List of state leaders in 1870
List of state leaders in 1869 - Events of 1870 - List of state leaders in 1871 - State leaders by year
Africa
- Ashanti Confederacy - Kofi Kakari, Asantehene (1867-1874)
- Buganda - Mutesa I, King of Buganda (1856-1884)
- Bunyoro - Kitahimbwa, Omukama of Bunyoro (1869-1902)
- Burundi - Mwezi IV Gisabo, King of Burundi (1852-1908)
- Dahomey - Glele, King of Dahomey (1856-1889)
- Ethiopia - Tekle Giyorgis II, Emperor of Ethiopia (1868-1871)
- Rwanda - Kigeri IV, King of Rwanda (1853-1895)
- Sokoto Caliphate
- Caliph - Ahmad Rufa'i, Sokoto Caliph (1867-1873)
- Grand Vizier - Ibrahim Khalilu, Sokoto Grand Vizier (1859-c.1874)
- Zanzibar -
- Zulu - Mpande kaSenzangakhona, King of the Zulu (1840-1872)
Asia
- Afghanistan - Shir Ali Khan, Emir of Afghanistan (1868-1879)
- China (Qing Dynasty) - Tóngzhì, Emperor of China (1861-1875)
- Japan - Monarch - Meiji Emperor, Emperor of Japan (1867-1912)
- Oman - Azzan bin Qais, Sultan of Oman (1868-1871)
Europe
- Austria-Hungary - Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary (1848-1916)
- Belgium - Leopold II, King of the Belgians (1865-1909)
- Denmark
- Monarch - Christian IX, King of Denmark (1863-1906)
- Prime Minister -
- Christian Emil, Prime Minister of Denmark (1865-1870)
- Ludvig Henrik Carl Herman, Prime Minister of Denmark (1870-1874)
- France -
- Head of State -
- Napoleon III, Emperor of the French (1852-1870)
- Jules Trochu, President of the Government of National Defense (1870-1871)
- Prime Minister -
- Émile Ollivier, Prime Minister of France (1870)
- Charles Guillaume Cousin-Montauban, comte de Palikao, Prime Minister of France (1870)
- Jules Trochu, President of the Council (1870-1871)
- Head of State -
- Holy See - Pope Pius IX (1846-1878)
- Italy -
- Monarch - Vittorio Emanuele II, King of Italy (1861-1878)
- Prime Minister - Giovanni Lanza, Prime Minister of Italy (1869-1873)
- Netherlands - William III, King of the Netherlands (1849-1890)
- Norway - Carl IV, King of Norway (1859-1872)
- Ottoman Empire - Abd-ul-Aziz, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1861-1876)
- Portugal - Luis, King of Portugal (1861-1889)
- Prussia -
- Monarch - Wilhelm I, King of Prussia (1861-1888)
- Prime Minister - Otto von Bismarck, Minister-President of Prussia (1862-1873)
- Romania - Carol I, Prince of Romania (1866-1881)
- Russia - Alexander II, Tsar of Russia (1855-1881)
- Saxony - Johann, King of Saxony (1854-1873)
- Spain -
- Monarch -
- Prime Minister -
- Juan Prim, Prime Minister of Spain (1869-1870)
- Juan Bautista Topete Carballo, Acting Prime Minister of Spain (1870-1871)
- Sweden - Kingdom of Sweden-Norway
- Monarch - Charles XV, King of Sweden (1859-1872)
- Chief Minister -
- Louis Gerhard De Geer, Prime Minister for Justice of Sweden (1858-1870)
- Axel Gustaf Adlercreutz, Prime Minister for Justice of Sweden (1870-1874)
- Foreign Minister - Carl Wachtmeister, Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden-Norway (1868-1871)
- United Kingdom
- Monarch - Victoria, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland (1837-1901)
- Prime Minister - William Ewart Gladstone, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1868-1874, 1880-1885, 1886, 1892-1894)
- Württemberg - Karl, King of Württemberg (1864-1891)
Middle East and North Africa
- Abu Dhabi - Zaid ibn Khalifa, Shaikh of Abu Dhabi (1855-1909)
- Egypt - Ismail, Khedive of Egypt (1867-1879)
- Morocco - Mohammed IV, Sultan of Morocco (1859-1873)
- Ottoman Empire
- Monarch - Abd-ul-Aziz, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1861-1876)
- Grand Vizier - Mehmed Emin Ali Pasha, Ottoman Grand Vizier (1867-1871)
North America and Caribbean
- Canada
- Monarch - Victoria, Queen of Canada (1837-1901)
- Governor General - Lord Lisgar (1869-1872)
- Prime Minister - John A. Macdonald, Prime Minister of Canada (1867-1891)
- Costa Rica
- President -
- Mexico - Benito Juárez, President of Mexico (1867-1872)
- United States - Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States (1869-1877)
South America