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People > Women of Influence

Women Political Leaders —Historical and Current

The following table lists the current and historical female political leaders of the countries of the world, according to country name, woman's name, political title, and years in power, including Queen Elizabeth I, Benazir Bhutto, Margaret Thatcher, and more.


Queen Elizabeth I
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Queen Elizabeth I
 Benazir Bhutto
Archive Photos
Benazir Bhutto
 Margaret Thatcher
British Information Service
Margaret Thatcher
 Angela Merkel
Agência Brasil
Angela Merkel
 Julia Gillard
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Julia Gillard

Country Name Reign
Angola Queen Nzingha 1582–1663
Antiqua and Barbuda Governor-General Dame Louise Lake-Tack 2007–
Argentina President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner 2007–present
Argentina President Isabel Perón 1974–1976
Lesser Armenia Queen Zabel 1219–1226
Australia Governor-General Dr. Quentin Bryce 2008–
Australia Prime Minister Julia Gillard 2010–
Bahamas Governor-General Dame Ivy Dumont 2001–2005
Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia 1991–1996, 2001–2006
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed 1996–2001, 2008–
Barbados Governor-general Dame Nita Barrow 1990–1995
Belize Governor-general Dame Minita Gordon 1981–1993
Bermuda Premier Pamela Gordon 1997–1998
Bermuda Premier Jennifer Smith 1998–2003
Bermuda Premier Paula A. Cox 2010–
Bolivia Prime Minister Lidia Gueiler 1979–1980
Bosnia and Herzegovina President Borjana Kristo 2007–
Brazil Queen Maria I 1815–1816
Brazil Empress Isabel (regent) 1871–1872, 1876–1877, 1887–1888
Brazil President Dimla Vana Linhares Rousseff 2011–
Burundi Prime Minister Sylvie Kinigi 1993–1994
Byzantium (Roman Empire) Empress Theodora 1055–1056
Cambodia Queen Ang Mey 1835–1840, 1844–1845
Cambodia Queen Kossamak (joint ruler) 1955–1960
Canada Governor-general Jeanne Sauvé 1984–1990
Canada Prime Minister Kim Campbell 1993 (4 months)
Canada Governor-general Adrienne Clarkson 1999–2005
Canada Governor-general Michaëlle Jean 2005–2010
Central African Republic Prime Minister Elizabeth Domitien 1974–1976
Cherokee Nation Wilma Mankiller 1985–1995
Chile President Michelle Bachelet 2006–2010
China Empress Wu Chao 655–705
China Dowager Empress Tsu-Hsi 1861–1908
China Dowager Empress Longyu 1911–1912
Costa Rica President Laura Chinchilla Miranda 2010–
Croatia Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor 2009–
Denmark Queen Margaret I 1387–1412
Denmark Queen Margrethe II 1972–present
Dominica Prime Minister Mary Eugenia Charles 1980–1995
Easter Island Paramount Chief Koreto Puakurunga 1868–1869?
Easter Island Paramount Chief Carolina 1869?–1888?
Egypt Queen Hatshepsut 1501–1498 B.C.
Egypt Queen Tiye 1415–1340 B.C.
Egypt Queen Nefertiti 1372–1350 B.C.
Egypt Queen Nefertari 1292–1225 B.C.
Egypt Queen Arsinoe II (joint ruler) 279–270 B.C.
Egypt Queen Berenice 81–80 B.C.
Egypt Queen Cleopatra VII 51–30 B.C.
Egypt Empress Zauditu 1916–1930
Ethiopia Empress Candace 332 B.C.
Ethiopia Empress Zaudita 1916–1930
Faeroe Islands Prime Minister Marita Petersen 1993–1994
Finland President Tarja Halonen 2000–present
Finland Prime Minister Anneli Jäätteenmäki 2003 (2 months)
Finland Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi 2010–
Finland, Åland Islands Premier Viveca Eriksson 2007–present
France Prime Minister Edith Cresson 1991–1992
Georgia Queen Tamara 1184–1212
Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel 2005–
Ghana Queen Mother Yaa Asantewa 1863–1923
Great Britain Boadicea, Queen of the Iceni c. 26–61
Great Britain Queen Jane (Lady Jane Grey) 1553 (9 days)
Great Britain Queen Mary I 1553–1558
Great Britain Queen Elizabeth I 1558–1603
Great Britain Queen Mary II (joint ruler) 1689–1702
Great Britain Queen Anne 1702–1714
Great Britain Queen Victoria 1837–1901
Great Britain Queen Elizabeth II 1952–present
Great Britain Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher 1979–1990
Grenada Governor Dame Hilda Louisa Bynoe 1967–1972
Guyana Prime Minister Janet Jagan 1997
Guyana President Janet Jagan 1997–1999
Haiti Provisional President Ertha Pascal-Trouillot 1990, 1991
Haiti Prime Minister Claudette Werleigh 1995–1996
Hawaii Queen Liliuokalani 1891–1893
Hungary Queen Mary 1382–1387
Hungary Queen Elizabeth 1439–1440
Hungary Queen Maria Theresa 1740–1780
Iceland President Vigdis Finnbogadóttir 1980–1996
Iceland Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir 2009–present
India Prime Minister Indira Gandhi 1966–1977, 1980–1984
India President Pratibha Patil 2007–
Indonesia President Megawati Sukarnoputri 2001–2004
Ireland President Mary Robinson 1990–1997
Ireland President Mary McAleese 1997–present
Israel and Judah Queen Athaliah 842–837 B.C.
Israel Prime Minister Golda Meir 1969–1974
Italy Queen Theodelinda 590
Italy Queen Joanna I of Naples 1343–1381
Italy Queen Maria of Sicily 1377–1402
Italy Queen Joanna II of Naples 1414–1435
