Understanding governing elites is crucial for political science. But until now, there was no comprehensive global dataset covering their composition over a long period.

This article introduces the new WhoGov dataset, which tracks cabinet members in 177 countries from 1966 to 2016. The dataset was created by extracting information about who served where and when from news reports and validated against existing data sources.

With its extensive coverage, WhoGov enables researchers across diverse fields like comparative politics, gender studies, and regime analysis to gain new insights into government formation and elite representation worldwide.

This resource is expected to significantly advance research on political elites by allowing scholars to analyze their characteristics and roles more effectively. It also provides a powerful tool for examining how governing systems operate in different countries.