Edi Rama Towers Over Starmer—How the 6ft 7in Albanian PM Compares to Global Leaders

Height Comparison of Prominent Political Leaders (2025)

The height difference between Britain’s Keir Starmer and Albania’s tall Prime Minister Edi Rama immediately drew attention during Thursday’s press conference in Tirana. Even though both leaders spoke on important subjects like European unification and illegal migration, their striking contrast captivated social media and raised the surprising query, “How do world leaders compare by height?”

Standing like a statue next to Starmer, whose 5′ 8″ frame seemed much more modest, was Edi Rama, who was remarkably tall at 6′ 7″. A meme frenzy was inevitably triggered within minutes by their handshake, which appeared almost theatrical, akin to a scene from a movie involving Gandalf and Frodo.

In contrast, Friedrich Merz of Germany, who is said to be 6 feet 6 inches tall, almost exactly matches Rama’s stature. Merz’s height produced a similarly striking moment during recent discussions with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, one that probably sent Google searches skyrocketing.

Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister of Spain, is 6 feet 2.5 inches tall, which makes him appear slightly taller than former US President Donald Trump, who is 6 feet 3 inches according to his health report. Particularly following Trump’s heavily documented encounter with the 6′ 3″ Prince William, which sparked concerns about the apparent height disparity, this has led to a lot of chin-stroking.

Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky are both about 5′ 7″. But they are rarely seen together in media shots. When Tom Cruise looked taller during a visit to Kyiv in 2019, Zelensky’s height was subtly questioned; this incident continues to resurface in online forums whenever height debates are brought up.

At five feet eight inches, French President Emmanuel Macron is a close resemblance to Keir Starmer among European leaders. Their silhouettes are remarkably similar when they appear side by side at summits, especially when Macron wowed the audience with his presence and lively energy at the Global Markets Conference.

Giorgia Meloni of Italy is noticeably shorter than her peers at 5′ 3″. Last year, her height even garnered unwanted attention when a journalist was fined for making fun of her height, demonstrating once more how harshly literal public discourse can be.

The background is completed by former UK leaders: David Cameron, who is still the tallest of the country’s current prime ministers at 6′ 1″. With a height of 5′ 9″, Boris Johnson surpasses Starmer, while Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak are 5′ 7″ and 5′ 5″, respectively, indicating a steady drop in average height at Number 10.

Despite being unrelated to competence, height still influences first impressions in political settings where perception frequently outweighs policy. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, viewers and voters alike make snap decisions based on appearance, posture, and stature. And those judgments come quickly, frequently in a humorous, and unquestionably memorable way when characters like Rama enter the frame.