765-1790)
  • Bavaria and the Palatinate - Karl Theodor, Elector Palatine (1742-1799) and Elector of Bavaria (1777-1799)
  • Bohemia - Joseph II, King of Bohemia (1780-1790)
  • Brandenburg - Frederick William II, Elector of Brandenburg (1786-1797)
  • Cologne - Maximilian Francis of Austria, Archbishop of Cologne (1784-1801)
  • Hanover - George III, Elector of Hanover (1760-1814/1820)
  • Mainz - Friedrich Karl Josef von Erthal, Archbishop of Mainz (1774-1802)
  • Saxony - Frederick Augustus III, Elector of Saxony (1763-1806/1827)
  • Trier - Clement Wenceslaus of Saxony, Archbishop of Trier (1768-1802)
• Hungary - Joseph II, King of Hungary (1780-1790)
• Ireland - George III, King of Ireland (1760-1820)
• Modena - Ercole III d'Este, Duke of Modena (1780-1796)
• Naples - Ferdinand IV, King of Naples (1759-1799) also King of Sicily
• Papal States - Pope Pius VI, Bishop of Rome (1775-1799)
• Parma - Ferdinand, Duke of Parma (1765-1802)
• Poland - Stanislaus II August Poniatowski, King of Poland (1764-1795)
• Portugal - Maria I Francisca, Queen of Portugal (1777-1816)
• Prussia - Frederick William II, King of Prussia (1786-1797)
• Russia - Catherine II, Tsaritsa of Russia (1762-1796)
• Sardinia - Victor Amadeus III, King of Sardinia (1771-1796)
• Sicily - Ferdinand III, King of Sicily (1759-1825) also King of Naples
• Sovereign and Military Order of the Knights of St. John Hospitaller of Malta - Jean-Emmanuel-Marie-des-Neiges, Prince de Rohan-Polduc, Grand Master (1775-1797)
• Spain -
  1. Charles III, King of Spain (1759-1788)
  2. Charles IV, King of Spain (1788-1808)
• Sweden - Gustav III, King of Sweden (1771-1792)
• Tuscany - Peter Leopold, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1765-1790)
• United Provinces - William V, Prince of Orange and Hereditary Stadtholder (1751-1795)
• Venice - Paolo Rainiero, Doge of Venice (1779-1789)

Middle East and North Africa

• Abu Dhabi - Dhiyab bin Isa, Shaikh of Abu Dhabi (1761-1793)
• Morocco - Mohammed III, Sultan of Morocco (1757-1790)
• Ottoman Empire
  • Monarch - Abd-ul-Hamid I, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1774-1789)
  • Grand Vizier - Koca Yusuf Pasha, Ottoman Grand Vizier (1786-1789)