World Politics and Leaders 2025

1. New Leaders in Major Democracies

2025 brought new heads of government in several large democracies. Exams often ask who took office, when, and what was special about it. This lesson covers the United States, Germany, Canada, Australia and Japan.

United States and Germany

• Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on 20 January 2025. JD Vance became Vice President.
• Because of very cold weather, the 2025 inauguration was held indoors in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C.
• Trump is the second US President to serve two non-consecutive terms, after Grover Cleveland in the 19th century.
• Germany held an early federal election on 23 February 2025. The CDU/CSU alliance came first.
• Friedrich Merz (CDU) was elected Chancellor of Germany on 6 May 2025. He failed in the first Bundestag vote and won in a second vote the same day, the first time this happened in post-war Germany.

Canada and Australia

• Mark Carney won the Liberal Party leadership in March 2025 and was sworn in as Prime Minister of Canada on 14 March 2025, replacing Justin Trudeau.
• Carney is a former Governor of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England.
• In Canada's federal election on 28 April 2025, the Liberal Party led by Carney won the most seats and stayed in power.
• Australia held a federal election on 3 May 2025. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Labor Party won a second term with a larger majority.
• Opposition leader Peter Dutton (Liberal Party) lost his own seat in that election.

Japan gets its first woman Prime Minister

• Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced on 7 September 2025 that he would step down.
• Sanae Takaichi won the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership election on 4 October 2025.
• The LDP's long-time partner Komeito left the coalition on 10 October 2025, so the LDP signed a new coalition agreement with the Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin) on 20 October 2025.
• On 21 October 2025 the Japanese Parliament (Diet) elected Sanae Takaichi as Prime Minister. She is Japan's first woman Prime Minister.

💡 Make a small table: Country, Leader, Post, Date. Exams like questions such as 'Who became the first woman PM of Japan?' or 'Who was elected German Chancellor in 2025?'.

📝 5-question quiz on this lesson: enrol free to take it and track your score.

2. A New Pope and Other Leadership Changes

Apart from the big democracies, 2025 saw a new head of the Catholic Church and important changes in South Korea, Nepal, Poland and Chile. Several of these changes followed court decisions or public protests.

Pope Leo XIV

• Pope Francis died on 21 April 2025, Easter Monday. He had led the Catholic Church since 2013.
• On 8 May 2025 the cardinals meeting in the Sistine Chapel (the conclave) elected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as Pope. He chose the name Leo XIV.
• Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago and is the first Pope from the United States.
• He belongs to the Order of Saint Augustine (Augustinians) and worked for many years as a missionary and bishop in Peru.

South Korea and Nepal

• South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol had been impeached after declaring martial law in December 2024.
• On 4 April 2025 South Korea's Constitutional Court removed Yoon from office.
• In the snap presidential election on 3 June 2025, Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party won. He took office on 4 June 2025.
• In Nepal, large youth-led ('Gen Z') protests began in September 2025 after a ban on several social media platforms. Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned on 9 September 2025.
• Former Chief Justice Sushila Karki was sworn in as interim Prime Minister on 12 September 2025. She is Nepal's first woman Prime Minister.
• The House of Representatives was dissolved, and fresh elections were set for 5 March 2026.

Europe and Latin America

• Poland: Karol Nawrocki won the presidential run-off on 1 June 2025 and succeeded Andrzej Duda.
• Chile: José Antonio Kast won the presidential run-off on 14 December 2025.
• Both were run-off (second-round) votes, held because no candidate won a majority in the first round.

💡 For the Pope question, remember three things together: real name (Robert Prevost), papal name (Leo XIV), and 'first from the USA'.

📝 5-question quiz on this lesson: enrol free to take it and track your score.

3. Conflicts and Ceasefires in 2025

Several conflicts shaped world news in 2025. Exams ask about dates, places and agreements, not opinions. This lesson gives only the main facts and the official positions as stated by the governments and bodies concerned.

Gaza

• A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect on 19 January 2025. It was planned in three phases and included exchanges of hostages and prisoners.
• Israel resumed large-scale military operations in Gaza on 18 March 2025, ending that ceasefire.
• On 29 September 2025 US President Donald Trump announced a 20-point plan for Gaza. A new ceasefire took effect on 10 October 2025.
• On 13 October 2025 the remaining living Israeli hostages were released, and Palestinian prisoners were freed. The same day, leaders met at a peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
• On 17 November 2025 the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2803, which endorsed the plan, a transitional 'Board of Peace' and a temporary International Stabilization Force for Gaza.

Israel–Iran and Russia–Ukraine

• On 13 June 2025 Israel launched strikes on Iran, and Iran fired missiles at Israel. The fighting lasted 12 days.
• On 22 June 2025 the United States struck three Iranian nuclear sites: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. A ceasefire took effect on 24 June 2025.
• The Russia–Ukraine war continued through 2025. On 30 April 2025 the US and Ukraine signed an agreement on minerals and a joint reconstruction investment fund.
• Russian and Ukrainian delegations held direct talks in Istanbul, Türkiye, in May 2025.
• US President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Anchorage, Alaska, on 15 August 2025. No peace agreement was announced at that meeting.

India–Pakistan, April–May 2025

• On 22 April 2025 terrorists attacked tourists at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, killing 26 people.
• On 23 April 2025 India's Cabinet Committee on Security decided to keep the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 'in abeyance' and to close the Attari integrated check post.
• On 7 May 2025 India launched 'Operation Sindoor'. The Government of India said its forces struck nine terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
• After four days of military action, India and Pakistan reached an understanding on 10 May 2025 to stop all firing and military action.

Other peace agreements

• Thailand and Cambodia: after border clashes in July 2025, the two countries agreed to a ceasefire in Malaysia on 28 July 2025, and signed the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accord on 26 October 2025.
• DR Congo and Rwanda signed a peace agreement in Washington, D.C., on 27 June 2025.
• Armenia and Azerbaijan leaders signed a joint declaration at the White House on 8 August 2025.

💡 In conflict questions, read the options for the exact date and place. The numbers to remember are 2803 (UNSC resolution), 12 days (Israel–Iran), and 7 May (Operation Sindoor).

📝 5-question quiz on this lesson: enrol free to take it and track your score.