How many world leaders are on Medium?
The White House is the most followed, and president-elect Trump is not on Medium yet.
Outgoing president Barack Obama is by far one of the most popular world leaders on Medium with more than 25,000 followers. US president-elect Donald Trump is not yet on the platform, but The Transition Team is — with over 5,300 followers — as is his campaign team, Official Team Trump, with almost 3,000 followers.
But Obama ranks only third after The White House, which counts 213,000 followers, and Vice President Biden, who has over 52,000.
Both the White House and President Obama joined Medium in October 2014.
On Medium, you can expect to hear more from President Obama and his administration on issues from technology and innovation to education and the economy. Over at the White House, we aim to connect with people where they are and engage with citizens on the issues they care about most. That’s where Medium comes in.
A few months later, the U.S. Department of State (May 2015) and secretary John Kerry (September 2015) joined the platform. Both are very active, with 72,000 and 36,000 readers respectively.
Foggy Bottom’s debut post read:
Our goal is to use this account to empower you to engage with the people who represent America to the world. Today, citizens have more tools than ever before to engage with their governments on the issues they care about most.
Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton — the Democratic candidate in the 2016 presidential election — counts over 176,000 followers, the third most followed Medium account of this list, after the White House and the United Nations. Trump’s appointee for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, is not on the platform yet.
Around the world, presidents, prime ministers, and politicians are quickly embracing Medium.
This list is certainly not exhaustive but shows how the platform is becoming an important tool to discuss politics, foreign policy, and diplomacy even outside the United States.
In Australia, for example, prime minister Malcolm Turnbull is close to reach 10,500 followers. His deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, while on the platform, is not active yet.
In Argentina, president Mauricio Macri became active on Medium this past summer and now counts around 8,100 readers. His foreign minister, Susana Malcorra, debuted on the platform during COP22 via CancilleríaArgentina, the official account of the Argentinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship (almost 1,000 followers).
In the UK, while prime minister Theresa May is not on Medium, the Cabinet Office is — with over 6,100 followers — as are DFID, the UK Department for International Development, with around 12,300 readers, and the Foreign Office, although not active (3,000).
In the Netherlands, deputy prime minister and minister of social affairs and employment Lodewijk Asscher has reached close to 2,000 followers, like Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, foreign minister of Turkey.
In Sri Lanka, president Maithripala Sirisena has been active on Medium since April 2016, but with a very limited followers basin.
In France, the Élysée, the office of president François Hollande, is on Medium but not active, as is the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada (CanadianPM as of April 2017). On Medium also Enda Kenny TD, prime minister of Ireland, and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu — through the profile PM of Israel. Both are not active yet, just like Alexander De Croo, deputy prime minister of Belgium.
In Hungary, prime minister Viktor Orbán is not on Medium but his spokesman Zoltán Kovács is — Zoltan is secretary of state for public diplomacy. In Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari is represented on Medium by his official spokesperson Garba Shehu 🇳🇬 , the account of the Government of Nigeria, and that of his personal photographer Bayo Omoboriowo. And in Albania, the Albanian MFA 🇦🇱 has just debuted on the platform with a post with a review of the country’s foreign policy agenda end events in 2016.
Many international organizations are also active on Medium — for instance the United Nations counts several of its agencies, programs, and funds on the platform and, while the new Secretary-General António Guterres or his predecessor Ban Ki-moon are not on the platform, the United Nations debuted on Medium in December — and now counts over 100,000 readers.
Other international agencies and humanitarian organizations are on the platform, including the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the European Parliament, the International Red Cross (ICRC), and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). Among the leadership of international, regional, and specialized organizations, NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller is active on the platform, although not since she assumed office at NATO in October 2016.
In Europe, Pierre Moscovici, EU Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation, and Customs, is on Medium, as are a few offices of the European Commission, like DigitalSingleMarket, EUScience&Innovation, and EPSC.
Among former world leaders, Kofi Annan, the seventh UN Secretary-General, is on Medium with almost 5,000 readers — although he’s been active only via the Medium profile of The Elders, the global foundation founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007.
In Italy, former prime minister Matteo Renzi has recently debuted on Medium with a publication (his debut happened after the publication of this post).
In Brazil, former president Dilma Rousseff, who emerged on Medium during her impeachment trial a few months back, is very popular with over 24,000 followers.
In France, former president Nicolas Sarkozy — who announced his candidacy for the presidential elections in 2017 but later withdrew after the primaries — and former prime minister and minister of foreign affairs Dominique de Villepin, have 7,200 and 1,100 readers respectively. Another candidate for president in France has recently joined the platform, Emmanuel Macron, former minister for the economy, industry, and digital. He counts almost 10,000 readers.
In Sweden, former prime minister and minister of foreign affairs Carl Bildt, one of the first-ever proponents of the use of digital tools for diplomacy and foreign policy, has 10,000 followers. And in neighboring Denmark, former prime minister Helle Thorning S — currently chief executive officer of Save the Children — has just debuted on Medium and counts almost 500 readers.
In New Zealand, former prime minister John Key — who resigned this past December — has 2,200 followers, although he hasn’t published yet.
On Medium also the Atifete Jahjaga, former president of Kosovo, and Petrit Selimi, the country’s former foreign minister, currently serving as the national coordinator of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in Kosovo.
In Romania, former prime minister Victor Ponta is on the platform as well.
While not formally on Medium with a personal or official account, a few former heads of government/state and foreign ministers have bylined posts on the platform through either their foundations or other publications, including former US president Bill Clinton (through the Clinton Foundation) and former US Secretary of State Colin Powell (via Carnegie Corporation).
Using the official profile of The Elders, many retired heads of state and government have bylined articles and posts, including Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland; Ricardo Lagos, former president of Chile; Martti Ahtisaari, former president of Finland; Gro Harlem Brundtland, former prime minister of Norway; Tuiloma Neroni Slade, former secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum; and many other world leaders active in the organization.
