Current women world leaders
Joyce Banda
Title: President
The 62-year-old president of Malawi who assumed office April 7, 2012 – founded this political party in 2011 and made history as her country’s first female president after the death of this leader. people's party malawi, bingu wa mutharika,
Laura Chinchilla
Title: President
The longtime politician is a member of this left-leaning party and assumed office May 8, 2012, becoming Costa Rica’s first female president at the age of 51. national liberation party costa rica,
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Title: President
The 59-year-old leader of Argentina took office on Dec. 10, 2007, as the second female president of her South American country. isabel martinez de peron,
Park Geun-hye
Title: President
In December 2012, Park Geun-hye made history when she became the first woman elected as president of South Korea. The 60-year-old conservative daughter of a former president assumed office on Feb. 25 and is widely considered the most influential politician in Korea
Julia Gillard
Title: Prime Minister
The 51-year-old Australian leader – whose anti-misogyny speech became an Internet sensation last year – took office on June 24, 2010, as the first female leader of her country as well as her political party. julia gillard misogyny speech, julia gillard misogyny speech,
Dalia Grybauskaitė
Title: President
The president of Lithuania – often known by this nickname – studied at this American university before becoming the former Soviet republic’s first female head of state on July 12, 2009, at age 53.
Atifete Jahjaga
Title: President
The first female leader of Kosovo a former police commander who trained at a U.S. institution – took office on April 7, 2011, becoming the war-torn country’s youngest person to be elected to the office. 36-year-old atifete jahjaga,
Angela Merkel
Title: Chancellor
The 58-year-old chemist entered politics after world-changing events in 1989 and became the first woman to hold Germany’s highest office on Nov. 22, 2005. She hosted a 2007 summit with other international leaders and was at the top of this prestigious list two years in a row.
Kamla Persad-Bissessar
Title: Prime Minister
The first female leader of Trinidad and Tobago who assumed office at age 58 on May 26, 2010, and leads a coalition of her island country’s political parties – contracted a common tropical disease in 2011. Kamla Persad-Bissessar inauguration,
Dilma Rousseff
Title: President
The 65-year-old Brazilian head of state – a former political prisoner now known as one of the most powerful people in the world – became the South American country’s first woman to hold the office on Jan. 1, 2011. dilma rousseff + political prisoner, forbes most powerful people 2012,
Helle Thorning-Schmidt
Title: Prime Minister
Denmark’s first female prime minister began her first term on Oct. 3, 2011, at age 44, and is the leader of this left-leaning party. queen margrethe of denmark, social democrats denmark,
Yingluck Shinawatra
Title: Prime Minister
The first female prime minister of Thailand – whose older brother also led the country – earned a master’s degree from this American university and became one of the country’s youngest leaders when she took office Aug. 5, 2011. 44-year-old yingluck shinawatra,
Johanna Sigurdardottir
Title: Prime Minister
Iceland’s first female prime minister who took office on Feb. 1, 2009, and is now 70 years old – made a big announcement last year regarding her career. first openly lesbian head of government, Johanna Sigurdardottir to retire,
Portia Simpson-Miller
Title: Prime Minister
The 67-year-old longtime politician became Jamaica’s first female prime minister on March 30, 2006, and took office for the second time on Jan. 5, 2012. leader of the opposition jamaica,
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Title: President
The 74-year-old first elected female head of state of Liberia – and all of Africa – first assumed office on Jan. 16, 2006, and won a prestigious prize five years later, but was linked to a controversial documentary film last year. nobel peace prize 2011, the ambassador movie,
Sheikh Hasina Wazed
Title: Prime Minister
The 65-year-old daughter of the founder of Bangladesh first served as prime minister from 1996 to 2001 and resumed the office on Jan. 6, 2009. sheikh mujibur rahman assassination,
