The Full List of Female Prime Ministers and Female Presidents In the World – Updated
 |
| Who Are The Female Prime Ministers and Female Presidents In the World Today - Photo KnowInsiders |
| Contents |
What a man can do a woman can do better, stems from the perceived informal stereotype on some areas of endeavors. There seem to be the existence of a natural law that apportions roles and responsibilities to genders. Being a woman in politics and or vying for elective position comes with extra hurdle, however, despite the hurdle of trying to participate in a role formally exclusive to a particular gender, a lot of people has shown great dexterity and perseverance and has overtime proven that they can actually achieve. In this article, we will be looking at some of these people that has beaten the odds to take up roles formally believed to be the exclusive of the opposite gender.
How many countries with female leaders in the world?
According to the United Nations' UN Women division, 26 women were serving as Heads of State and/or Government in 24 countries. Many of these women are earning praise for their innovative and effective leadership and for offering unique and fresh perspectives on the challenges their countries face.
Moldova and Barbados are the only two countries where women occupy both the positions of president and prime minister, while Bangladesh is the only nation where a woman has led for more years than a man over the last half century.
Clearly, women leaders matter as a question of gender equity, but as my research shows, they may also matter to women in other ways.
READ MORE: Top 15 Most Handsome Political Leaders in the World Today
Full list of female leaders in the world 2023
| Country | Leader | Position | Duration of Service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | Sheikh Hasina Wajed | Prime Minister | 2009-present |
| Ethiopia | Sahle-Work Zewde | President | 2018-present |
| Tanzania | Samia Suluhu Hassan | Prime Minister | 2021-present |
| Uganda | Robinah Nabbanja | Prime Minister | 2021-present |
| Nepal | Bidhya Devi Bhandari | President | 2015-present |
| Taiwan | Tsai Ing-wen | President | 2016-present |
| Tunisia | Najla Bouden Ramadhane | Prime Minister | 2021-present |
| Sweden | Magdalena Andersson | Prime Minister | 2021-present |
| Honduras | Xiomara Castro | President | 2022-present |
| Greece | Katerina Sakellaropoulou | President | 2020-present |
| Togo | Victoire Tomegah Dogbé | Prime Minister | 2020-present |
| Hong Kong | Carrie Lam | Chief Executive | 2016-present |
| Serbia | Ana Brnabić | Prime Minister | 2017-present |
| Singapore | Halimah Yacob | President | 2017-present |
| Denmark | Mette Frederiksen | Prime Minister | 2019-present |
| Slovakia | Zuzana Čaputová | President | 2019-present |
| Finland | Sanna Marin | Prime Minister | 2019-present |
| New Zealand | Jacinda Ardern | Prime Minister | 2017-present |
| Georgia | Salome Zourabichvili | President | 2018-present |
| Moldova | Maia Sandu | President | 2020-present |
| Lithuania | Ingrida Šimonytė | Prime Minister | 2020-present |
| Namibia | Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila | Prime Minister | 2015-present |
| Gabon | Rose Christiane Raponda | Prime Minister | 2020-present |
| Estonia | Kaja Kallas | Prime Minister | 2021-present |
| Iceland | Katrin Jakobsdottir | Prime Minister | 2017-present |
| Barbados | Sandra Mason | President | 2021-present |
| Samoa | Fiamē Naomi Mata'afa | Prime Minister | 2021-present |
| Elisabeth Borne | France | Prime Minister | 2022 |
| Giorgia Meloni | Italy | Prime Minister | 2022 |
What country has the most women political leaders?
Switzerland
Switzerland holds the record for the most elected women in power. Women have been elected as President of the Swiss Confederation on eight separate occasions since 1999 when Ruth Dreifuss was the first woman to hold the title. Since Dreifuss’ election, five more women were elected as President, with three of those women serving more than one term.
