Leaders (Civ6)

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Theodore Roosevelt

Leaders are symbolic representatives of the playable civilizations in Civilization VI. They are based on historical figures who accomplished great things or successfully led their people through periods of adversity.

Each leader has both a unique ability (which gives him or her special bonuses and gameplay advantages) and an agenda (which affects how he or she plays the game and interacts with other players when controlled by the AI). Some leaders' unique abilities allow them to unlock unique units, buildings or tile improvements after researching specific technologies or civics.

In vanilla Civilization VI, there is one leader for each civilization (except the Greeks). The Rise and Fall expansion adds Chandragupta as an Indian leader, and the Gathering Storm expansion adds Eleanor of Aquitaine as an English and French leader. As of Gathering Storm, the total number of leaders in the game is 45. Civilization VI: New Frontier Pass will add 9 more, for a total of 54 leaders.

List of Leaders

Leader	Civilization	Leader Ability	Leader Agenda
Alexander	Macedonian	To the World's End Macedonian cities never incur war weariness. All military units heal completely when a city with a Wonder is captured. Gain the Hetairoi unique unit with Horseback Riding.	Short Life of Glory Likes civilizations at war with powers other than Macedon. Dislikes civilizations at peace. Grievances against this leader decay at twice the usual rate.
Amanitore	Nubian	Kandake of Meroë +20% Production towards Districts, increasing to +40% Production if there's a Nubian Pyramid adjacent to the City Center.	City Planner Tries to keep the maximum number of Districts in each city, and likes those that do the same. Dislikes civilizations that don't build as many districts as possible in their cities.
Catherine de Medici	French	Catherine's Flying Squadron +1 level of Diplomatic Visibility with every encountered civilization. Receives a free Spy (and extra Spy capacity) with Castles. All Spies start with a free promotion.	Black Queen Gains as many Spies and as much Diplomatic Visibility as possible, and likes those who do the same. Dislikes civilizations that ignore these espionage activities.
Chandragupta	Indian	Arthashastra Can declare a War of Territorial Expansion with Military Training, instead of Mobilization. +2 Movement and +5 Combat Strength for all units for the next 10 turns after declaring a War of Territorial Expansion.	Maurya Empire Dislikes civilizations that have cities close to his borders, and will try to conquer them. Likes civilizations that are not his neighbors.
Cleopatra	Egyptian	Mediterranean's Bride International Trade Routes grant +4 Gold. Trade Routes sent to Egypt from other civilizations provide +2 Food for them and +2 Gold for Egypt. International Trade Routes grant +4 Gold. Trade Routes sent to Egypt from other civilizations provide +2 Food for them and +2 Gold for Egypt. +100% Alliance Points from trading with allies.	Queen of the Nile Likes civilizations with powerful militaries, and will try to ally with them to avoid conflict. Dislikes civilizations with weak militaries.
Cyrus	Persian	Fall of Babylon +2 Movement for all units for the next 10 turns after declaring a Surprise War. Surprise Wars count as Formal Wars for the purposes of warmongering penalties and war weariness. Occupied cities have no penalties to their yields. +2 Movement for all units for the next 10 turns after declaring a Surprise War. Surprise Wars count as Formal Wars for the purposes of warmongering penalties and war weariness. Occupied cities have no penalties to their yields. +5 Loyalty per turn in occupied cities with a garrisoned unit. +2 Movement for all units for the next 10 turns after declaring a Surprise War. Declaring a Surprise War only counts as a Formal War for the purpose of Grievances and war weariness. Occupied cities have no penalties to their yields. +5 Loyalty per turn in occupied cities with a garrisoned unit.	Opportunist Will often declare Surprise Wars, and likes civilizations that do the same. Dislikes civilizations that don't declare Surprise Wars.
Dido	Phoenician	Founder of Carthage Cities with a Cothon gain the unique Move Capital project, which moves the Phoenician Capital capital to that city. Gains +1 Trade Route capacity after building the Government Plaza or any Government Plaza building. +50% Production towards Districts in the city with the Government Plaza.	Sicilian Wars Wants to settle coastal cities, and likes civilizations that settle inland. Dislikes civilizations with many coastal cities.
Eleanor of Aquitaine	English French	Court of Love Each Great Work in her cities causes foreign cities within 9 tiles to lose 1 Loyalty per turn. Any foreign city that leaves its civilization due to loss of Loyalty and is receiving the most Loyalty pressure from Eleanor instantly joins her empire, instead of becoming a Free City.	Angevin Empire Builds up the Population of her cities, and likes those whose nearby cities also have a high Population. Dislikes civilizations whose nearby cities have low Population.
Frederick Barbarossa	German	Holy Roman Emperor Gain an additional Military policy slot in all Governments. +7 Combat Strength for all units when fighting city-states and their units.	Iron Crown Will try to conquer as many city-states as possible, and likes those who do not associate with them. Dislikes Suzerains of city-states, or civilizations that have conquered city-states.
