The head of state has a price: accelerated aging. This is shown by a study carried out in 17 countries and published in the Christmas edition of the British Medical Journal.
François Mitterrand and Georges Pompidou are two great names of the Fifth Republic. These former presidents did not belong to the same political family, but they have one thing in common: both died prematurely. This characteristic is the lot of many heads of state, according to the Christmas edition of the British Medical Journal which brings together serious studies on offbeat subjects.
Are we aging faster at the head of a state? The French have observed this phenomenon during the mandates of Nicolas Sarkozy and Barack Obama. But it still had to be objectified.
The authors of this publication therefore compared the survival of 279 leaders from 17 countries – including France – to that of 261 candidates who were never elected … all between 1722 and 2015. In France alone, research is extended between 1873 and 2012 and covered 22 elected presidents and 17 unsuccessful presidential candidates.
2.7 years younger
The first case of political rivalry is eloquent and reveals the stress to which leaders are subjected. In the British parliamentary elections of 1722, Sir William Wyndham, 32, and Robert Walpole, 46, faced off for the same post. The first died 31 years earlier than it should have, the second 11 years too soon.
In fact, executives live an average of 2.7 years less than their rivals of the same age, and their risk of premature death is increased by 23%. If the authors recognize several limits to this work, they conclude that heads of state “actually age more quickly”.
An assertion that can deny Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, former President of the Republic with famous longevity. From the top of his 89 years, the now retired still benefits from his intellectual faculties. At 86, former Prime Minister Edouard Balladur also stands out. The astonishing premature mortality of the American presidents – often assassinated – undoubtedly also pulled the numbers down.
Local elected officials live longer
A second study, also published in the BMJ, concludes that less burdensome mandates are beneficial for longevity. In the UK, among Members of Parliament and the House of Lords, premature mortality is 28% and 37% lower than in the general population over the past 65 years. The authors suggest that this divide may reflect the country’s “long-lived” social inequalities.
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