WUNRN
Last update 08.07.2010
FEMALE HEADS OF STATE
AND GOVERNMENT
CURRENTLY
IN OFFICE
Including leaders of
Self-governing
|
1952- Queen Elizabeth
II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Head of the
Commonwealth, Supreme Governor of the Church of England, Duke of Normandy,
Lord of Mann, Paramount Chief of Fiji and Queen of Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the
Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,
Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis |
Until 1953 her title was Queen of Great Britain, |
|
1972- Queen Margrethe 2 of |
The Rigsfælleskab - or Commonwealth of the Realm - includes the
external territories of The Faero Islands and |
1980-Queen Beatrix of the |
|
Queen Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard is also Princess
van Oranje-Nassau, Princess van Lippe-Biesterfeld etc, etc, etc. The |
|
1997- President Mary McAleese, |
She was Professor of Law and 1993-97 Pro-chancellor
of University of Belfast. The eldest of nine children, she grew up in |
|
1997- Governor-General
Hon. Dr. Dame C. Pearlette Louisy, |
A former civil servant, she a non-political
appointee. (b. 1946-) |
|
2000- President Tarja Halonen, |
Social Democrat member of Parliament 1979-2000, 1984-87 Chairperson of the Social Affairs Committee and Member of the Presidium of the Parliament, 1987-1990 Second Minister of Health and Social Affairs (Health Minister) and 1989-1991 Minister of Nordic Co-operation, 1989-91 Co-leader of Soumen Sosialidemokraattinen Pulolue, The Social Democrats. 1990-1991 Minister of Justice, 1995-2000 Minister of Foreign Affairs. (b. 1943-). |
2005- Governor-General Michaëlle Jean, |
|
She is daughter of Haitian
immigrants who fled the Duvalier regime in 1968, former university literature
professor, social activist and veteran CBC broadcaster from |
|
2005- Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, |
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. Bundeskanzlerin in a Grand Coalition
between CDU/CSU and SPD. Née Kasner and married secondly to Joachim Sauer, no
children. (b. 1954-). |
|
2006-
President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, |
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-). |
|
2006- Minister-President Emily de Jongh-Elhage, Nederlandse
Antillen (Self-governing Part of the Kingdom of the |
Commissioner of Public works and Public Housing of Curaçao 1998-99,
Commissioner of Education, Sport and Cultural Affairs 1999-2002, Minister of
Education and Culture of the Nederlandse Antillen 2002-03 and Commissioner of
Public Enterprises and Public Housing 2004-05 of Curaçao. From 2005 Leader of
De Partido Antia Restrukturá (PAR). Also Minister of General Affairs and
External Relations. |
|
2007-
President Pratibha Patil, |
Deputy
Minister 1967-72 and Cabinet Minister 1972-83 and Congress Leader and Leader
of the Opposition 1979-80 in Maharastra, Deputy Chairperson of the Union
Upper House, the Rajya Sabha 1986-88, Governor of Rajasthan 2004-07. Married
to Devisingh Shekhawat, a former Mayor of Amravati. (b. 1934-). |
|
2007- President Cristina E.
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 husband, Nestor
Kirchner was President until 2007.. Mother of 2 children. (b. 1953-). |
|
2007- Governor General Dame Louise Lake-Tack, Antigua and Barbuda |
A former nurse and magistrate from 1995. (b. 1944-). |
|
2007- President Borjana
Kristo, The Federation of |
2003-07 Minister of
Justice of the Bosniak-Croat Federation an entity in The Republic of
Bosnia-Herzegovina. The
former Vice-President of the Parliament, Spomenka Micic, was elected one of
the 2 Vice-Presidents of Federation in 2007. (b. 1961-) |
2007- Premier
Viveca Eriksson, Åland ( |
|
Chairperson of the Liberal Parliamentary Group 1999-2001, Member of the Speaker's Conference 1999-2000, Chairperson of the Finance Committee 1999-2001, first Vice-speaker 2000-01 and 2005-07, Speaker 2001-05 and Party Chairperson from 2004. (b. 1956-). |
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-) |
<HR
2008- Leader of the
Government |
|
As Secretary of Foreign and
Political Affairs she also functions as Leader of the Government even though
the Captain Generals are both Heads of State and Government. She was
Political Secretary to the Minister of Finance 1986-87, Director of the
Office for relations with the associations of San Marino citizens living
abroad 1987-90, Deputy Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe,
1989-90, Barrister and public notary in the Republic of San Marino 1991-2001,
Member of the General Grand Council 1993-2001 and again from 2008, and Judge
of the European Court of Human Rights 2001-08. (b. 1961-). |
<HR< span>
2009- Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
Wajed, |
|
President of the Awami Leauge
from 1981, Opposition Leader 1986-87 and 1991-96 and 2001-06 and Prime
Minister 1996-2001. Also in charge of a number of other portfolio's including
that of Defence during both of her tenures as chief of Government. (b.
