Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership

CURRENT WOMAN LEADERS


Also see Chronological List of Female Presidents,
Woman Heads of State and Government
and Woman Premier Ministers


06.02.1952- Queen Elizabeth II of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Her other Realms and Territories, Defender of the Faith and Head of the Commonwealth

The following external territories are part of the kingdom: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands. She is also Sovereign of the Channel Islands and Lord of the Isle of Man. Furthermore she is Queen of Canada, Australia, New Zealand (1952), Jamaica (1962), Barbados, (1966), Bahamas (1973), Grenada (1974), Tuvalu (1978), the Solomon Islands (1978), Papua New Guinea (1975), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1979), Saint Lucia (1979), Antigua and Barbuda (1981), Belize (1981) and Saint Christopher and Nevis (1983). Queen Elizabeth used to be Head of State in most of the countries in the Commonwealth. She is the mother of three sons and a daughter. Married to Phillip Mountbatten, former Prince of Greece and Denmark. (b. 1926-).  


14.01.1972- Queen Margrethe II of Denmark

Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces and Head of the Evangelian-Lutheran Church. The Rigsfælleskab - or
Commonwealth of the Realm - includes the external territories of The Faeroe Islands and Greenland. Married to Count Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, Prince Henrik. Margrethe II is the mother of two sons. (b. 1940-)


17.09.1997- Governor General Hon. Dr. Dame C. Pearlette Louisy, St. Lucia

Teacher, administrator, Vice-Principal and then Principal of St. Lucia's College. (b. 1946-)

22.11.2005- Chancellor Angela Merkel, Germany

1990 Deputy Spokesperson of the Government of the DDR, 1990-98 Deputy Chairperson of CDU, 1991-94 Federal Minister Women and Youth and 1994-98 Federal Minister of Environment, Protection of Nature and Reactor Safety, 1993-2000 Chairperson of CDU in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 1998-2000 Federal Secretary General and since 2000 Federal Chairperson of CDU and 2002-05 also Parliamentary Leader, Chairperson of the European Council and President of the Group of Eight, G-8 in 2007. Née Kasner and married secondly to Joachim Sauer, no children. (b. 1954-).


16.01.2006- Executive President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Liberia

1972-73 and 1977-79 Secretary of State of Finance, 1979-80 Minister of Finance, 1980 President of the National Bank, 1980-85 worked for the World Bank, 1985-86 in house arrest after her return, 1990-92 Leading member of exile-government of Amos Sawyer in United States of America, 1992-97 African Director of the UNDP (United Nations Development Program). From 1997 Leader of the Unity Party. Presidential Candidate in 1997, Candidate for the Chairmanship of the National Transitional Government in 2003 and finally won the presidential elections in November 2005. She is divorced, mother of a number of children, and grandmother. (b. 1938-).


17.07.2007- Governor-General Dame Louise Lake-Tack, Antigua and Barbuda

A former nurse and magistrate from 1995. (b. 1944-).

25.07.2007- President Pratibha Patil, India
Member of the Government of Maharashtra 1967-78 and 1982-85 as Deputy Minister, Public Health, Prohibition, Tourism, Housing and Parliamentary Affairs 1967-72, Minister of Social Welfare 1972-74, Minister of Public Health and Social Welfare 1974-75, Minister of Prohibition, Rehabilitation and Cultural Affairs 1975-76, Minister of Education 1977-78, Minister of Urban Development and Housing 1982-83 and Minister of Civil Supplies and Social Welfare 1983-85, Congress Leader and Leader of the Opposition 1979-80. Deputy Chairperson of the Union Upper House, the Rajya Sabha 1986-88 and Acting Chairperson  in 1987, when the incumbent was elected President, Governor of Rajasthan 2004-07. Married to Devisingh Shekhawat, a former Mayor of Amravati. (b. 1934-).

10.12.2007- Executive President Cristina Fernández  de Kirchner, Argentina

Won the first round of the presidential elections in October 2007 as candidate for Partido Justicalista. She was Member of the Assembly of Santa Cruz 1989-95 and 1. Vice-President of the Assembly in 1990, National Senator 1995-97 and again since 2001, National Deputy 1997-2001. President of the Senate Committee of Contitutional Affairs since 2001. Her late husband Néstor Carlos Kirchner (1950-2010) was President of Argentina 2003-07 and held a number of other posts. Mother of 2 children. (b. 1953-).


