The only 25 women who are Presidents (or Prime Ministers) of a country

Currently around the world there are only 25 women Presidents or Prime Ministers. Although throughout history few women have led countries, it is more and more frequent that women are elected in front of their male adversaries.

Their leadership styles often make them emblems of their form of government, although in some cases it has also been controversial. Each of the women on this list has a brilliant political and professional career behind them.

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The 25 women heads of state (presidents or prime ministers)

Women are changing the world, and today they also do so from positions relevant to political life. Some of the women on this list are very influential people at the international level, Angela Merkel being surely the clearest case.

As we will see, the majority were elected to office through democratic voting. Below we show the list of the 25 women who are Presidents or Prime Ministers of any country in the world today.

1. Angela Merkel

Angela Dorothea Merkel is Chancellor of Germany. Her mandate began on November 22, 2005, making her the longest-serving woman in power today. She has been considered the most powerful woman in the world on many occasions.

2. Sheikh Hasina

Sheikh Hasina is the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She took office on January 6, 2009, leading this nation for 10 years. Although the truth is that she had previously held this position between 1996 and 2001.

3. Dahlia Grybauskaité

Lithuania Prime Minister Dalia Grybauskaité has been leading the Baltic country for 9 years. On July 12, 2009, she took charge of it, becoming the first woman to hold the position in this country. She has a BA in Economics with a Ph.D. from the Russian Academy of Sciences.

4. Simonetta sommaruga

Simonetta Sommaruga has been a member of the Swiss Federal Council since November 1, 2010. Born on May 14, 1960, she was elected as a member of the Swiss Socialist Party. This prominent representative of the Swiss government, she studied English and romantic philology.

5. Erna solberg

Erna Solberg is the Prime Minister of Norway. She took office on October 16, 2013. She is a sociologist, political scientist, statesman, and economist who was elected to serve as the minister of her country.

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6. Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca

Marie-louise Coleiro Presca is President of Malta. In 2014, she was the winner of the presidential elections, assuming office that same year. Marie-Louise is a Maltese notary, legal and social scientist.

7. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic is the current President of Croatia. She has been in the position she assumed on February 19, 2015 for 3 years. Just last year the reflectors of the world turned to see her due to her notable presence in the World Cup in Russia where she attended with particular resources.

8. Saara kuugongelwa

Saaara Kuugongelwa has been President of Namibia since 2015. She studied economics at Lincoln University. She belongs to the Southeast African People's Organization for which she was elected president.

9. Bidhya Devi Bhandari

Bidhya Devi Bhandari heads the presidency of Nepal. On October 29, 2015, she assumed office, becoming the first woman to hold office in that country. She previously served as defense minister.

10. Hilda heine

Hilda Heine is President of the Marshall Islands. On January 29, 2016, she became the first woman to hold the presidency of the Marshall Islands. She is a professor at the University of Oregon and holds a master's and doctorate.

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11. Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi is President of Burma. Burma's official name is Republic of the Union of Myanmar, where Aung San served as Councilor of State on April 6, 2016. In 1991 she received the Nobel Peace Prize, but in 2018 she was withdrawn due to her failure to deal with the Rohingya genocide.

12. Tsai-Ing-Wen

Tsai-Ing-Wen in 2016 became President of Taiwan. She is a graduate of the College of Law from National Taiwan University. With a Masters in Legal Sciences and a PhD in London, Tsai-Ing-Wen has always been a political activist.

13. Theresa May

Theresa May is one of the most recognized women who are presidents. On July 13, 2016 she became the second woman to hold the post in the UK. Since 1997, her political career has developed to occupy the position of Prime Minister.

14. Kersti Kaljulaid

Kersti Kaljulaid is the current President of Estonia. She has held this position since October 10, 2016 and was previously the representative of the Baltic country in the European Court of Auditors. Kersti is, in addition to the first woman, the youngest person in the history of the position.

15. Ana Brnabic

Ana Brnabic is the Prime Minister of Serbia since June 29, 2017. With no party affiliation, Ana Brnabic is the first woman and the first openly homosexual person to hold this position in Serbia in addition to being one of the youngest at the age of 43 today.

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16. Halimah yacob

Halimah Yacob is currently President of Singapore. Halimah Yacob is one of 25 women who are currently heads of state or presidents. Belonging to the Malay ethnic group, she assumed the position of president on September 14, 2017.

17. Jacinda ardern

Jacinda Ardern is at the head of New Zealand as President of this country. Since October 26, 2017, she assumed the presidency, becoming the youngest head of government in the world at 37 years old.

18. Evelyn Wever-Croes

Evelyn Wever-Croes is currently Prime Minister of Aruba. In November 2017, she assumed the position, being the first woman to hold this position and the fourth in the entire history of Aruba since she became independent from the Antilles.

19. Katrín Jakobsdóttir

Katrin Jakobsdóttir is the President of Iceland. She took office on November 30, 2017 from her country, Iceland. She belongs to the political party Movimiento Izquierda-verde.

20. Leona Marlin Romeo

Leona Marlin Romeo is the Prime Minister of Saint Martin. On January 15, 2018, she assumed this position, becoming one of the 25 women who are currently heads of state, presidents or prime ministers.

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21. Viorica dancila

Viorica Dancila is Prime Minister of Romania. Born in 1963, she took office on January 29, 2018. She is the first woman to assume this position in the history of Romania. She was president of the Social Democratic Women's Organization.

22. Paula-Mae Weekes

Paula-Mae Weekes is the President of Trinidad and Tobago. She took office on March 19, 2018 becoming the first woman in Trinidad and Tobago to assume that position and becoming one of 25 women who are currently heads of state.

23. Mia mottley

Mia Mottley is the Prime Minister of Barbados. She arrived at the position on May 25, 2018. She is the eighth person to hold this position in the history of this country, and the first woman to assume it.

24. Sahle-Work Zewde

Sahle-Work Zewde currently serves as President of Ethiopia. On October 25, 2018, she assumed this position from her country. She is the first woman elected to this position and also the first female head of state in the entire African continent.

25. Salome zurabishvili

Salome Zurabishvili is President of Georgia since December 2018. Of French origin, born on March 18, 1952. She was a diplomat and an independent deputy. She was the winner in the Georgia elections as an independent candidate backed by the Georgian Dream party.

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Bibliographic references

Wikipedia (2018). List of elected and appointed female heads of state and government. Retrieved January 8, 2019 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_elected_and_appointed_female_heads_of_state_and_government