README.md

metadata

title: Global Leadership Project (v1)
sdk: datasets
taskCategories:
  - research
tags:
  - descriptive representation
  - political leadership
  - political science
  - social science
  - demographics
license: mit
datasets:
  - GlobalLeadershipProject_v1.csv

A distilled dataset of more than 50,000 political elites coded on gender, ethnicity, language, religion, office type, and more.
The release accompanies the open‑access paper:

John Gerring, Connor T. Jerzak & Erzen Öncel (2024).
“The Composition of Descriptive Representation.” American Political Science Review 118(2): 784‑801.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055423000680

For more information, see GlobalLeadershipProject.net.

Dataset quick facts

Rows	>50 000 leaders
Countries	156
Waves	2 (2010‑13, 2017‑19)
Political bodies	1 552 (executive, cabinet, parliamentary party group, upper/lower chambers, supreme court)
Identities coded	Gender · Ethnicity · Language · Religion
File size	~92.8 MB CSV

Files included

File	Description
GlobalLeadershipProject_v1.csv	Tabular data (leaders × variables)
LICENSE	MIT

Reference

John Gerring, Connor T. Jerzak, Erzen Öncel. The Composition of Descriptive Representation. American Political Science Review, 118(2): 784-801, 2024.

@article{gerring2024composition,
  title={The Composition of Descriptive Representation},
  author={Gerring, John and Connor T. Jerzak and Erzen \"{O}ncel},
  journal={American Political Science Review},
  year={2024},
  volume={118},
  number={2},
  pages={784-801}
}