06.01.2009- Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed, Bangladesh

Also Prime Minister 1996-2001. Her father, Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (1920-72-75), and most of her family was killed during a military coup in 1975 when she and her sister were abroard. Returned to Bangladesh in 1981, President of the Awami Leauge from 1981, Opposition Leader 1986-87 and 1991-96 and 2001-06. In 1983, she formed the 15-party alliance to launch a movement to oust General Ershad from power and was in and out of prison throughout the 1980s and was under house arrest a few times. Her party, along with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, led by Begum  Khaleda Zia, was instrumental in the movement against the military rule. 2007 she was arrested on corruption and murder charges, but was allowed to go to USA for medical treatment in 2007 though the military supported care-taker government tried to pressure her into exile. Returned in November 2008 to lead her party in the election campaign, which her party won overwealmingly. Married to the nuclear scientist Dr M. A. Wazed Miah and mother a son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and a daughter, Saima Wazed Putul, who both lives in the USA. (b. 1947- ).


01.02.2009- Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, Iceland
Johanna Sigurdardsottir was Deputy Chairperson of the Social Democrats 1984-93, Chairperson 1994-99 of the National Revival Party until she rejoined the Social Democrats and became it's leader in 2009, Vice-President of the Lower Chamber 1979 and 1983-84 and Vice-Chairperson of the the Alþing 2003-07, Minister of Social Affairs And Health 1987-91 and Minister of Social Affairs 1991-94 and 2007-09. Took over as Interim Premier because the Party Chairperson, Foreign Minister  Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, was beeing treated for a brain tumor, and later also resigned as Party Leader. First married to Þorvaldur Steinar Jóhannesson with whom she has got sons, and is now married to the author Jónína Leósdóttir, who is mother of 1 son. (b. 1942-)

05.09.2008- Governor-General Dr Quentin Bryce, Australia
Former lawyer, academic and human rights advocate, Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, founding chair and Chief Executive Officer of the National Childcare Accreditation Council and Governor of Queensland 2003-08. (b. 1942-)

26.05.2010- Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Trinidad and Tobago
Attorney General (second in Cabinet) 1995-06 and 2001, Minister of Legal Affairs 1996-99 and 2001 and Minister of Education 1999-2001. First appointed acting premier on the absence of the Premier in September 2000. Leader of The United National Congesss and Oppostion Leader 2006-07 and 2010 and Political Leader from 2010. (b. 1952-)

24.06.2010-  Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Australia

MP from 1998, Manager of Opposition Business in the House of Representatives 2003-06 and Deputy Leader of Labor 2006-10, Deputy Leader of the Opposition 2006-07 and Leader of Labour from 2010, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and Social Inclusion from 2007-10. Her parents immigrated to Australia from Wales. She lives with her partner and has no children. (b. 1961-).


10.10.2010- Prime Minister Sarah Wescott-Williams, Sint Maarten (Self-governing Part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

Ca. 1995-2009 Commissioner of General Affairs, Education etc.
1999-2009 Leader of the Government, Social and Cultural Development, Finance, Juridical Affairs, Emergency Services, Information, Communication and Protocol, Strategic Policy, Planning and Development of Sint Maarten which was part of the Netherlands Antilles from 2010 when it became a self ruling entity within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. She is Leader of the St. Maarten Party.


01.01.2011- President Dilma Vana Linhares Rousseff, Brazil
Dilma Rousseff is a former student leader who fought Brazil's military dictatorship as a guerrilla during the early 1970s and an economist. Secretary of Mines, Energy and Communication of Rio Grande do Sul 1993-94 and 1999-2002, Minister of Mines and Energy 2003-05 and Minister and Secretary General of the Presidential Staff (Cabinet Chief) 2005-10. (b. 1947-).

07.04.2011- President Atifete Jahjaga, Kosovo

She was Deputy Chief of Police of Kosovo with rank of Major General at the time of her election. Married to Astrit Kuçi. (b. 1975-)


08.08.2011- Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Thailand
A former buisness woman and main candidate for the Pheu Thai Party which won about 50% of the votes in the parliamentary elections. A member of a walthy family, her father, uncle and other family members were MPs her brother and brother-in-law were Prime Ministers and her sister Mayor of Chiang Mai. She is married to businessman Anusorn Amornchat and mother of a son. (b. 1967-).