1947-). |
<HR
|
2009-
Prime Minister
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, |
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, becoming 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. First married to Þorvaldur Steinar Jóhannesson with whom she has got 2 sons, and in 2010 she married her registered
partner since 2002, the author Jónína
Leósdóttir, who is mother of 1 son. (b. 1942-). |
<HR< span>
2009- Prime Minister Jadranka
Kosor, |
|
Vice-President of
the Sabor 1995-2000 and Deputy Chairperson of HDZ 1995-97. Minister of War Weterans from 2003, Minister for
Family and Inter-Generation Solidarity 2003-08 and responsible for Foreign
Policy and Human Rights. Presidential Candidate 2005. (b.
1953-). |
2009- President Dalia Grybauskaitė, |
|
1994-1995 Extraordinary Envoy and Plenipotentiary Minister at the Lithuanian Mission to the EU and Deputy Head Negotiator for the Europe Agreement with EU, 1996-1999 Plenipotentiary Minister at the Embassy in USA, 1999-2000 Vice-Minister of Finance and 2000-01 Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Head of the EU Accession negotiations, 2001-04 Minister of Finance and 2004 EU-Commissioner of Financial Programming and Budget 2004-09. Won 69% of the votes in the presidential elections. Unmarried and no children. (b. 1956-). |
2010- President of the
Confederation Doris Leuthard, Switzerland |
|
Member of the
Assembly in Aargau 1997-2000, Vice-President of Christian Democratic Party,
CVP 2001-04, President of CVP Schweiz 2004-06 and Federal Councillor of
Economic Affairs from 2006 and Vice-President in 2009. (b. 1963-). |
|
2010-
President Roza Otunbayeva, |
Other
versions of her surname are Otunbaeva or Otunbajewa. 1983-86
Secretary of the Municipal Communist Central Committee of Frunze, 1986-89 Deputy
Prime Minister and Foregin Minister in the Kyrgyz SSR, 1991 Ambassador of the
USSR to Malaysia,1992 Kyrgyz Deputy Premier Minister and Minister of Foreign
Affairs,1992-93 Ambassador to USA and Canada and 1994 to Turkey, Foreign
Minister 1994-96, Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain
1996-2003, Deputy Head of the United Nations special mission to Georgia
2002-04, Acting Foreign Minister 2007, Parliamentary Leader of the Social
Democrats 20009-10 and Interim Head of State and Government from April 2010
after the former President was ousted and in May she was named President for
the term ending in December 2011. (b. 1950-). |
|
2010- President Laura Chinchilla |
Vice-Minister of Security 1994-96, Minister of Public Security, Interior and Police 1996-98, 1. Vice-President and Minister of Justice 2006-08 and Acting Minister of Security in 2008. Resigned to become Liberal Party Presidential Candidate for the 2010-elections which she won.(b. 1959-). |
2010- Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, |
|
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-) |
<HR
2010- Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi, Finland |
|
MP from 1991, Deputy Parliamentary Leader of the Center Party in 2003, Party Vice-Chairperson 2003-08 and Party Chairperson from 2010, Political Advisor of the Prime Minister 2004-07, Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Aid and Minister at the Prime Minister's Office 2005-06 and Minister of Public Administration and Local Government 2007-10. Mother of 2 children. (b. 1968-) |
<HR
2010- Prime Minister Julia Gillard, |
|
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 |
<HR
2010- Prime Minister Iveta
Radičová, |
|
Iveta Radicova is Professor of
Sociology and Political Sciences at the |
<HR< span>
Last update 08.07.2010