From abdication to assassination, death and illness; these are the world’s shortest-serving leaders.
Prime Ministers
Australian Prime Minister Frank Forde lasted one week as leader in 1945. He served as the deputy leader of the Labor Party when John Curtin passed away in office.
Australia’s second shortest-serving prime minister was Earle Page, who came to role after the death of Joseph Lyons in 1939.
He served for three weeks before Robert Menzies became the new leader. By comparison, Menzies went on to become Australia’s longest-serving prime minister.
Presidents
William Henry Harrison became the ninth U.S. President, after his 1841 inauguration.
Harrison lasted 32 days in the top job but became the first president to die while in office.
His inauguration was held on a cold and wet day. Some reports suggest he caught pneumonia, which ultimately led to his death on 4 April.
In Mexico, Pedro Lascuráin came to power after a military coup in February 1913.
He was sent in as a political pawn to legitimise the coup, which was led by Victoriano Huerta.
His time as president is believed to have lasted less than an hour, before he resigned to make way Huerta.
Chancellors
When Adolf Hitler killed himself in 1945, Joseph Goebbels became the German Chancellor.
But the day after he entered, Goebbels and his wife, Magda killed themselves.
He remains Germany’s shortest-serving leader.
Emperors
In Russia, Michael II lasted less than 24 hours after the abdication of his brother Tsar Nicholas in 1917.
His tenure marked the end of the tsarist regime in Russia. However, he was murdered after the Russian Revolution in the same year.
Meanwhile, Lady Jane Grey remains Britain’s shortest-serving monarch. She was aged 16 when she became Queen after the death of her cousin Edward VI.
There are also many instances of reigns, which were less than a day. These include Vira Bahu I, who was assassinated on the same day he took to the throne.
Costa is a news producer at ticker NEWS. He has previously worked as a regional journalist at the Southern Highlands Express newspaper. He also has several years' experience in the fire and emergency services sector, where he has worked with researchers, policymakers and local communities. He has also worked at the Seven Network during their Olympic Games coverage and in the ABC Melbourne newsroom.
He also holds a Bachelor of Arts (Professional), with expertise in journalism, politics and international relations. His other interests include colonial legacies in the Pacific, counter-terrorism, aviation and travel.
TikTok users could soon find that the popular social media service is either under new ownership or could be outright banned in the United States.
President Joe Biden signed a bill into law that requires TikTok to find a new owner—or face a ban in the United States.
Over the past several months, Washington D.C. has been under pressure to ban the popular Chinese-owned social media app.
Lawmakers and security experts have long raised concerns that the Chinese government could tap TikTok’s trove of personal data about millions of U.S. users.
TikTok’s CEO said the bill is disappointing and reiterated that the company has committed to challenge it.
David Zhang from China Insider. joins Veronica Dudo to discuss
Threads, the social media platform owned by Meta, is gaining traction with a surge in daily active users, outpacing X in the U.S.
With Threads averaging 28 million daily active users compared to X’s 22 million, Meta’s ambitions to reach a billion users seem within reach despite a slowdown in growth. While X still boasts 550 million monthly active users globally, Threads’ focus on user experience and avoidance of real-time and political content could position it as a formidable competitor moving forward.
This weekend’s entertainment lineup has something for everyone.
Apple TV+ brings “Sugar,” a drama set in New York City, while “Civil War” offers historical intensity.
“Challengers” with Zendaya brings a saucy sport drama to life, and superhero buffs can catch the trailer for “Deadpool and Wolverine” for action-packed fun.
With options spanning drama, history, reality, and superheroes, there’s excitement in store for all this weekend.