List of female heads of state and government

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
December 2019: States that have a female head of state or government (!) or had earlier (!)

This list of female heads of state and government includes women who have been elected or appointed to a leading state office ( head of state , head of government ).

For information on royal officials, see the list of women rulers and rulers .

Current situation

18 out of 193 (9.3%) states had a female head of state and / or a head of government in office in September 2015 . Of the 7.336 billion people in January 2017, 147 million (2.0%) lived in countries with a female head of state and 487 million (6.6%) in countries with a female head of state and / or government.

Female heads of state of republics

Surname country Office Term of office annotation
Chertek Anchimaa Tuvinian People's Republic Speaker of Parliament 1940-1944
Süchbaataryn Yandschmaa Mongolian People's Republic President Office. 1953-1954 Widow of Damdin Süchbaatar
Isabel Perón Argentina President Office. 1974-1976 Widow of Juan Perón
Lidia Gueiler Bolivia President Office. 1979-1980
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Iceland President 1980-1996 First democratically elected female head of state worldwide
Maria Pedini Angelini San Marino Co-regent 1981
Agatha Barbara Malta President 1982-1987
Gloriana Ranocchini San Marino Co-regent 1984
1989-1990
Carmen Pereira Guinea-Bissau President Office. 1984
Corazón Aquino Philippines President 1986-1992 Widow of Benigno Aquino
Ertha Pascal-Trouillot Haiti President Office. 1990-1991
Sabine Bergmann-Pohl GDR People's Chamber President 1990 Representing the (no longer elected) State Council Chairman
Violeta Chamorro Nicaragua President 1990-1996
Mary Robinson Ireland President of the Republic 1990-1997
Edda Ceccoli San Marino Co-regent 1991-1992
Patrizia Busignani San Marino Co-regent 1993
Chandrika Kumaratunga Sri Lanka President 1994-2005 Daughter of Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Ruth Perry Liberia Chairman of the State Council . 1996-1997
Rosalía Arteaga Ecuador President Office. 1997
Janet Jagan Guyana President ren. 1997-1999 Widow of Cheddi Jagan
Mary McAleese Ireland President of the Republic 1997-2011
Rosa Zafferani San Marino Co-regent 1999
2008
Mireya Moscoso Panama President 1999-2004 Widow of Arnulfo Arias
Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga Latvia President 1999-2007 Elected by parliament for a second term in 2003
Tarja Halons Finland President 2000-2012
Maria Domenica Michelotti San Marino Co-regent 2000
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Philippines President 2001-2010 Daughter of Diosdado Macapagal
Megawati Sukarnoputri Indonesia President ren. 2001-2004 Daughter of Sukarno
Valeria Ciavatta San Marino Co-regent 2003-2004
2014
Nino Burjanadze Georgia President Office. 2003-2004
2008		 On behalf of the President
Fausta Simona Morganti San Marino Co-regent 2005
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Liberia President 2006-2018
Michelle Bachelet Chile President 2006-2010
2014-2018
Pratibha Patil India President of the Republic 2007–2012
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Argentina President of the Republic 2007-2015 Wife of Néstor Kirchner
Was re-elected as the first South American president.
Vice President from 2019
Assunta Meloni San Marino Co-regent 2008-2009
Dalia Grybauskaitė Lithuania President 2009-2019 was elected as the first Lithuanian president and in 2014 for a second term
Laura Chinchilla Costa Rica President of the Republic 2010-2014
Rosa Otunbayeva Kyrgyzstan State President Office. 2010-2011
Dilma Rousseff Brazil President of the Republic 2011-2016 removed from office
Maria Luisa Berti San Marino Co-regent 2011
Atifete Jahjaga Kosovo President 2011-2016
Monique Ohsan Bellepeau Mauritius Transitional President 2012
Slavica Đukić Dejanović Serbia President 2012
Joyce Banda Malawi President 2012-2014
Denise Bronzetti San Marino Co-regent 2012-2013
Park Geun-hye South Korea President 2013-2017 was suspended from office on December 9, 2016 and removed from office on March 10, 2017 by the Constitutional Court.
Antonella Mularoni San Marino Co-regent 2013
Anna Maria Muccioli San Marino Co-regent 2013-2014
Catherine Samba-Panza Central African Republic President 2014-2016
Marie Louise Coleiro Preca Malta President 2014-2019
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović Croatia President 2015-2020
Ameenah Gurib Mauritius President 2015-2018 Resignation after a corruption scandal
Lorella Stefanelli San Marino Co-regent 2015-2016
Bidhya Devi Bhandari Nepal President since 2015 Widow of Madan Kumar Bhandari
Hilda Heine Marshall Islands President 2016-2020
Tsai Ing-wen Republic of China President since 2016
Doris Bures Austria National Council office. 2016-2017 As President of the National Council, she is provisionally responsible for the official business of the President with her two deputies as a college
Kersti Kaljulaid Estonia President since 2016
Vanessa D'Ambrosio San Marino Co-regent 2017
Mimma Zavoli San Marino Co-regent 2017
Halimah Yacob Singapore President since 2017
Paula Mae Weekes Trinidad and Tobago President since 2018
Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh Vietnam President Office. 2018
Sahle-Work Zewde Ethiopia President since 2018
Salome Zurabishvili Georgia President since 2018
Zuzana Čaputová Slovakia President since 2019
Mariella Mularoni San Marino Co-regent 2019-2020
Jeanine Áñez Bolivia President Office. since 2019 Interim President after Evo Morales' resignation
Katerina Sakellaropoulou Greece President since 2020
Grazia Zafferani San Marino Co-regent since 2020
Surname country Office Term of office annotation
er. appointed
office.officiating; Transitional Office (usually not elected)
pp.elected as prima inter pares for one year

