Heads of state of various countries:

 Emmanuel Macron, President of France

 Ram Nath Kovind, President of India
 Joe Biden, President of the United States

 Moon Jae-in, President of South Korea

 Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms
 Jair Bolsonaro, President of Brazil

 Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria

 Halimah Yacob, President of Singapore
 Vladimir Putin, President of Russia
 A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies
a state[1] in its unity and legitimacy. Depending on the country's form of
government and separation of powers, the head of state may be a
ceremonial figurehead (such as the British Monarch) or concurrently the head of
government and more (such as the president of the United States, who is
also commander-in-chief of the US Armed Forces).
 In a parliamentary system, such as India and Pakistan, the head of state usually has
mostly ceremonial powers, with a separate head of government.[2] However, in some
parliamentary systems, like South Africa, there is an executive president that is both
head of state and head of government. Likewise, in some parliamentary systems the
head of state is not the head of government, but still has significant powers, for
example Morocco. In contrast, a semi-presidential system, such as France, has both
heads of state and government as the de facto leaders of the nation (in practice they
divide the leadership of the nation between themselves). Meanwhile, in presidential
systems, the head of state is also the head of government.[1]
 Former French president Charles de Gaulle, while developing the current Constitution of
France (1958), said that the head of state should embody l'esprit de la nation ("the spirit
of the nation").[3]

In terms of protocol: the head of a sovereign, independent state is usually identified as the person
who, according to that state's constitution, is the reigning monarch, in the case of a monarchy; or
the president, in the case of a republic.

Among the state constitutions (fundamental laws) that establish different political systems, four
major types of heads of state can be distinguished:

1. The parliamentary system, with two subset models;

1. The standard model, in which the head of state, in theory,
possesses key executive powers, but such power is exercised
on the binding advice of a head of government (e.g. United
Kingdom, India, Germany).
2. The non-executive model, in which the head of state has either
none or very limited executive powers, and mainly has a
ceremonial and symbolic role (e.g. Sweden, Japan, Israel).
 2. The semi-presidential system, in which the head of state shares key executive
powers with a head of government or cabinet (e.g. Russia, France, Sri Lanka);
and
3. The presidential system, in which the head of state is also the head of
government and has all executive powers (e.g. United States, Indonesia, South
Korea).

In a federal constituent or a dependent territory, the same role is fulfilled by the holder of an
office corresponding to that of a head of state. For example, in each Canadian province the role
is fulfilled by the lieutenant governor, whereas in most British Overseas Territories the powers
and duties are performed by the governor. The same applies to Australian states, Indian states,
etc. Hong Kong's constitutional document, the Basic Law, for example, specifies the chief
executive as the head of the special administrative region, in addition to their role as the head of
government. These non-sovereign-state heads, nevertheless, have limited or no role in
diplomatic affairs, depending on the status and the norms and practices of the territories
concerned.