03.10.2011- Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Denmark
Social Democrat Member of the European Parliament 1999-2004 and Member of the Parliament, Party Chairperson from 2005 and Chairperson of the European Council, the rotating presidency of the European Union. Married to Stephen Kinnock and mother of two daughters. (b. 1966-)

22.11.2011- Premier Camilla Gunell, the Åland Islands (Finish External Territory)
Member of the Lagting since 2003, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Group of the Social Democrats 2003-05 and Party Chairperson from 2009 and Minister of Education and Culture 2005-2007. (b. 1970-).

05.01.2012- Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller, Jamaica

Also Prime Minister 2006-07. Since 1976 MP, 1976-82 Parliamentary Secretary of the Prime Minister, Deputy President of People's National Party 1978-2006 and President from 2006. Minister of Labour, Social Welfare and Sports 1989-2000, Candidate for the party leadership and Premiership in 1992, Minister of Tourism, Entertainment, Sports and Women’s Affairs 2000-02 and Minister of Local Government, Community Development and Sport 2002-06. Acting Prime Minister on various occasions whenever the chief of government was out of the country. 2006-2007 and from 2012 also Minister of Defence and a number of other portfolios. Opposition Leader 2007-11. (b. 1946-).


07.04.2012- President Joyce Banda, Malwai
2004-06 Minister of Women, Child Welfare and Community Service, 2006-09 Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2009-12 Vice-President, Founder and leader of the People's Party in 2011 after she fell out with the President who did not include her in the Cabinet, though she remains Vice-President according to the constitution and as such she took over as head of state after the death of her predecessor. (b. 1950-)

15.10.2012- Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (South Africa)
1994-99 Minister of Health, 1999-2009 Minister of Foreign Affairs and 2009-12 of Home Affairs. She was offered the post of Deputy President in 2005 after her ex-husband, Jacob Zuma was fired after corruption charges, and was candidate for the post of Deputy President of ANC in 2007 (b. 1949-).

19.12.2012- Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, the Cayman Islands  (British Overseas Territory)
Minister of Community Development, Sports, Youth Affairs and Culture 1997-2000 and 2003-04,  Minister for Planning, Communications, District Administration and IT 2004-05, Deputy Premier 2009-12, Minister for District Administration, Works, Lands and Agriculture since 2009, Minister of Environmental Health, Telecommunication and Gender Affairs2 009-12 and Minister of Finance from 2012, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly 2001-03 and Deputy Leader of the United Democratic Party 2009-12.

25.02.2013- President Park Geun-hye, South Korea
MP 1998-2012, Chairperson of the Grand National Party 2004-06, Candidate in the party primaries for presidential candidate in 2008, Leader of Saenuri (Renamed GNP) 2011-12. (b. 1952-)

13.03.2013- Prime Minister Željka Cvijanović, Republic Srpska (Autonomous Entity Within Bosnia-Herzegovina)
Zeljka Cvijanovic was Minister of Economic Relations and Regional Cooperation 2010-13. (b. 1967-)

20.03.2013- Prime Minister Alenka Bratušek, Slovenia
Alenka Bratusek has been MP from 2011 and Acting Leader of the Positive Slovenia party from 2013. She is former Head of the Directorate for the State Budget at the Ministry of Finance. (b. 1970-)

01.04.2013-01.10.2013 Capitano Reggente Antonella Mularoni, San Marino
Member of the General Grand Council 1993-2001 and again from 2008, and Judge of the European Court of Human Rights 2001-08, Leader of the Government, Secretary of State of Foreign and Political Affairs, Telecommunication and Transport 2008-12. (b. 1961-).

05.04.2013- Chairperson of the Government Aleqa Hammond, Greenland (Danish Selfruling Territory)
Also Minister of External Affairs. Minister of Family Affairs and Justice 2005-07,  Minister of Finance and External Affairs 2007-08 and Chairperson of Siumut from 2009. (b. 1965-).

07.05.2013- Governor-General Cécile La Grenade, Grenada
Founder and chief executive of La Grenade Industries.

 



 Last update 13.05.13

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