The gods were the “real” leaders of Egypt, though they had a little help, from their physical manifestations on earth - the pharaohs.
Pharaohs were the kings of Ancient Egypt. Translated from hieroglyphs, Pharaoh means “great house” or “palace”, a phrase that would eventually come to describe the king himself.
The ancient Egyptians saw their Pharaoh as a god on earth, specifically viewing them as the god Horus. They believed that when the current Pharaoh died, his successor was a new version of Horus re-born, thus achieving eternal life.
In reality, the Pharaoh was like any more modern king - a figurehead supposedly in charge of government, taxation, military and religion. However, in practice, his wishes were carried out by officials who were possibly the world’s first beaurocrats