Gandhi	Indian	Satyagraha +5 Faith for each met civilization (including India) that has founded a Religion and is not at war. Enemies receive double war weariness from fighting against Gandhi.	Peacekeeper Never declares wars for which he can be branded a warmonger, and likes peaceful civilizations. Heavily dislikes warmongers.
Genghis Khan	Mongolian	Mongol Horde Cavalry class units gain +3 Combat Strength and have a chance to capture defeated cavalry class enemy units.	Horse Lord Builds a strong cavalry force, and likes civilizations that don't compete in cavalry. Dislikes those who rival him in cavalry strength.
Gilgamesh	Sumerian	Adventures of Enkidu May declare war on any civilization at war with an ally without warmonger penalties. When at war with a common enemy, Sumerian and allied units share pillage rewards and combat experience if within 5 tiles of each other. May declare war on any civilization at war with an ally without warmonger penalties. When at war with a common enemy, Sumerian and allied units share pillage rewards and combat experience if within 5 tiles of each other. Earn Alliance Points per-turn if both civilizations are at war with the same foe.	Ally of Enkidu Is easy to befriend, and likes civilizations who are his Declared Friends. Dislikes anyone denouncing or attacking his friends.
Gitarja	Indonesian	Exalted Goddess of the Three Worlds May purchase naval units with Faith. Religious units pay no movement cost to embark or disembark. City Centers adjacent to Coast or Lake tiles gain +2 Faith.	Archipelagic State Likes civilizations that avoid having cities on small landmasses. Dislikes those who have numerous cities on such islands.
Gorgo	Greek	Thermopylae Killing a unit provides Culture equal to 50% of its Combat Strength.	With Your Shield Or On It Never gives up anything in a peace deal, and likes warmongers that match this approach. Dislikes those who have capitulated in a peace treaty or that have never gone to war. Grievances against this leader decay at twice the usual rate.
Harald Hardrada	Norwegian	Thunderbolt of the North +50% Production toward naval melee units. All naval melee units gain the ability to perform Coastal Raids. Gain the Viking Longship unique unit with Sailing. +50% Production toward naval melee units. All naval melee units gain the ability to perform Coastal Raids. Receive Science in addition to Gold when pillaging and coastal raiding Mines and Culture in addition to Faith when pillaging and coastal raiding Quarries, Pastures, Plantations, and Camps. Gain the Viking Longship unique unit with Sailing.	Last Viking King Builds a strong navy, and likes civilizations that do the same. Dislikes civilizations that neglect their navies.
Hojo Tokimune	Japanese	Divine Wind +5 Combat Strength for land units in Coastal tiles and naval units in Coast tiles. +100% Production towards Encampment, Holy Site and Theater Square districts. +5 Combat Strength for land units in Coastal tiles and naval units in Coast tiles. +100% Production towards Encampment, Holy Site and Theater Square districts. Districts, improvements and units are immune to damage from Hurricanes. +100% damage from Hurricanes in Japanese territory to civilizations at war with Japan.	Bushido Likes civilizations that have both a strong military and strong Faith or Culture outputs. Dislikes civilizations that are strong in military but weak in Faith or Culture.
Jadwiga	Polish	Lithuanian Union Taking territory from a foreign city with a Culture Bomb converts it to Poland's religion. Relics grant +4 Gold, +2 Culture and +2 Faith. Holy Sites receive a +1 adjacency bonus from districts, instead of +0.5.	Saint Tries to build up Faith, and likes those that also focus on Faith. Dislikes civilizations with a weak Faith output. Faith.
Jayavarman VII	Khmer	Monasteries of the King +2 Food and +1 Housing from Holy Sites adjacent to a river. Building a Holy Site triggers a Culture Bomb, claiming surrounding tiles.	An End to Suffering Likes civilizations with many Holy Sites and a high average city Population. Dislikes civilizations lacking in either of these areas.
John Curtin	Australian	Citadel of Civilization +100% Production if they have either received a declaration of war in the past 10 turns or liberated a city in the past 20 turns. +100% Production if they have either received a declaration of war or liberated a city in the past 10 turns.	Perpetually on Guard Forms Defensive Pacts with friends and likes civilizations that liberate cities. Dislikes civilizations that are occupying enemy cities.
Kristina	Swedish	Minerva of the North Buildings with at least three Great Work slots and wonders with at least two Great Work slots are automatically themed when all slots are filled. Gains the Queen's Bibliotheque unique building in the Government Plaza.	Bibliophile Tries to collect as many Great Works as possible, and likes those who leave them to her. Dislikes civilizations with many Great Works.
