Well…just like it says in the title, really.
So far I have both Presidents Bush, and King Hussein of Jordan, but I’m sure there have been more.
(::shuffles feet:
Well, technically not HoS (that title belongs to the GG or the Monarch depending how you define it), but Australian PM John Gorton became a pilot as a young man and served as a fighter pilot in WWII.
If Prince Charles makes it to King, he learned to fly jet aircraft for the RAF and learned to fly helicopters for the Royal Navy; and if Australia hasn’t ditched the monarchy by then, he’d be Australia’s head of state as well as the UK’s.
He’ll certainly be Britain’s HoS. Whether he would be Australia’s is a matter of some debate.
That’s an argument I’ve always found a bit hard to swallow and I don’t recall it being used much before the Republic referendum in 1999 when the monarchists were trying to counter the allegation that we had a non-Australian head of state. Since the Queen is granted the title Queen of Australia by the *Royal Style and Titles Act * (Cth) 1973, I find it hard to see how anyone can argue that her representative is actually the head of state.
Ghana’s head of state in the 80s and 90s was Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings. I assume from his rank that he was a pilot.
Rajiv Gandhi, airline pilot, eventually became India’s youngest HoS.
Ezer Weizman (RIP), former President of Israel [1993-2000] (and thus nominally Head of State, although lacking any real power – much like European monarchs), was a fighter pilot and Commander of the Israel Air Force during the period 1958-1966 (see link).
I thought of Rajiv too, but I didn’t post it. Know why? The prime minister is the head of government. The president of India is the head of state.
People forget that Ike got his license in the Philippines. He loved to fly, but Mamie made him give it up.
That’s correct. I should’ve just written Prime Minister. Not exactly what the OP is asking for, but close enough.
I remember reading that one of Paraguay’s presidents was a pilot. Perhaps not a very good one, as he died in a crash.
Canada’s 14th Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson was a fighter pilot in WW1.
He went by “Mike” Pearson, because his flight instructor started calling him that after he told him that “Lester” wasn’t a ‘proper’ name for a fighter pilot. He went by Mike for the rest of his life.
He also won the Nobel Peace Prize. Hell of a guy.
John Glenn would have been, and John McCain might still be…
On the fictional front, Vice President Jackson (forget his first name) in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan books is a retired Marine pilot who insists on piloting Air Force Two (much to the chagrin of the assigned Air Force pilots) when he goes on trips.
As long as we’re wandering a bit afield, I’d like to mention that
Winston Churchill was a licensed pilot, though he was never a military pilot.
Joe Kennedy Jr., elder brother of JFK/RFK/Ted, was Dad’s first choice to be the first Catholic President. He was a Navy bomber pilot in WWII, unfortunately was killed in action.
I seem to remember that King George VI (father of the current Queen) was in the RAF. Was he trained as a flier?
Someone previously mentioned the late Ezer Weissman, former President of Israel and thus the legal HoS. He was one of the first pilots in the Israeli Air Force and rose to Chief of Staff of that branch. I read his autobiography, in which he discusses a mission where his section attacked British Spitfires flying into Israeli airspace from Egypt. Weismann’s plane? A war-surplus Messerschmitt ME-109, smuggled into Israel from Czechoslovakia :eek: !
;j