Covariates covered

#	Column Name	Description
1	glp_country	Name of the country in the Global Leadership Project
2	glp_country_nid	Numerical ID for the country in GLP
3	glp_person	Name of the person in GLP
4	glp_person_nid	Numerical ID for the person in GLP
5	person_ethnic	Person's ethnicity (most important cleavage, potentially defined by race, religion, language, etc.)
6	person_ethnic_nid	Numerical ID for person's ethnicity
7	office1	Primary office held by the person
8	office2	Secondary office held by the person
9	office3	Tertiary office held by the person
10	person_firstname	Person's first name
11	person_lastname	Person's last name
12	round1	Indicator for data from first wave (2010-13)
13	round2	Indicator for data from second wave (2017-19)
14	person_round	Data collection round associated with the person
15	country	Country name
16	country_id	Country identifier
17	lexical_index	Lexical index of democracy
18	pop_wdi_actual	Actual population from World Bank Development Indicators
19	V_Dem_Country	Country name from V-Dem dataset
20	country_text_id	Textual identifier for country
21	person_party_aff_power	Person's party affiliation in power
22	pol_party_nid	Numerical ID for political party
23	pol_party	Political party name
24	person_combethnicity	Person's combined ethnicity
25	person_combethnicity_no	Numerical code for combined ethnicity
26	person_ethnocultural_title	Title of person's ethnocultural group
27	person_ethnocultural_nid	Numerical ID for ethnocultural group
28	person_ethnic1_title	Title of first ethnic group
29	person_ethnic1_nid	Numerical ID for first ethnic group
30	person_combethnic_title	Title of combined ethnic group
31	person_house	Legislative house (e.g., upper or lower chamber)
32	person_bday	Person's birthdate
33	person_gender	Person's gender (coded as male or female)
34	person_gender_no	Numerical code for gender
35	person_born_abroad	Indicator if person was born abroad
36	person_birthplace	Person's birthplace
37	person_birthcountry	Person's birth country
38	person_marital_stat	Person's marital status
39	person_numchild	Number of children the person has
40	person_occupation_all	All occupations of the person
41	person_occupation_1	Primary occupation
42	person_occupation_2	Secondary occupation
43	person_occupation_3	Tertiary occupation
44	person_family_clan_name	Family or clan name
45	person_family_clan_nam_rel	Relation to family or clan name
46	person_ethnocultural_crite	Criteria for ethnocultural classification
47	person_ethnocultural_crite_all	All ethnocultural criteria
48	person_ethnocultural_crite_1	First ethnocultural criterion
49	person_ethnocultural_crite_2	Second ethnocultural criterion
50	person_ethnocultural_crite_3	Third ethnocultural criterion
51	person_ethnocultural_signf_nid	Numerical ID for ethnocultural significance
52	prsn_ethncltral_signf_title	Title for ethnocultural significance
53	person_ethnocultural_rel	Relation to ethnocultural group
54	person_ethnocultural_rel_no	Numerical code for ethnocultural relation
55	prsn_ethncltralgp_living_style	Living style of ethnocultural group
56	person_ethnocultural_source	Source of ethnocultural information
57	person_ethnocultural_all	All ethnocultural groups
58	person_ethnocultural_all_nid	Numerical IDs for all ethnocultural groups
59	person_ethnocultural_1_nid	Numerical ID for first ethnocultural group
60	person_ethnocultural_1_title	Title for first ethnocultural group
61	person_ethnocultural_2_nid	Numerical ID for second ethnocultural group
62	person_ethnocultural_2_title	Title for second ethnocultural group
63	person_ethnocultural_3_nid	Numerical ID for third ethnocultural group
64	person_ethnocultural_3_title	Title for third ethnocultural group
65	person_ethnic_criteria	Criteria for ethnic classification
66	person_ethnic_criteria_all	All ethnic criteria
67	person_ethnic_criteria_1	First ethnic criterion
68	person_ethnic_criteria_2	Second ethnic criterion
69	person_ethnic_criteria_3	Third ethnic criterion
70	person_ethnic_signf_nid	Numerical ID for ethnic significance
71	person_ethnic_signf_title	Title for ethnic significance
72	person_ethnic_rel	Relation to ethnic group
73	person_ethnic_rel_no	Numerical code for ethnic relation
74	person_ethnicgrp_ecorank	Economic rank of ethnic group
75	person_ethnicgrp_size	Size of ethnic group
76	person_ethnicgp_living_style	Living style of ethnic group
77	person_ethnicgrp_source	Source of ethnic group information
78	person_ethnicgrp_population	Population of ethnic group
79	person_ethnicgrp_defcriteria	Definition criteria for ethnic group
80	person_ethnic_all	All ethnic groups
81	person_ethnic_all_nid	Numerical IDs for all ethnic groups
82	person_ethnic_1_nid	Numerical ID for first ethnic group
83	person_ethnic_1_title	Title for first ethnic group
84	person_ethnic_2_nid	Numerical ID for second ethnic group
85	person_ethnic_2_title	Title for second ethnic group
86	person_ethnic_3_nid	Numerical ID for third ethnic group
87	person_ethnic_3_title	Title for third ethnic group
88	person_rel_family_nid	Numerical ID for religious family (religion by birth)
89	person_rel_family_title	Title for religious family
90	person_rel_family_rel	Relation to religious family
91	person_rel_family_rel_no	Numerical code for religious family relation
92	person_rel_current_nid	Numerical ID for current religion
93	person_rel_current_title	Title for current religion
94	person_rel_current_rel	Relation to current religion
95	person_rel_current_rel_no	Numerical code for current religion relation
96	person_lang_native_nid	Numerical ID for native language (mother tongue)
97	person_lang_native_title	Title for native language
98	person_lang_native_rel	Relation to native language