Kupe	Māori	Kupe's Voyage Starts the game in the Ocean. +2 Science and +2 Culture per turn before the first city is settled. Their first settled city receives a free Builder and +1 Population. The Palace grants +3 Housing and +1 Amenity.	Kaitiakitanga Tries to avoid contributing to climate change by not removing features, planting Woods, and founding National Parks, and likes those who do the same. Dislikes civilizations that show little concern for the environment.
Lady Six Sky	Mayan	Ix Mutal Ajaw Non-capital cities gain +10% to all yields if within six tiles of the Mayan Capital capital, and -15% to all yields if more than six tiles away. All units receive +5 Combat Strength when within six tiles of the Mayan Capital.	Solitary Keeps her cities clustered around her Capital, and likes civilizations who settle far away from her. Dislikes those who encroach upon her borders with cities or troops.
Lautaro	Mapuche	Swift Hawk Defeating an enemy unit within the borders of an enemy city causes that city to lose 20 Loyalty. Pillaging a tile within the borders of an enemy city causes that city to lose 5 Loyalty.	Spirit of Tucapel Tries to maintain his cities loyal, and likes civilizations who do the same. Dislikes those that fail to maintain the loyalty of their people.
Mansa Musa	Malian	Sahel Merchants International Trade Routes gain +1 Gold for every flat Desert tile in the sending city. Entering a Golden Age permanently grants +1 Trade Route capacity.	Lord of the Mines Tries to build up Gold, and likes those that also focus on Gold. Dislikes civilizations with a weak Gold output.
Matthias Corvinus	Hungarian	Raven King Levied city-state units receive +2 Movement and +5 Combat Strength, and can be upgraded at a 75% discount in Gold or resources. Levying troops from a city-state grants 2 Envoys with that city-state. Gain the Black Army unique unit with Castles.	Raven Banner Will often levy troops from city-states, and likes those who do the same. Dislikes civilizations that shun use of these mercenaries.
Menelik II	Ethiopian	Council of Ministers Ethiopian cities founded on hills receive Science and Culture equal to 15% of their Faith output. +4 Combat Strength for all units when fighting on hills.	Ethiopian Highlands Tries to settle cities on Hills, and likes civilizations who avoid settling near Hills. Dislikes civilizations that settle around Hills.
Montezuma	Aztec	Gifts for the Tlatoani Improved Luxury resources provide an Amenity to 2 extra cities. Military units receive +1 Combat Strength for each different improved Luxury resource in Aztec territory.	Tlatoani Likes civilizations who have the same Luxury resources as he does, and will try to collect every Luxury resource available. Dislikes those with Luxury resources he doesn't have.
Mvemba a Nzinga	Kongolese	Religious Convert Can't build Holy Sites or found a religion, but receives all the beliefs of any religion that has established itself as Kongo's majority religion, not just the Follower beliefs. Building a Mbanza or Theater Square grants a free Apostle of the city's majority religion.	Enthusiastic Disciple Likes civilizations that bring religion to the Kongo. Dislikes those who have founded a religion but not spread it to a Kongolese city.
Pachacuti	Incan	Qhapaq Ñan Domestic Trade Routes gain +1 Food for every Mountain tile in the origin city. Gain the Qhapaq Ñan unique improvement with Foreign Trade.	Sapa Inca Tries to settle near Mountains, and likes those who leave those areas to him. Dislikes civilizations that also settle near Mountains.
Pedro II	Brazilian	Magnanimous Recruiting or patronizing a Great Person refunds 20% of their point cost.	Patron of the Arts Will recruit as many Great People as possible, and likes civilizations that do not compete for Great People. Dislikes civilizations who take Great People from him.
Pericles	Greek	Surrounded by Glory +5% Culture per city-state Greece has Suzerainty over.	Delian League Likes civilizations that don't compete for city-state allegiance. Dislikes civilizations that are directly competing for city-state allegiance.
Peter	Russian	The Grand Embassy Trade Routes to more advanced civilizations grant Russia +1 Science for every three technologies that civilization is ahead of them, and +1 Culture for every three civics.	Westernizer Likes those that are ahead in civics and technologies. Dislikes backwards civilizations that are behind in civics and technologies.
Philip II	Spanish	El Escorial +4 Combat Strength for all units when fighting civilizations following a different Religion. Inquisitors have one extra use of their Remove Heresy ability. +4 Combat Strength for all units when fighting civilizations following a different Religion. Inquisitors have one extra use of their Remove Heresy ability. Inquisitors eliminate 100% of the presence of other Religions.	Counter Reformer Likes civilizations who follow the same Religion as him, and wants his cities to all follow the same Religion. Dislikes those who spread their Religion into his empire.
Poundmaker	Cree	Favorable Terms All Alliance types provide Shared Visibility. Trade Routes grant +1 Food in the sending city and +1 Gold in the receiving city per Camp or Pasture in the receiving city.	Iron Confederacy Establishes as many Alliances as possible, and likes those who do the same. Dislikes civilizations that don't establish Alliances.
