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FEMALE MINISTERS
OF DEFENCE
The Portfolio of
Defence have remained mainly a male domain. In the beginning it was
mainly held by female Presidents or premier ministers
- but this is
slowly changing. Deputy
Minister can be found in
Women in governments by country
 |
1960-65
and 1970-77 Minister
of Defence Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike, Sri Lanka |
| As
Prime Minister she was also Minister of Foreign Affairs, Defence
and Employment. See biography at Premier Ministers. She
lived (1916-2000) |
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1975-77
Minister
of Defence Indira
Gandhi, India |
| 1964-66
Minister of Information and as Prime Minister she was also
Minister of External Affairs 1967-69 and 1984 and holder of
various other portfolios. See biography at Premier Ministers. She lived (1917-84) |
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1985-90 Minister
of Defence
M. Eugenia Charles, Dominica |
| As Prime
Minister she was also Minister of Foreign Affairs and holder of
a number of other Portfolios. See biography at Premier Ministers. She
lived
(1916-2005). |
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1987-88 Minister for Defence Industry, Science and Personnel Ros Kelly, Australia
|
| 1987
Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Industry, Science and
Personnel, 1988-90 Minister for Telecommunication and Aviation
Support, 1990-91 Minister of Tourism, 1990-94 Minister of Arts,
Sport, Environment and Territories, 1992-94 Member of the
Inner Cabinet, 1993-94 Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on
the Status of Women. (b. 1948-) |
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1988-90
Minister
of Defence Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan
|
| During
her first tenure as Prime Minister 1988-90 she was also Minister
of Defence,
Atomic-Energy, Finance, Economy, Information
and Establishment. See biography at Premier Ministers. Killed
by a suicide bomb, and lived (1953-2007). |
 |
1989-93
Associate Minister of National Defence Mary Collins, Canada
|
| Progressive
Conservative MP 1984-93, 1990-93 Minister
Responsible for the Status of Women, 1993 Minister of State (Environment), 1993 Minister of Western
Economic Diversification and Minister of State for Environment,
1993 Minister of National Health and Welfare (b. 1940-)
|
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1990-97
Minister of Defence
Violeta Barrios de Chamoro, Nicaragua |
| As
Executive President and Head of the Cabinet she was also
Minister of Defence. See biography at Presidents
(b. 1929-) |
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1990-95
Minister
of Defence Elisabeth Rehn, Finland |
|
Between 1983-87 Chairperson of the Law-Committee and Member of
the Presidium of the Edskunan,1987-90 Parliamentary Leader of
Svenska Folkpartiet (Swedish Peoples Party) 1991-95 Minister
of Equality, 1994 and 2000 Presidential Candidate, 1995-97 Member
of the European Parliament, 1995-99 Assistant Secretary General
of the UN, 1995-98 UN-Commissioner for Human Rights in the
former Yugoslavia 1998-99 UN Representative and Special Coordinator in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Personal Representative
of Secretary General Koffi Annan responsible for Police and
other Operations. (b. 1935-)
|
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1991-96
and 2001-06 Minister
of Defence
Begum Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh
|
| As
Prime Minister 1991-96 and 2001-06 she was holder of a number of other
Portfolios. See biography at Premier Ministers
(b. 1945- ) |
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1993
Minister
of Defence and Veteran Affairs A. Kim Campbell, Canada |
| Both Minister of Defence and Minister of Veteran Affairs. See biography at Premier Ministers.
(b.
1947-) |
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1993-97
Secretary of The Air Force Shiela E. Widnell, United States of America
|
| The
Secretary of the Air Force together with the Secretaries of the
Army and Navy together with the Secretary of Defence make up the
Leadership of the Department. |
 |
1994-2001
and 2003-05
Minister
of Defence Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Sri Lanka |
| As
Executive President was is also Commander-in-Chief of the Armed
Forces and also held the Portfolio
of Minister of Defence until her party lost the
parliamentary elections in 2001, when she resigned all her
cabinet posts. In
2003 she dismissed the Ministers of Defence, Interior and
Information and took over those portfolios. See
Presidents. (b. 1945-)
|
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1995-99 Minister
of Defence Anneli Kariina Taina, Finland |
|
In 1995 she was Second Minister of Environment for Housing
and from 2004 Governor
of Södra Finland
Län/Etelä-Soumen Lääni (b.
