Honestly, if you’ve ever sat down and wondered who is first president of world, you're probably hitting a wall of "technicalities" and "well, actuallys." It’s one of those questions that sounds like it should have a simple, one-name answer. You want a name like George Washington or maybe some obscure historical figure from a forgotten empire.
But here is the thing. There isn't a "President of the World." At least, not in the way we think of a president—someone who sits in a big office and signs laws for every single human on the planet. Our world is basically a collection of almost 200 sovereign nations, each holding onto their own power like a kid with a favorite toy. They aren't exactly rushing to hand the keys of the planet to one person.
The guy who actually claimed the title
If we're talking about someone who stood up and said, "I'm the guy," we have to talk about Garry Davis. This isn't some textbook answer you'll find in a standard history class.
In 1948, right after the horrors of World War II, Davis did something pretty wild. He walked into the U.S. Embassy in Paris and renounced his American citizenship. He didn't want to be American, or French, or German. He declared himself a "citizen of the world."
Davis wasn't just a guy with a hobby; he was a former Broadway actor and a bomber pilot. He had seen the destruction of war firsthand and decided that national borders were the problem. He eventually founded the World Service Authority and even issued his own "World Passports." While most people laughed it off, over 750,000 people eventually registered with his movement. He sort of became the "First World Citizen," and in his own mind, the closest thing to a world leader the planet had ever seen.
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The UN and the "President" of the planet
Usually, when people search for who is first president of world, they are actually looking for the first person to lead a global organization. The closest thing we have to a "world government" is the United Nations.
If we go by that logic, the title usually goes to Paul-Henri Spaak.
- Paul-Henri Spaak: In 1946, he was elected as the first President of the United Nations General Assembly.
- He was a Belgian politician who basically had to figure out how to get a bunch of traumatized, angry nations to talk to each other without starting World War III.
- His job wasn't to "rule" the world, but to "preside" over the meetings where the world’s leaders argued.
It's a subtle difference, but a huge one. He couldn't command an army or tax you. He was more like a global moderator for a really high-stakes Zoom call.
Why don't we have a real world president?
It’s complicated. Kinda messy, really.
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Think about the sheer diversity of humanity. You’ve got different religions, economic systems, and cultural values. Trying to find one person that everyone from a farmer in rural Vietnam to a tech CEO in Silicon Valley agrees on? Good luck.
Philosophers like Dante Alighieri actually argued for a world monarch hundreds of years ago. He thought it was the only way to stop wars. If one person owns everything, they have nothing left to fight for, right? That was his logic in De Monarchia. On the flip side, you have guys like Thomas Hobbes who basically said, "No thanks." He believed that giving one person that much power was a recipe for a global nightmare.
Most modern experts agree that a central "World President" is a bit of a pipe dream. Instead, we have "Global Governance." This is basically a fancy way of saying we have a bunch of different groups—the UN, the WTO, the WHO—that try to manage specific problems like trade or health without one person being in charge.
The weird world of "Micro-Nations" and pretenders
Beyond the UN and Garry Davis, there are dozens of people who claim to be the leader of the world or some version of a global government.
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Take the "World Government of World Citizens." They are still around. They still issue documents. Some people have actually managed to cross borders using their passports, though most end up in a detention cell or getting sent back home.
Then you have the World Governments Summit that happens in places like Dubai. It sounds official, but it’s more of a brainstorming session for world leaders rather than an actual governing body.
What you should actually take away from this
So, if someone asks you who is first president of world at a trivia night, you have a few ways to answer depending on how much of a "know-it-all" you want to be:
- The Technical Answer: There isn't one. The world is a collection of sovereign states.
- The UN Answer: Paul-Henri Spaak (President of the first UN General Assembly in 1946).
- The Activist Answer: Garry Davis (The man who renounced his country to represent humanity).
- The Philosophical Answer: Nobody, because humans can't agree on lunch, let alone a leader.
What to do next
If you're genuinely interested in how the world is "run," don't just look for one name. Start looking into how international law works. Check out the history of the United Nations or read up on the World Service Authority if you want to see the more rebellious side of global citizenship.
Specifically, look up the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights." It’s basically the closest thing we have to a "Constitution of the World," and it tells you a lot more about our global goals than any single president ever could. Keep an eye on how the UN General Assembly votes this year—it's the nearest thing to a global parliament you'll ever see in action.