Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership
First female Ambassadors A-E

This is the list of the first women appointed as ambassadors in the countries which has had a female ambassador to this date. Some of the information in this list is supplied by Mart Martin.

A B C D E

A

Afghanistan

1979-80 Dr. Anahita Ratebezad, Yugoslavia
Former Minister in the Government

Albania

Ca. 1982 Syeda Laze, Viet Nam (Male/Female?)

1993-? Suzana Faja, Poland

1998-? Liljana Bsjati, USA  

Algeria

2001- Malika Saci, Denmark
Three other women were appointed Ambassadors in 2001.

Andorra

1993-99 Meritxell Mateu i Pi,
Ambassador to France and UNESCO and Council of Europe
1997-2005 Ambassador to Belgium Netherlands and Luxembourg and European Union
2000-
05 Ambassador to Denmark and Slovenia
Minister of External Relations from 2007.

Angola

1978-? Maria de Jesus Haller, Sweden

Antigua and Barbuda

Around 1988 A.A.B Vanderpoole, United Kingdom 

1992-98 Deborach-Mae Lowell, Canada (Acting)

Around 1998 Ambassador-at-large Yvonne Maignly

Argentina

Ca. 1962 Angela C. Romera Vara, Panama

Until 1976 Dr. P.B. Cabuet, The Netherlands

Armenia

1991 Sevad Sevan, Bulgaria

Australia

1971-75 Dame Anabella Rankin, New Zealand
Former minister

Austria

1959 Johanna Mondschein, Norway

1966-70 Dr. Johanna Nestor, India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka
1972-76 Israel
1979-83 Ireland

Azerbaijan

1993-? 
Eleonora-hanoum Gousseinova, France

B

Bahamas

1979-80 Dr. Patricia E. Ridgers, Canada (Acting) and Chargé d’affaires to USA
1982-83 Deputy Representative to OAS
1983-86 Acting Ambassador to Canada
1988-94 Ambassador to United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Germany, European Communities and various United Nations Organizations
1988-98 Under Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

1986 Margaret McDonald, USA

Bahrain

2000-05 Sheika Hayya bint Rashid Al-Kalifha, France and UNESCO
2001-05 Ambassador to Switzerland and Spain

Also known as Shaikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa, she is a member of the ruling Al-Khalifa-family

Bangladesh

Ca. 1980-81 Tahmina Khan Dolly, Sri Lanka

Barbados

1975 Cyralene Gale, Canada  

1970-73 Valerie T. McComie, USA
1973-76 Venezuela

Belarus

1992-94 Nina Nikolaevna Mazai, France (Chargé d’Affaire)
1994-97  Ambassador to France
1996-97 Spain
2001- Canada
Deputy Foreign Minister 1997-2001.

Belgium

1966-69 Edmonde Dever, Asstistant Representative to the United Nations
1973-78 Sweden
1978-81 Austria
1981-88 United Nations

Belize

1988-89 Ursula H. Barrow, Deputy Representative to the United Nations
1989-91 United Nations
1993-98 United Kingdom, Germany, France and European Union

Bénin

Ca.1980-83-? Bernardine do Régio, Nigeria
1992-94 Canada

Bolivia

1969 Teresa Alexander Dupleich, Organization of American States

Ca. 1982-ca.91 Myriam Paz Cerruto, France

1982-83 Lidia Gueiler Tejada, Ambassador in the Embassy in Germany
1983-86 and 1993-? Venezuela
From 1993  Venezuela
Acting President of the Republic of Bolivia 1979-80.

Bosnia-Herzegovina

1992-? Sadzida Silaidzic, Pakistan

1992-? Bisera Turkovic, Croatia

Botswana

1970-74 Dr. Gaositwe K.C.Tipe, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Norway, Denmark, European Communities and  Nigeria
Later Minister of Foreign Affairs

Brazil

1951 Ivete Vargas, Special Ambassador on a mission to Lebanon

1959-60 Beata Vettori, European Communities
1966-69 Ecuador and Senegal

1959-63 Odette De Cavalho e Souza to ?

1965 Dora Vasconcelos, Canada and Trinidad and Tobago

Brunei

Ca. 1996/97- HRH Princess Hama of Brunei, Ambassador-at-Large in the Foreign Ministry

1998- Peringran Hajah Masrainak Peringran Haji Ahmad, Denmark (Non-resident)
2000-01 France 
2002- Italy

Bulgaria

1949-52-? Stela Dmitrova Blagoeva, USSR and Finland

Burkina Faso

1985 Maimouna Ouattara, Ghana

1986-90 Anne Konaté; Mali, Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, The Gambia and Cape Verde
1990-99 Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
From 1996 "Doyenne de la corps diplomatique au Court de la reine Danoise".

Burma

1960-67 Daw Khin Kuy, India
The only female ambassador - widow of Aung San and Mother of Aung San Suu Kuy.