Qin Shi Huang	Chinese	The First Emperor Builders receive an additional build charge. Can spend Builder charges to complete 15% of the Production cost for Ancient and Classical wonders. Builders receive an additional build charge. Can spend Builder charges to complete 15% of the Production cost for Ancient and Classical wonders. Unlocks Canals with Masonry instead of Steam Power.	Wall of 10,000 Li Builds wonders whenever possible, and likes civilizations that leave the wonders to him. Dislikes those with more wonders than him.
Robert the Bruce	Scottish	Bannockburn Can declare a War of Liberation with Defensive Tactics, instead of Diplomatic Service. +100% Production and +2 Movement for all units for the next 10 turns after declaring a War of Liberation.	Flower of Scotland Will never attack his neighboring civilizations unless they break a promise to him, and dislikes anyone waging war on them. Likes civilizations not at war with his neighbors.
Saladin	Arabian	Righteousness of the Faith The Worship building for Arabia's Religion is 90% cheapter to purchase with Faith. Arabian cities with that building gain +10% Science, Faith, and Culture.	Ayyubid Dynasty Wants his Worship building in as many cities as possible, and likes civilizations with it. Dislikes civilizations following other Religions or waging war on followers of his Religion.
Seondeok	Korean	Hwarang Cities with an established Governor receive +3% Culture and +3% Science for each promotion that Governor has.	Cheomseongdae Tries to build up Science, and likes those that also focus on Science. Dislikes civilizations with a weak Science output.
Shaka	Zulu	Amabutho May form Corps with Mercenaries, instead of Nationalism, and Armies with Nationalism, instead of Mobilization. Corps and Armies gain an additional +5 Combat Strength.	Horn, Chest, Loins Forms as many Corps and Armies as possible, and likes those who do the same. Dislikes civilizations with few Corps and Armies.
Simón Bolívar	Gran Colombian	Campaña Admirable Entering a new era grants a Comandante General, a unique type of Great Person.	Carabobo Focuses on promoting his units by building many Encampments, and likes civilizations with many promoted units. Dislikes civilizations without an elite, highly-promoted army.
Suleiman	Ottoman	Grand Vizier Has access to a unique Governor, Ibrahim, the Grand Vizier. Gain the Janissary unique unit with Gunpowder.	Lawgiver Tries to keep his cities happy and loyal, and likes those who do the same, especially if they have taken cities from other civilizations. Dislikes those who struggle with happiness and loyalty, or that own few conquered cities.
Tamar	Georgian	Glory of the World, Kingdom and Faith +100% Faith for the next 10 turns after declaring a Protectorate War. Each Envoy sent to a city-state of Georgia's majority Religion counts as two Envoys.	Narikala Fortress Builds high-level walls around her cities and likes those who do the same. Dislikes civilizations that don't fortify their cities.
Teddy Roosevelt	American	Roosevelt Corollary +5 Combat Strength for all units inside America's home continent. +1 Appeal to all tiles in cities with a National Park. Gain the Rough Rider unique unit with Rifling.	Big Stick Policy Likes peaceful civilizations that have a city on his home continent. Dislikes civilizations starting wars on his continent.
Tomyris	Scythian	Killer of Cyrus +5 Combat Strength for all units when attacking wounded units. Units heal up to 30 hit points after killing an enemy unit.	Backstab Averse Likes civilizations who are her Declared Friends. Dislikes civilizations who backstab their former allies and declare Surprise Wars.
Trajan	Roman	Trajan's Column All founded cities start with a free building in the City Center. (A Monument if the game is started in the Ancient Era)	Optimus Princeps Tries to include as much territory as possible in his empire, and likes those who do the same. Dislikes civilizations with little territory.
Victoria	English	Pax Britannica Founding a city or building a Royal Navy Dockyard outside of England's home continent grants a free melee unit in that city. Gain the Redcoat unique unit with Military Science. The first city founded on each continent other than England's home continent grants a free melee unit in that city and +1 Trade Route capacity. Building a Royal Navy Dockyard grants a free naval unit in that city. Gain the Redcoat unique unit with Military Science.	Sun Never Sets Likes civilizations who have a city on her home continent, and will try to expand to all continents. Dislikes civilizations on continents where she has no cities.
Wilfrid Laurier	Canadian	The Last Best West Can build Farms on Tundra tiles, and on Tundra Hills tiles with Civil Engineering. Purchasing Snow, Snow Hills, Tundra Hills, and Tundra tiles is 50% cheaper. On Snow, Snow Hills, Tundra Hills, and Tundra tiles, +100% extraction rate of accumulated resources, Mines and Lumber Mills receive +1 extra Production and Camps receive +1 extra Food.	Canadian Expeditionary Force Participates in Emergencies and Competitions whenever possible, and likes civilizations who do the same. Dislikes those that ignore Emergencies and Competitions.
Wilhelmina	Dutch	Radio Oranje Domestic Trade Routes provide +1 Loyalty per turn for the starting city. Trade Routes sent to or received from a foreign civilization grant +1 Culture to the Netherlands.	Billionaire Tries to have as many Trade Routes as possible, and likes civilizations that trade with her cities. Dislikes those who refrain from sending Trade Routes to her cities.

