Who Was Alive

Were Kim Jong-il and Barack Obama alive at the same time?

Yes. Kim Jong-il and Barack Obama were alive at the same time for 50 years, from 1961 to 2011.

Kim Jong-il was 20 when Barack Obama was born.

Barack Obama was 50 when Kim Jong-il died, aged 70.

Kim Jong-il

Supreme Leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011

Born 16 February 1941 · died 17 December 2011, aged 70

Barack Obama

44th President of the United States

Born 4 August 1961 · living, 65 as of September 2026

  1. Albert Einstein
  2. Adolf Hitler
  3. Ronald Reagan
  4. Nelson Mandela
  5. Kim Jong-il
  6. Donald Trump
  7. Vladimir Putin
  8. Michael Jackson
  9. Barack Obama
Kim Jong-il and Barack Obama in bold, with some of their best-known contemporaries. Drag across to see the age each reached in any year. Faded ends mark uncertain dates.