1951-). |
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1996-2001
Minister
of Defence Sheikh Hasina Wajed, Bangladesh
|
| As
Prime Minister 1996-2001 she has been holding a number of Portfolios - among others as Minister
of Armed Forces Division, Cabinet Division, Defence and
Establishment, Information, Planning, Jute, Textiles, Health and
Family Welfare. See biography at Premier Ministers. (b. 1945- ) |
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1996-98 Minister for Defence Industry, Science and Personnel Browyn Bishop, Australia
|
|
President of Liberal Party of New South Wales 1985-87 and Minister
for Aged Care 1998-2001.
In
2004 she lost her party's internal electon for the
government-nominee for the post of Speaker of the House of Representatives to a
man who never held any important political office in his 22 years as an MP.
Member of the Speaker's Panel from 2004. (b. 1942-). |
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1997-2001
Associate
Minister of Defence
1997-2000 Minister for Veterans
Jocelyn Newman, Australia
|
| Senator
for Tasmania since 1986 and 1994-96 Shadow Defence Minister.
1996-97 Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on the Status of
Women and since 1996 Minister of Family and Community Service
and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on the Status of Women
(b. 1937-) |
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1999-2000 Defence Minister Eldbjørg Løwer, Norway |
Between
1981-85 Deputy Leader of Venstre, 1984-88 Mayor of Kongsberg,
1997-99 Minister of Labour and Administration (b. 1943-)
|
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2000
Minister of Defence Cristian Matus Rodríguez,
Nicaragua
|
Former
administrator in the government and 1999-2000 Vice-Minister of Defence
|
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2001-05
Minister of Defence Kristin Krohn Devold, Norway |
| MP for
the Conservative Party for a number of years. (b. 1961-) |
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2001 Acting Minister of Defence
Joyce Mujuru,
Zimbabwe |
|
A
general during the anti-colonial under the name of Teurai-Ropa
Nhongom,
she has held various ministerial posts from 1980, since 1997 as
Minister of Rural Resources and Water Development.
Also ZANU-Party Secretary of Education.
She acted as Defence Minister for two months. |
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2001-04
Minister for Veteran’s Affairs
2001-03 Minister Assisting the
Minister for Defence Danna Vale, Australia |
| Liberal
MP since 1996 and member of various committees. (b. 1944-). |
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2002-04
Minister of Defence Dr. Michelle Bachelet Jeria, Chile |
| Minister
of Health 2000-02 and Minister of Defence 2002-04 and resigned to
run for president and won the second round in January 2006, making
her president-elect poised to take office on 11. March. Her
father, a general, was killed by the Pinochet dictatorship, she and
her mother were tortured and she lived in exile for some years.
Twice divorced, she is mother of 3.
(b. 1952-). |
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2002-07
Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs Michèle Alliot-Marie,
France
|
1986-88
Secretary of State for Education, 1993-95 Minister of Youth and
Sports. From 1994 1. Vice-President of the General Council of the Department of
Pyrénées-
Atlantique, 1999-2002
President of RPR, Rally for the Republic. Minister of Interior from 2007. (b. 1946-)
|
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2002-07
Minister of Security Cynthia
"Mother" Pratt, Bahamas
|
| Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Security (In charge of the Defence
Force and Police). She was Opposition Whip Ca. 1992-2000 and
from ca. 2000 Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Deputy Leader of the Progressive
Liberal Democratic Part. Acting Prime Minister in May-June
during ilness of the Premier. She is aformer nurse, she is mother of 6 children (b. 1947-) |
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2002-03
Minister of Defence Dr. Zeljka Antunovic,
Croatia
|
|
Dr. Željka Antunović is
a medical doctor and has been member of parliament since 1995 and is Deputy Premier Minister (Social
Affairs) since 2000. (b. 1955-)
|
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2002-03
Minister of Defence Martha Lucía Ramírez de Rincón, Colombia
|
| 1991-98
Vice-Minister and
1998-2001 Minister of External Trade. Ambassador to France 2001-02.
Since she took over, security
had improved with murders and kidnappings sharply reduced.
