Presidential elections were held in South Ossetia on 9 April 2017 alongside a referendum on changing the official name of the state to "Republic of South Ossetia–the State of Alania", or "South Ossetia–Alania" for short. Incumbent President Leonid Tibilov ran for a second and final term in office, but was defeated by Anatoly Bibilov of the United Ossetia party.

Anatoly Ilyich Bibilov is a South Ossetian military officer, was the fourth president of South Ossetia. He succeeded Leonid Tibilov as president on 21 April 2017 to 24 May 2022, following his election victory, but was defeated by Alan Gagloev in the 2022 election.