Political Leaders: Holy See

Leaders of the Holy See
(State of the Vatican City)

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Sovereigns (Popes)

Pius XII (Eugenio Maria Pacelli)          2 Mar 1939 -  9 Oct 1958 (+)     [picture] Italian
Ioannes XXIII (Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli) 28 Oct 1958 -  3 Jun 1963 (+)     [picture] Italian
Paulus VI (Giovanni Battista Montini)    21 Jun 1963 -  6 Aug 1978 (+)     [picture] Italian
Ioannes Paulus I (Albino Luciani)        26 Aug 1978 - 28 Sep 1978 (+)     [picture] Italian
Ioannes Paulus II (Karol Józef Wojtyla)  16 Oct 1978 -  2 Apr 2005 (+)     [picture] Polish
Benedictus XVI (Joseph Alois Ratzinger)  19 Apr 2005 -                     [picture] German

Secretaries of State

Domenico Cardinal Tardini                29 Nov 1952 - 30 Jul 1961 (+)               Italian (acting to 14 Dec 1958) 
Amleto Giovanni Cardinal Cicognani       14 Aug 1961 -  2 May 1969 (+1973)           Italian
Jean-Marie Cardinal Villot                2 May 1969 -  9 Mar 1979 (+)     [picture] French   
Agostino Cardinal Casaroli               30 Apr 1979 -  1 Dec 1990 (+1998) [picture] Italian (acting to 1 Jul 1979)
Angelo Cardinal Sodano                    1 Dec 1990 - 15 Sep 2006         [picture] Italian (acting to 29 Jun 1991)
Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone                15 Sep 2006 -                     [picture] Italian

Heads of the Apostolic Chamber (Chamberlains)

Benedetto Cardinal Aloisi Masella        10 Oct 1958 - 30 Sep 1970 (+1970)           Italian
Jean-Marie Cardinal Villot               16 Oct 1970 -  9 Mar 1979 (+)     [picture] French
Paolo Cardinal Bertoli                    5 May 1979 - 25 Mar 1985 (+2001) [picture] Italian
Sebastino Cardinal Baggio                25 Mar 1985 - 21 Mar 1993 (+)               Italian
Eduardo Cardinal Martínez Somalo          5 Apr 1993 -                     [picture] Spanish

During a vacancy of the Papacy, the Roman Curia, and with it the Vatican City State, is governed nominally by the College of Cardinals, with the Chamberlain, or Cardinal-Camerlengo, of the Holy Roman Church serving as "managing director".

Prefects of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

Alfredo Cardinal Ottaviani                      1966 -  6 Jan 1968 (+1979)           Italian
Franjo Cardinal Seper                     8 Jan 1968 - 25 Nov 1981 (+1981)           Croatian
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger                25 Nov 1981 - 19 Apr 2005         [picture] German  
Archbishop William Joseph Nevada         13 May 2005 -                     [picture] United States

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