No reason was given for her resignation. |
 |
2002
Minister of Defence Lena Hjelm-Walén, Sweden
|
|
Member of the Riksdag for the Social Democrats since 1969. 1973-76
Minister without Portfolio for Schools, 1982 Minister of Labour, 1982-85
Minister of Education and Culture, 1985-91 Minister of International
Development, 1994-98 Minister of
Foreign Affairs 1995-96 and
1998-2002
Vice-Premier. (b. 1943-)
|
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2002-06
Minister of Defence Leni Björklund, Sweden |
|
Secretary General of the Swedish Church (Lutheran) since 1999. (b. 1944-)
|
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2002 Minister
of Defence Mame
Madior Boye, Sénégal |
| The
Premier Minister 2001-02, she
took over as Minister of Defence after the former incumbent resigned after
almost 1.000 persons died in a ferry-disaster. She is former Minister of Justice and
Keeper of the Seals in 2000-2001.
(b.1940-) |
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2003-04
Minister of Defence Sylvia Flores
|
| Also Minister of
National Emergency Management.
Former Mayor of Belize City, she was Speaker of the House of Representatives
1998-2001 and President of the Senate 2001-03 and from 2004 Minister of Human Resources. |
 |
2003
and 2006-07
Minister of Defence Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, The Philippines |
| The
Philippine President since 2001 was in charge of the Foreign Affairs Portfolio
throughout July 2002. See more details in Presidents.
In 2003 she took over the defence-portfolio for a few months and again
from the end of November 2006 to the end of January 2007. (b. 1947-)
|
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2003-04
Minister of Defence Filomena
Mascarenhas Tipote, Guinea Bissau |
| 2000-01
Secretary of State, in 2001 Minister of Employment and
Poverty Control, 2002-2003
Minister of Public Works, Labour
and Employment.
(b. 1969-). |
 |
2003
Acting
Navy Secretary
Susan Morissey Livingstone,
USA |
|
1993-98
Vice-President of the US Red Cross,
1998-2001 Chief Executive Officer and Deputy Chairperson of the Association
of the United States Army
and since
2001
Undersecretary of the Navy |
|
|
2003-04 Associate
Minister of National Defence and Minister of State for
Civil Preparedness Albina Guarnieri,
Canada |
Liberal MP from 1988
and
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Communication (Canadian Heritage) and
to the Minister of Multiculturalism and Citizenship
1993-96.
From 2004 Minister of Veteran Affairs.
(b.
1953-).
|
|
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2004 Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence
Fran Bailey, Australia |
Also Minister for Employment
Services. She was Parliamentary Secretary to the
Minister for Defence 2001-04. From 2004 Minister for
Small Business and Tourism (b. 1946-).
|
|
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2004-06 Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence
and Minister of Veteran's Affairs De-Anne Kelly, Australia |
National
Party MP 1996-2007, Member
of the Speaker’s Panel
of the House of
Representatives
1997-2002, 2003-04 Parliamentary Secretary of
the
Leader and the Deputy Leader of the National Party. 2006 she was demoted to
the post of Parliamentary Secretary of Trade and Parliamentary Secretary of
Transport and Regional Development in 2007.
|
|
|
2005-08 Minister of Defence
Azucena Berrutti,
Uruguay |
A human rights advocate and attorney. In the 1980's she worked as Secretary
General of the City Administration of Montevideo. (b. 1929-).
|
|
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2005- Minister
of Defence Anne-Grethe Strøm-Erichsen, Norway |
Deputy Mayor
1998-1999, Mayor of Bergen 1999-2000, Leader of the City Council 2000-2003,
Councillor in the City Government 2003-05. Member of the Leadership of
Arbeiderpartiet. (b. 1949-).
|
|
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2005- Minister of Defence Nilda Garré, Argentina |
MP for the
Frente Justicialista de Liberación 1973-76 and afterwards active in the
fight against the dictatorship, MP again 1995-99, 2000 and 2001-05,
Secretary of Political Affairs in the Ministry of Interior 2000-01 and
Ambassador to Venezuela in 2005. (b. 1945-).
|
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2005- Associate Minister
of Defence and Minister of Police Annette King, New Zealand |
1987-90 Parliamentary
Under-Secretary for Employment, Youth
Affairs, Tourism and Social Welfare,
1989-90 Minister of Employment, Immigration and Minister of Youth Affairs
and Minister Assisting the Prime
Minister to liaise between the Cabinet and Caucus,
1999-2005 Minister of Health,
1999-2002 Minister of Racing, from
2002 Minister for Food Safety and from 2005
Minister of State Services, including the
co-ordinating responsibility for Race Relations and
Associate Minister of Trade.