Burundi

1994-ca. 98 Julie Ngiriye, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway (and Iceland)

C

Cambodia

Around 1990/91 Bo Rasi, USSR
2002- to Bulgaria

Cameroon

1982-86 Simone Mairie, United Nations

Canada

1930 Irene Parlby, Delegate (Ambassador) to the League of Nations
She was Minister without Portfolio in the Province of Alberta

1958-61 Margaret Blance Meagher, Israel
1961    Cypres
1962-66 Austria
1967-69 Kenya and Uganda
1969-73 Sweden

Capo Verde

1997-99 Marly de Meneses Barbosa-Vincente, Denmark, Estonia, Finland Iceland, Norway and Sweden and the Netherlands

1999-2001 Maria de Fatima Lima Veiga, Cuba
Afterwards Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador to the United Nations.

1999- Maria Luisa Ferredo Ribeiro, France
Former Representative to UNESCO 1992-93

Central African Republic

Ca 1998-? Ambassador and Director General for the Francophonie Dorothée Aimée Malanzapa

Chad

Around 1978 Dr. Helena Tchiouna, Cameroon
1993-97 China


1989-? Martine Djoumbi, Zaire
 

China

1979-81 Deng Xuesong, The Netherlands
1982-84 Denmark

Chile

1927-30 Olga de la Barra, Vice-Consul at Glasgow
1930-? Consul-attaché in London.

1928-30 Ines Ortuzar, Consul at Hull
1930-? Consul at Glasgow with responsibility for the whole of Scotland.

1933 Gabriela Mistral, Ambassador-at-large for Latin American Culture. Also Representative by the League of Nations, possibly with rang of Ambassador

1947-? Carmen Vidal de Senoret, The Neterlands (envoy/minister)

She was married to the envoy to United Kingdom

1950-52 Ana Figuero Gjardo, United Nations (Ambassador)

Colombia

1966-
69 Esmeralda Arboleda Cavidad, Austria and Yugoslavia
1969-? Deputy Perament Representative to the United Nations
Former Minister in the Government.

Congo-Brazzaville

Ca. 1985-92 C. Eckomband, Guinea

Congo-Kingazza (Formerly Zaire)

1983-87 Bintou' A-Tshabola, Austria

Cook Islands (Associated State with New Zealand)

2002-03 Audrey Pereira-Brown, New Zealand (Acting)
(1st Secretary in the High Commission in Wellington)

2003- Sonya Kamana, New Zealand (Acting)
(1st Secretary in the High Commission in Wellington)

Costa Rica

1959 Angela Acuña Braun de Chahon, Organization of American States

1964-? Maria de Chittenden, United Kingdom, Norway etc.

Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

1996-ca. 2004 Liliana Marie-Laure Ba, Denmark, Finland, Norway

Croatia

1992 Anamarija Besker, United Nations in Vienna

1995 Vesna Girardi Jurkic, France
Former Minister

Cuba

Ca. 1962 Blanca Díaz Collazo, Columbia

Cyprus

1993-96 Myrna Y. Kleopas, China  
1998-2000 Italy
2000- United Kingdom

Cyprus, Turkish Republic of Northern

2006- Yonca Şenyiğit, Foreign Representative to United Kingdom
Co-Representative 2005-06.

Czechoslovakia

1990-93 Hanna Seveikova, Denmark
Continued as ambassador for the Czech Republic until 1995

1990-93 Magdalena Vasarayova, Austria
Continued as ambassador for Slovakia

1990-93 Paulina Rznickova, Spain
Continued as ambassador for the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

193-95 Hanna Seveikova, Denmark
Represented Czechoslovakia since 1990

1993-? Paulina Rznickova, Spain
Represented Czechoslovakia since 1990

1993-? Rita Klimova, USA
Represented Czechoslovakia since 1992

1993-? Marketa Fiakova, Poland

D

Denmark

1949-55 Bodil Begtrup, Iceland (Envoy)
1955 Ambassador to Iceland
1956-59 European Council
1959-68 Switzerland
1968-73 Portugal

The Dominican Republic

1950-71 Minerva Bernardino, United Nations
1971-76 The Netherlands

Dominica

Ca. 1985 Marciella H. Mukasa, USA

Deutsche Demokratische Republik (German Democratic Republic) DDR

1958-66 Eleonora Straimer, Yugoslavia (Envoy)
1966-69 Ambassador to Yugoslavia

1974-78 Eleonora Smid, Guinea and Sierra Leone
1974-75 Guinea-Bissau
1975-79 Gambia
1981-89 Morocco
1982-89 Senegal and Capo Verde
(The second and last female ambassador of DDR)

E

Ecuador

1975-78 Amamda Pesantes Garcia, Denmark

Egypt

1978 Aisha Reteb, in the Foreign Ministry
1979-81 Denmark
1981-84 Western Germany
She was a former minister

El Salvador

1988-94 Ana-Cristina Sol Midence, France, Belgium, Portugal, European Communities and UNESCO
1994-97 USA
Later Minister in the government.

Equatorial Guinea

Ca. 1993-?  Maria Resserección Bita Boriesa, Morocco

Eritrea

1999-2001 Hibret Berhe Misgun, Sweden, Norway and Finland
2000-01 Denmark

1999-? Hana Simon, Belgium and European Union

Estonia

1991-92 Senta Alas, Denmark

1992 Valvi Stikaitiene, Lithuania

1992 Leili Utno, Latvia

Ethiopia

1975-77 Yodith Imre, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway
Former Vice-minister of Foreign Affairs

1990-94 Sahele Work Zewdie, Senegal
1994-? Djubouti  

Last update 24.01.08


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