Here are the Top 5 Most Libertarian Foreign Leaders

4. James Alix Michel

President of the small island of Seychelles, Michel pushed towards the liberalization of the country’s markets. During his time in office, he has reduced government spending and established strong monetary and fiscal policies. However, on September 27, he announced that he would resign from office on October 16, and his vice president will become the new president of Seychelles.

Michel has a mixed record, at times referred to as a “free market socialist.” For example, in 2007, he called for partial privatization of the Seychelles Marketing Board (SMB), a government organization which deals with imports into the country. However, he at the same time supported the idea that government would maintain 70% shares in the privatized enterprises. Therefore, though far from a pure libertarian, Michel could be said to support incremental change in the free market direction, which is more than most world leaders can claim.

In 2012, in reference to the Seychelles Trading Company (STC) he spoke of how to reform the government program and allow the market to do its work, saying:

In the context of the free market and an open economy like ours – where anybody can import
goods, and where there is no price control – competition is supposed to be a principal factor
in price regulation. And this is where STC has a critical role to play. I have instructed STC to
diversify its sources of supplies overseas in order to get better value for its imports and as a
means to bring more competition in the local market, bring down prices as far as possible and
give all Seychellois a better deal.