All the female Presidents of the Swiss Confederation:
- Ruth Dreifuss 1999
- Micheline Calmy-Rey 2007
- Doris Leuthard 2010
- Michelle Calmy-Rey 2011
- Everline Wilder-Schlumpf 2012
- Simonetta Sommaruga 2015
- Doris Leuthard 2017
- Simonetta Sommaruga 2020
| Do you know…? In 1960, Sirimavo Bandaranaike became the first ever female Prime Minister in the world and was elected Prime Minister of Ceylon and Sri Lanka three times. Khertek Anchimaa-Toka was the first non-royal female Chairwoman of Little Khural of the Tuvan People's Republic between 1940 and 1944 Indira Gandhi was the third Prime Minister of India, and the first and only female Prime Minister to date. She was elected to the position twice and served collectively for nearly 15 years until her assassination. Golda Meir was the fourth Israeli President between 1969 and 1974 and the first woman to become head of government in Israel. Elisabeth Domitien was the first and only woman to date to serve as Prime Minister of the Central African Republic. She served for a little over a year between 1975 and 1976. |
Who are Female Presidents in the World Right Now
1. BARBADOS- SANDRA MASON
Dame Sandra Prunella Mason FB GCMG DA QC was elected as the first female president of Barbados from November 30th 2021 when the country rescinded from being a constitutional monarchy to become a republic. She was born on the 17th January 1949. She was the former governor-general of the country between 2018 and 2021 before becoming the president. She qualified Barbados as one of the few Countries with a female President in the world.
READ MORE: Top 5 Zodiac Signs Born to be Politicians
2. SLOVAKIA- ZUZANA ČAPUTOVÁ
At the age of 45, Zuzana Čaputová, MPTP a politician, environmental activist and lawyer became first female president and the youngest to hold the position at such age. Born on the 21st June 1973, she became the fifth President of Slovakia and automatically makes the country one of the countries with a female President in the world.
3. CHINA- TSAI ING-WEN
 |
| Photo CNN |
Tsai Ing-wen is an academician and politician based in Taiwan. Being a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Taiwan and was made incumbent president of the Republic of China since 2016. She was born on the 31st of August 1956. The country is recognized as being one of the few Countries with a female President in the world.
4. NEPAL- BIDHYA DEVI BHANDARI
The first female President of Nepal Bidya Devi Bhandari is a Nepalese born politician who was a former minister of Defense and minister of environment and population. Born in June 1961. The Nepalese remains one of the well-known Countries with a female President in the world.
5. HONDURAS- XIOMARA CASTRO
Iris Xiomara Castro Sarmiento became the first female President of the country from January 2022 after serving as Vice president to her husband Manuel Zelaya. She was born in September 1959 and has given the country the prestigious appellation of being one of the countries with a female president in the world.
6. GREECE- KATERINA SAKELLAROPOULOU
Katerina Sakellaropoulou after serving as president of the Council of State was elected as first female President of Greece, assuming the position since 2020. She had doubled as a Greek Judge before assuming the office of the President. Greece is one of the few Countries with a female President in the modern time.
7. GIORGIA-SALOME ZOURABICHVILI
Salome Zourabichvili is the 5th President of Giorgia and a former Giorgian diplomat. Born in 1952, the politician will be in power for six years. She remains one of the prominent female leaders in the world and that has staged the country as one of the countries in the world with a female President.
8. ETHIOPIA- SAHLE-WORK ZEWDE
The former Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union was born in February 1950, a former diplomat and first female president of Ethiopia who was voted in by a unanimous vote of the Federal Parliamentary Assembly to assume the highest executive position in the country on 25th of October 2018. She is the current Ethiopian President and so making Ethiopia one of the countries with a female president in Africa and the world.
9. SINGAPORE- HALIMAH YACOB
 |
| Photo vnexpress |
The former Lawyer and Singapore based politician assumed office as the 8th Singapore President in 2017. Halimah Yacob who was born on the 23rd August 1954. She assumed the position as the first female President of Singapore after serving as Speaker in the Country’s Parliament. Singapore is one of the few Countries with a female President in the world.
