THE Greek philosopher Plato once said: “It is for the elder man to rule and for the younger to submit.”
If alive today, Plato would be a happy man, witnessing the vindication of his theory with most of the consequential world leaders remaining in power well after completing the Biblical three score and 10 (70) years.
US President Donald Trump is 80 years old, Russian President Vladimir Putin is 73 years old, Chinese President Xi Jinping is 73 years old, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is 76 years old, and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is touching 76.
Yet these leaders are not the oldest; President Paul Biya of Cameroon, in office since 1982, has crossed the age of 93 years. In fact, if we rank heads of state according to age, we find that even the 10th ranked person is over 80.
With a large population of young people in most countries, we are truly living in an age of gerontocracy, a term coined in 19th century France, which is defined as rule by leaders who are substantially older than most of the population.
Supporters of gerontocracy argue that older leaders possess valuable experience and wisdom, which can benefit society as a whole. Also, cultural attitudes towards ageing significantly shape perceptions of gerontocracy, and with most societies venerating the elderly, gerontocracy is widely accepted.
However, there is a credible counterview. Rule by older leaders has its downsides: aged leaders may not adequately consider the long-term impacts of their decisions, particularly since they may not face the consequences of policies that extend beyond their lifetimes.
This can be seen in the global response to climate change; Trump has taken the US out of the climate dialogue, while the remaining leaders have fixed amelioration targets for a time far in the future – most deadlines are for 2050 or 2070 – when most of the present generation will not be around.
Given the physical and mental constraints of old age, there are also questions about the reduced capability of old people for effective leadership.
Most importantly, gerontocracy shuts out the influence and representation of young people. Governments in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka were brought down by youth-led protest movements: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka was overthrown in 2022 by a mass protest movement known as the Aragalaya (Struggle); Bangladesh’s Monsoon Revolution followed in 2024, removing long-serving prime minister Sheikh Hasina; and in 2025, the country’s Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012), toppled three-time communist prime minister KP Sharma Oli’s government in Nepal.
A common thread could be that all three countries were being run by aged autocrats, with Rajapaksa being 77 years old, Oli 74 years, and Sheikh Hasina running 79.
Corruption and nepotism were rampant in all three countries, accentuating economic distress and demographic pressures. However, one can say with certainty that at the time they were elected, all three leaders were genuinely popular, but with time and age, they lost touch with their constituents.
India has more than 600 million young people but politics in India is dominated by older people, probably because the country has more than its share of career politicians who reach their peak well after the normal retirement age.
India’s first PM, Jawaharlal Nehru, was almost 75 when he died in office in 1964. Manmohan Singh was 82 years old at the time he ceased to be prime minister in 2014. Rajiv Gandhi was comparatively a spring chicken, being just 40 years old when he assumed the office after his mother, Indira Gandhi, was assassinated in 1984; no one can dispute that he set India on the path of modernisation, bringing a breath of fresh air to the stuffy corridors of power until he lost the 1989 election.
After the prime ministership of Manmohan Singh, PM Modi tried to reverse the drift towards gerontocracy by prescribing an informal retirement age of 75 years for holders of political office.
The perils of gerontocracy were revealed during the 2024 US presidential election, which initially pitted two declining senior citizens against one another, who committed a series of campaign trail blunders.
Later on, Trump’s myriad unhinged statements and actions, before, during, and after the Iran war have adequately brought home to Americans the danger of electing a president well past his prime. As Oscar Wilde said: “With age comes wisdom, but sometimes age comes alone.”
Old men may remember what Charlotte Bronte wrote in Jane Eyre: “I do not think, sir, you have any right to command me, merely because you are older than I, or because you have seen more of the world than I have; your claim to superiority depends on the use you have made of your time and experience.” — The Statesmen/Asia News Network