(b. 1947-).
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2005-06 Acting Minister of Defence Solvita Āboltiņa, Latvia (23.12-05.01.06) |
Solvita Aboltina worked in the Foreign Ministry 1993-2003 and Member of the Saeima
2002-04 before being appointed minister of Justice in 2004. (b. 1962-).
|
|
|
2006 Minister
of Defence Linda
Mūrniece,
Latvia |
Linda Murniece
was also Second in the Cabinet. She was
Paliamentary
Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior 2002-04,
Deputy Chairperson of the New Era Party in
2004 and Parliamentary Secretary of Defence in 2005.
(b. 1970-)
|
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2006-07 Minister of Defence
Viviane Blanlot Soza, Chile |
Until her
appoinment she was Executive Secretary of the National Energy Commission.
She will take office on 11. March.
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|
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2006- Minister of Defence
Cristina Fontes Lima, Cape Vede |
Maria Cristina Lopes Almeida Fontes Lima
was Minister of Justice 2001-06,
Minister of
Local Administration
2001-02, Minister of Interior 2002-04, Minister Adjunct to the
Prime Minister and Government Spokesperson 2004-06, also Minister of the
Presidency of the Council of Ministers
and
Minister of State Reform from 2006.
(b. 1958-).
|
 |
2006-07
Minister of Defence Portia Simpson-Miller, Jamaica |
|
Also Prime Minister and Minister of Sports. 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, Minister of Tourism, Entertainment, Sports and Women’s
Affairs 2000-02 and Minister of Local Government, Community
Development and Sport 2002-06. (b. 1946-). |
 |
2007- Minister of Defence Vlasta Parkanová,
Czech Republic |
|
Member of Parliament 1990-1992 and again since 1997
for the KDU-CSL. Minister of Justice 1997-98. She was nominated twice for the post of defence ministers in
the prolonged futile attempts to form a government after the elections in June.
Chairperson of the Club of
Christian-Democratic Union - Czechoslovak Peoples' Party (KDU-CSL) in the
Chamber of Deputies 2006-07. (b. 1951). |
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2007 (†) Minister of Defence
Guadalupe Larriva González,
Ecuador |
|
MP and National President of the Partido Socialista Ecuatoriano
2002-07. Died in a helicopter crash after 10 days in office. She lived
(1956-2007). |
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2007 Minister of Defence
Lorena Escudero Durán,
Ecuador |
|
Non-political member of a number of human
rights NGOs. National Secretary of Migration from 2007. |
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2007 Acting Minister of Defence Marina
Pendeš, Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina (09.02-22.04) |
|
Deputy Minister of Defence since 2004, she
acted as the designated Defence Minister, Selmo Cikotic is not able to
asume his duty until 22 April, when a three-years long ban between
leaving the active military duty and performing civil tenure willl
expire. She is (b. 1964-). |
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2007- Secretary General of Defence with Rank of Minister Ruth Tapia Roa, Nicaragua |
|
Ruth Esperanza Tapia Roa Herrera is a former spokesperson of the Supreme Court, she was appointed Chief Executive of the Ministry after a period of vacancy.
(b. 1961-). |
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2007 Minister of Defence Yuriko Koike, Japan |
|
2003-06 Minister of Environment,
2004-06
Minister of
State in charge of Okinawa and Northern Territories,
2005-06 Minister of State of Global Environment Issues and 2006-07 National Defence Advisor of the Prime Minister. (b. 1952-). |
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2007- Minister of Defence Cécile Manorohanta, Madagascar |
|
Cécile Marie Ange Dominique Manorohanta was appointed Vice-Minister
of Education and Scientific Research earlier in 2007. |
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2007- Minister of Defence Carme Chacón i Piqueras, Spain |
|
First Vice-President of the Congess
2004-07 and Minister of Housing 2007-08. (b. 1971-). |
Last update 11.04.08
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