Narendra Modi Completes 25 Years as Head of Government

Narendra Modi completed 25 continuous years as Head of Government on 7 October 2026. The count begins in 2001, when he first took office as Chief Minister of Gujarat, and runs through his years in that post and then his tenure as Prime Minister of India, which began in 2014. Leaders from several continents sent him greetings on the milestone.

How the 25 years are counted

He served the people of Gujarat as Chief Minister for more than twelve years before moving to the national stage. He has held the office of Prime Minister of the Republic of India since 2014. Because there was no break between the two roles, the period is described as an unbroken quarter century at the head of a government, a rare stretch in any democracy.

Who sent greetings

The Prime Minister of Bhutan, Tshering Tobgay, shared a letter in which he described enlightened leadership as the exercise of wisdom, compassion and courage through selfless service. The President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, called the record a rare achievement in any democracy and a testament to the confidence Indians have placed in their leader. Greetings also came from the President of the Philippines, Bongbong Marcos, the President of Botswana, Duma Gideon Boko, the Prime Minister of Belgium, Bart De Wever, the Prime Minister of Japan, Sanae Takaichi, the Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit, the President of the Republic of Korea, Lee Jae-myung, the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, and the Prime Minister of Nepal.

What the leaders highlighted

The messages picked out work on infrastructure, digital public goods, financial inclusion and innovation, and the vision of Viksit Bharat, which they described as the shared ambition of a country of 1.4 billion people for a strong, prosperous and developed future. The Nigerian President recalled the State Visit to Abuja in November 2024, when his country conferred on the Indian Prime Minister the honour of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, and said that visit gave fresh momentum to cooperation in trade and investment, energy, defence and security, health, education and technology.

Why it matters

For an aspirant the useful facts are the two starting points, 2001 for the state government and 2014 for the national government, and the fact that the twenty five years were counted without interruption. The messages also underline India's position as a leading voice of the Global South and the country's standing as one of the fastest growing major economies.