Rwanda has had only two presidents since its independence and formation as a modern republic. The first president was Juvenal Habyarimana, who served from 1973 until his assassination in 1994, which marked the beginning of the Rwandan genocide. The second and current president is Paul Kagame, who took office in 2000 and has remained in power since then. After the genocide, Rwanda was led by a succession of interim leaders and military commanders until Kagame was formally elected president. Therefore, since the establishment of the Rwandan Republic as an independent state, there have been two presidents in total.