Alternate personas

Additionally, on 23 July 2020, the Persona Packs were introduced, providing alternative appearances and new abilities for two existing leaders: Teddy Roosevelt and Catherine de Medici.

When the Persona Packs are enabled, their former models are repurposed as two alternate personas: Bull Moose for Teddy Roosevelt and Black Queen for Catherine de Medici. Teddy Roosevelt's standard game version's abilities and agenda were partially transferred to his new persona, with Bull Moose Teddy gaining new ones, while Black Queen Catherine is identical to her standard game version in terms of ability and agenda.

Persona	Civilization	Leader Ability	Leader Agenda
Catherine de Medici (Black Queen)	French	Catherine's Flying Squadron +1 level of Diplomatic Visibility with every encountered civilization. Receives a free Spy (and extra Spy capacity) with Castles. All Spies start with a free promotion.	Black Queen Gains as many Spies and as much Diplomatic Visibility as possible, and likes those who do the same. Dislikes civilizations that ignore these espionage activities.
Catherine de Medici (Magnificence)	French	Catherine's Magnificences +2 Culture for improved Luxury resources adjacent to a Theater Square or Château. Cities with a Theater Square gain the unique Court Festival project, which grants Culture and Tourism based on the number of Luxury resources France possesses.	Sumptuous Finery Tries to collect as many copies of Luxury resources as possible, and likes civilizations that trade Luxury resources to her. Dislikes those that do not trade Luxuries with her.
Teddy Roosevelt (Bull Moose)	American	Antiquities and Parks Breathtaking tiles gain +2 Science when adjacent to a Natural Wonder or Mountain, and +2 Culture when adjacent to a Wonder or Woods. +1 Appeal in all tiles in cities with a National Park.	The Bull Moose Tries to settle near high Appeal tiles, and builds Districts and Wonders to maximize Appeal. Likes civilizations with many high Appeal tiles in their territory, and dislikes those with many low Appeal tiles.
Teddy Roosevelt (Rough Rider)	American	Roosevelt Corollary +5 Combat Strength for all units inside America's home continent. Envoys sent to city-states that America has a Trade Route with count as two Envoys. Gain the Rough Rider unique unit with Rifling.	Big Stick Policy Likes peaceful civilizations that have a city on his home continent. Dislikes civilizations starting wars on his continent.

Added in the Rise and Fall expansion pack.

Added in the Gathering Storm expansion pack.

Gallery

Concept art of Civilization VI leaders by Sang Han