10. KOSOVO- VJOSA OSMANI
The Kosovo politician and Jurist assumed office as the 5th President of Kosovo and the first female to assume the position from 2021. KOSOVO- remains one of the few Countries in the world with female President.
Who was the first female leader in the world?
The first woman to be democratically elected as prime minister of a country was Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka), when she led her party to victory at the 1960 general election.
Sirimavo Bandaranaike was born in April 17, 1916 as the eldest child of Mr. Barnes Ratwatte, the Disawe of Sabaragamuwa and Mrs Mahawalathenna Kumarihamy, a traditional Kandyan elitist family that enjoyed a profound social command in the area. She had four brothers and two sisters and was educated at St. Bridget’s Convent in Colombo.
In 1940, Sirimavo Bandaranaike married S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, a prominent minister under the Donoughmore Constitution and the scion of a family that was at the pinnacle of social hierarchy throughout the British colonial rule. During 1940 -1960as the life-partner of a Minister, the leader of a new party, the Leader of the Opposition and the Prime Minister, she played an important role in achieving the political ideals and goals of her husband.
 |
| Photo BBC |
After the tragic death of Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike in 1959 Sirimavo Bandaranaike reluctantly entered into active politics by successfully leading the Sri Lanka Freedom Party at the 1960 July General Elections. After the elections Sirimavo Bandaranaike made history by becoming the first female Prime Minister in the World. Her active political life spans over 50 years, during this period she was Prime Minister for three times (1960-65, 1970-77 and 1994-2000), the leader of Opposition for two times (1965-70, 1989-1994) and the leader of the SLFP.
| The significance of Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s political career must be understood in the light of her trail blazing role in attending to the twin historical tasks of decolonization and post colonial state-building processes in Sri Lanka. The process of decolonization, i.e. restructuring the institutions evolved under the colonial rule, reached a new phase after the victory of the political coalition (MEP) led by S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike in 1956. |
Who are the latest female political leaders in the world?
France and Italy in 2022 had two new female prime ministers.
 |
| Photo Euronews |
Elisabeth Bornethe is first woman to hold the Prime Minister post of France in more than 30 years and only the second female prime minister in modern French history.
Borne, 61, an engineer with a long career in government ministries, the senior civil service, public administration and state businesses, was chosen by Emmanuel Macron for the difficult task of delivering his complex policy promises at the start of his second term, against a background of rising inflation and the war in Ukraine. Borne is the first French female prime minister since Édith Cresson, who briefly headed the cabinet from May 1991 to April 1992 under the Socialist president François Mitterrand.
From the political shadows to the spotlight, Giorgia Meloni stormed to success in Italy's general election and is now the country's first female prime minister.
 |
Since her victory on 25 September, 2022, Meloni-mania has taken over Italy, as supporters and critics applaud and attack the rise of her far-right Brothers of Italy party.
Her place in the history books is assured as Italy's first far-right leader since wartime fascist Benito Mussolini.
Giorgia Meloni, the 45-year-old head of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, is a seasoned and communicative leader who is poised to become Italy’s first female prime minister, leading the most right-wing government since World War II.
Despite being known for her tough-talking and staunch coherence in her political battles, Meloni’s recent evolution as the front-runner after Sept. 25 elections leaves questions about her future as a leader.
Meloni, who started her political career when she was only 15 in Rome’s working-class Garbatella neighborhood, helped found the Brothers of Italy in 2012, four years after becoming the country’s youngest minister under Silvio Berlusconi.
Female leaders who changed the world
Jacinda Ardern – New Zealand Prime Minister
 |
| Photo Forbes |
Widely lauded for leading one of the world’s most successful coronavirus responses, Jacinda Ardern and her Labour party won a landslide victory in October 2020’s election. She wasted no time in selecting the most diverse cabinet in New Zealand’s history. Out of 20 members, eight are women, five are Māori, three are Pasifika and three are LGBTQ+. It is a cabinet that, for the first time, fully represents all New Zealanders.
Ardern’s choices are more than a box-ticking exercise. While the new cabinet has shifted the popular understanding of what leadership can look like, it is also a reminder that people from different backgrounds bring with them unique perspectives, skills and life experiences, all of which are essential in tackling our greatest challenges.