Jamaica Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller 2006–2007
Japan Empress Suiko Tenno 593–628
Japan Empress Kogyoku 642–645
Japan Empress Jito 686–697
Japan Empress Gemmyo 703–724
Japan Empress Koken (abdicated) 749–758
Japan Empress Shotuku-Koken 764–770
Japan Empress Toshi-ko 1762–1771
Krgyzstan President Roza Otunbayeva 2010–
Latvia President Vaira Vike-Freiberga 1999–2007
Lesotho Paramount Chief 'Mantsebo Amelia 'Matsaba Sempe 1941–1960
Liberia President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf 2006–
Lithuania Prime Minister Kazimiera Prunskiene 1990–1991
Lithuania President Dalia Grybauskaité 2009–
Luxembourg Grand Duchess Marie Anne de Bragance (regent) 1908–1912
Luxembourg Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde 1912–1919
Luxembourg Grand Duchess Charlotte 1919–1964
Madagascar Queen Ranavalona I 1828–1861
Madagascar Queen Rasoaherina 1863–1868
Madagascar Queen Ranavalona II 1868–1883
Madagascar Queen Ranavalona III (deposed) 1883–1897
Maldives Sultan Amina Rani Kilagefanu 1757–1759
Malta President Agatha Barbara 1982–1987
Micronesia High Commissioner of Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands Janet J. McCoy 1981–1986
Monaco Princess Louise-Hippolyte 1731
Netherlands Queen Wilhelmina (abdicated) 1890–1948
Netherlands Queen Juliana 1948–1980
Netherlands Queen Beatrix 1980–present
Netherlands Antilles Prime Minister Lucinda da Costa Gomez-Matheeuws 1977
Netherlands Antilles Prime Minister Maria Liberia-Peters 1984–1986, 1988–1993
Netherlands Antilles Prime Minister Susanne Camelia-Romer 1993, 1998–1999
Netherlands Antilles Prime Minister Mirna Louisa-Godett 2003–2004
New Caledonia President Marie-Noëlle Thémereau 2004–2009
New Zealand Governor-general Dame Catherine Tizard 1990–1996
New Zealand Governor-general Dame Silvia Cartwright 2001–2006
New Zealand Prime Minister Jenny Shipley 1997–1999
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark 1999–2008
New Zealand (Maori community) Queen Te Ata-i Rangi-Kahu Koroki Te Rata Mahuta Tawhiao Potatau Te Wherowhero 1966–2006
Nicaragua President Violeta Barriosde Chamorro 1990–1997
Nigeria Queen Amina of Zaria 1588-1589
Norway Queen Margaret 1387–1412
Norway Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtlandt 1981, 1986–1989, 1990–1996
Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto 1988–1990, 1993–1996
Panama President Mireya Moscoso 1999–2004
Peru Prime Minister Beatriz Merino 2003 (6 months)
Philippines President Maria Corazon Aquino 1986–1992
Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo 2001–2010
Poland Queen Hedwige 1384–1399
Poland Premier Hanna Suchocka 1992–1993
Portugal Queen Maria I 1777–1816
Portugal Queen Maria II 1826–1828, 1834–1853
Portugal Prime Minister Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo 1979 (149 days)
Roman Empire Empress Irene 797–802
Russia Empress Catherine I 1725–1727
Russia Empress Anna Ivanovna 1730–1740
Russia Empress Elizabeth Petrovna 1741–1762
Russia Empress Catherine II (The Great) 1762–1796
Rwanda Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana 1993–1994
St. Lucia Governor-General Dame Pearlette Louisy 1997–present
São Tomé and Príncipe Prime Minister Maria das Neves 2002–2004
São Tomé and Príncipe Prime Minister Maria do Carmo Silveira 2005–2008
Scotland Queen Mary Stuart (executed) 1542–1567
Seminole Nation Betty Mae Jumper 1960–1969
Senegal Mame Madior Boye 2001–2002
Sheba Queen Makeda 960 B.C.
Sint Maarten Prime Minister Sarah Wescott-Williams 2010–
Slovakia Prime Minister Iveta Radicova 2010–
Spain Queen Dona Urraca 1109–1126
Spain Queen Juana I 1274–1307
Spain Queen Juana II 1328–1349
Spain Queen Dona Blanca 1425–1441
Spain Queen Isabella I (joint ruler) 1474–1504
Spain Queen Catalina de Albret 1481–1512
Spain Queen Isabella II 1833–1868
Sri Lanka Queen Anula 47–42 B.C.
Sri Lanka Queen Sivali 35 B.C.
Sri Lanka Queen Lilavati 1197–1200, 1209–1212
Sri Lanka Queen Kalyanavati 1202–1208
Sri Lanka Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike 1960–1965, 1970–1977, 1994–2000
Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga 1994–2005
Sudan Amanirenas, Queen of Cush late 1st century B.C.
Sweden Queen Christina (abdicated) 1632–1654
Sweden Queen Ulrica Eleonora (abdicated) 1718–1720
Switzerland President Ruth Dreifuss 1999
Tonga Chief Tupoumahe'ofo 17?–1793
Tonga Queen Salote Tubou III 1918–1965
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar 2010–
Turkey Prime Minister Tansu Çiller 1993–1996
Ukraine Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko 2005
Wallis Ruler Toifale 1825
Wallis Ruler Falakika Seilala Lavelua 1858–1869
Wallis Ruler Amelia Tokagahahau Aliki Lavelua 1869–1895
Wallis Ruler Aloisia Lavelua 1953–1958
Yugoslavia Premier Milka Planinc 1982–1986
Zululand Queen Nandi 1778–1826

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World's Ten Most Corrupt Leaders Political Statistics Women in National Parliaments

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