99	person_lang_native_rel_no	Numerical code for native language relation
100	person_lang_native_other	Other native languages
101	person_lang_spoken_nid	Numerical ID for spoken language
102	person_lang_spoken_title	Title for spoken language
103	person_lang_spoken_other	Other spoken languages
104	person_lang_english	Proficiency in English
105	person_lang_french	Proficiency in French
106	person_lang_arabic	Proficiency in Arabic
107	person_lang_spanish	Proficiency in Spanish
108	person_lang_chinese	Proficiency in Chinese
109	person_lang_german	Proficiency in German
110	person_lang_russian	Proficiency in Russian
111	person_lang_portuguese	Proficiency in Portuguese
112	person_lang_other	Other languages
113	person_lang_all	All languages
114	person_lang_all_count	Count of all languages
115	person_unv_name_all	All university names attended
116	person_unv_name_1	First university name
117	person_unv_name_2	Second university name
118	person_unv_name_3	Third university name
119	person_ug_major	Undergraduate major
120	person_ug_major_all	All undergraduate majors
121	person_ug_major_1	First undergraduate major
122	person_ug_major_1_no	Numerical code for first undergraduate major
123	person_ug_major_2	Second undergraduate major
124	person_ug_major_2_no	Numerical code for second undergraduate major
125	person_ug_major_3	Third undergraduate major
126	person_ug_major_3_no	Numerical code for third undergraduate major
127	person_education	Education level
128	person_education_no	Numerical code for education level
129	person_college_country	Country where college was attended
130	person_abroad	Indicator for studying abroad
131	person_eduwest	Indicator for education in a Western country
132	person_course_of_study	Course of study
133	person_combethnic_nid	Numerical ID for combined ethnicity
134	person_combethnic_all	All combined ethnicities
135	person_combethnic_all_nid	Numerical IDs for all combined ethnicities
136	person_combethnic_1_nid	Numerical ID for first combined ethnicity
137	person_combethnic_1_title	Title for first combined ethnicity
138	person_combethnic_2_nid	Numerical ID for second combined ethnicity
139	person_combethnic_2_title	Title for second combined ethnicity
140	person_combethnic_3_nid	Numerical ID for third combined ethnicity
141	person_combethnic_3_title	Title for third combined ethnicity
142	person_combethnicgrp_size	Size of combined ethnic group
143	person_combethnicgrp_ecorank	Economic rank of combined ethnic group
144	prsn_cmbthncgrp_livingstyle	Living style of combined ethnic group
145	person_combethnicgrp_source	Source for combined ethnic group information
146	prsn_cmbthncgrp_population	Population of combined ethnic group
147	prsn_cmbthncgrp_defcriteria	Definition criteria for combined ethnic group
148	person_party_aff_nonpartisan	Indicator for nonpartisan party affiliation
149	person_party_aff_position	Position in party affiliation
150	prsn_prty_aff_position_local	Local position in party affiliation
151	person_party_aff_coalition	Coalition in party affiliation
152	prsn_prty_aff_coalition_differ	Differences in coalition affiliation
153	person_party_aff_longterm_aff	Long-term party affiliation
154	person_party_aff_pol_exp	Political experience via party affiliation
155	person_office_position_1	Position in first office
156	person_office_minposarea_1	Ministerial position area for first office
157	person_office_minposarea_lo_1	Local ministerial position area for first office
158	person_office_service_began_1	Start date of service in first office
159	prsn_office_srvc_bgn_cabi_1	Cabinet service start for first office
160	person_office_terms_1	Number of terms in first office
161	person_office_pm_participate_1	Participation as prime minister in first office
162	person_office_howmanydays_1	Number of days served in first office
163	prsn_office_hwmnydys_miss_1	Missing days in first office
164	prsn_office_cnsttncy_nid_1	Numerical ID for constituency in first office
165	prsn_office_cnsttncy_title_1	Title for constituency in first office
166	person_office_position_2	Position in second office
167	person_office_minposarea_2	Ministerial position area for second office
168	person_office_service_began_2	Start date of service in second office
169	prsn_office_srvc_bgn_cabi_2	Cabinet service start for second office
170	person_office_terms_2	Number of terms in second office
171	person_office_pm_participate_2	Participation as prime minister in second office
172	person_office_howmanydays_2	Number of days served in second office
173	prsn_office_hwmnydys_miss_2	Missing days in second office
174	prsn_office_cnsttncy_nid__2	Numerical ID for constituency in second office
175	prsn_office_cnsttncy_title_2	Title for constituency in second office
176	person_office_position_3	Position in third office
177	person_office_minposarea_3	Ministerial position area for third office
178	person_office_service_began_3	Start date of service in third office
179	prsn_office_srvc_bgn_cabi_3	Cabinet service start for third office
180	person_office_terms_3	Number of terms in third office
181	person_office_pm_participate_3	Participation as prime minister in third office
182	person_office_howmanydays_3	Number of days served in third office
183	prsn_office_hwmnydys_miss_3	Missing days in third office
184	prsn_office_cnsttncy_nid_3	Numerical ID for constituency in third office
185	prsn_office_cnsttncy_title_3	Title for constituency in third office
186	person_office_minposarea_4	Ministerial position area for fourth office
187	person_office_minposarea_5	Ministerial position area for fifth office
188	office_type_1	Type of first office
189	office_type_2	Type of second office
190	office_type_3	Type of third office