Angela Merkel, former chancellor of Germany
 |
| Photo CNN |
In September 2020, a fire devastated the overcrowded Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, leaving thousands of people homeless. Angela Merkel quickly agreed to accept approximately 2,750 people, including unaccompanied minors. The move pressured other EU countries to do their part and open their arms, too.
Merkel’s decision echoed her 2015 statement that Germany would find a way to handle the massive influx of refugees who had fled their home countries. Despite domestic political backlash and a continent splintered over the refugee crisis, Merkel has approached the issue in the signature manner of a scientist-turned-stateswoman—with pragmatic empathy, a drive to experiment, and a belief in the need for collective action.
Kamala Harris, US vice president
 |
| Photo Shutterstock |
After the most consequential presidential election in recent memory, Americans elected Joe Biden. And his running mate, Kamala Harris, will be the first woman, the first Black person, and the first Indian-American to be vice president of the US. Her long career involved breaking many barriers, from being the first woman to serve as San Francisco’s district attorney to being the first Indian-American elected to the US senate. In Harris, the US not only has a brilliant, seasoned public servant as vice president, but a leader who will, at long last, broaden Americans’ sense of what is possible.
Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland
 |
| Photo Helsinki Times |
Despite its reputation for being a progressive oasis, Finland has an oppressive law on the books— the Trans Act—which requires trans individuals to undergo mental health screenings and sterilisation if they want to obtain legal gender recognition. The country’s prime minister, Sanna Marin, intends to change that. She has spoken in favour of people’s right to self-identify, saying, “It’s not my job to identify people. It’s everyone’s job to identify themselves.”
This is the latest feminist act by Marin, whose coalition government is led by all women. Her support for ending the Trans Act is an assertion of feminism, which seeks to dismantle outdated notions of gender norms and ensure that everybody can define who they are and live as they choose.
| Do you know…? China, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia and Saudi Arabia have not had a female leader in modern times, along with the U.S. Canada and France have each seen one woman take power and hand it over within a year, while Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri was briefly acting president in South Africa. Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey have each had one female leader, serving between 3 and 5 years. The U.K. has been led by women twice, including 11 years under Margaret Thatcher. Argentina has had two female presidents, both of whom succeeded their husbands. India's only female prime minister, Indira Gandhi, served twice for a total of 16 years. Angela Merkel's 14-year tenure makes her the longest-serving woman currently in office, |
Impressive quotes from female political leaders
| Tsai Ing-Wen, President of the Republic of China “I think that the society and our democracy are mature enough to place emphasis on the quality and the value of the individual politician, rather than their gender. Some people will find it fashionable to have a woman leader, but I think the reason people chose me as the leader of this country is because my policies and my values suit the needs of Taiwan today. We represent people who want to have change in the society.” —The Washington Post, 2016 |
| Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland “My background influenced how I see society, how I see equality between people. But it’s not because I’m from a rainbow family that I’m in politics. I’m in politics because I thought that the older generation wasn’t doing enough about the big issues of the future. I needed to act. I couldn’t just think, It’s somebody else’s job.” —Time, 2020. |
| Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand “One of the criticisms I’ve faced over the years is that I’m not aggressive enough or assertive enough, or maybe somehow, because I’m empathetic, it means I’m weak. I totally rebel against that. I refuse to believe that you cannot be both compassionate and strong.” —New York Times, 2018. |
 Top 10 Most Beautiful Female Political Leaders in the World - Updated Politicians are people who are known to have crazy-busy schedules, yet still gorgeous. Check out the list of 10 Most Beautiful and Hottest Female Politician ... |
 Top 10 Most Beautiful Women Politicians in The World Right Now You will be surprised to see pictures in the list of the top 10 most beautiful women politicians in the world right now! |
 Top 30 Most Influential Black Politicians In New York Black people deserve to be respected for their great contributions to human history in many fields. Here, we would like to remind you top 30 ... |