Heads of government

Surname country Office Term of office annotation
Sirimavo Bandaranaike Sri Lanka Prime Minister 1960-1965
1970-1977
1994-2000		 Widow of SWRD Bandaranaike , mother of Chandrika Kumaratunga
Indira Gandhi India Prime Minister 1966-1977
1980-1984		 Daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru
Golda Meïr Israel Prime Minister 1969-1974
Elisabeth Domitién Central African Republic Prime Minister Ren. 1975-1976 Appointment by President Jean-Bédel Bokassa
Margaret Thatcher Great Britain Prime minister 1979-1990
Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo Portugal Prime Minister 1979-1980
Eugenia Charles Dominica Prime Minister 1980-1995
Gro Harlem Brundtland Norway Prime Minister 1981
1986-1999
1990-1996
Milka Planinc Yugoslavia Prime Minister Ren. 1982-1986
Benazir Bhutto Pakistan Prime Minister 1988-1990
1993-1996		 Daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Kazimiera Prunskienė Lithuania Prime Minister 1990-1991
Khaleda Zia Bangladesh Prime Minister 1991-1996
2001-2006		 Widow of Ziaur Rahman
Edith Cresson France Prime Minister Ren. 1991-1992 Appointed by President François Mitterrand
Hanna Suchocka Poland Prime minister 1992-1993 failed due to a vote of no confidence, later Minister of Justice and Attorney General
Kim Campbell Canada Prime minister 1993
Tansu Çiller Turkey Prime Minister 1993-1996
Sylvie Kinigi Burundi Prime Minister in office. 1993-1994
Marita Petersen Faroe Islands Prime Minister 1993-1994
Agathe Uwilingiyimana Rwanda Prime Minister Ren. 1993-1994
Chandrika Kumaratunga Sri Lanka Prime Minister 1994 Daughter of Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Reneta Indschowa Bulgaria Prime Minister in office. 1994-1995
Claudette Werleigh Haiti Prime Minister 1995-1996
Hasina Wajed Bangladesh Prime Minister 1996–2001
since 2009		 Daughter of Mujibur Rahman
Janet Jagan Guyana Prime Minister Ren. 1997 Wife of Cheddi Jagan
Anne Enger Norway Prime Minister in office. 1998 Provisional assumption of office on behalf of Kjell Magne Bondevik
Jenny Shipley New Zealand Prime minister 1997-1999
Ruth Dreifuss Switzerland Federal President pp. 1999
Irena Degutienė Lithuania Prime Minister in office. 1999
1999		 Two short terms
Njam-Osoryn Tujaa Mongolia Prime Minister in office. 1999
Helen Clark New Zealand Prime minister 1999-2008
Mame Madior Boye Senegal Prime Minister Ren. 2001-2002
Chang Sang South Korea Prime Minister in office. 2002
Maria das Neves Sao Tome and Principe Prime Minister Ren. 2002-2004
Anneli Jäätteenmäki Finland Prime Minister 2003
Beatriz Merino Peru Prime minister 2003
Radmila Šekerinska Macedonia Prime Minister in office. 2004
2004		 Two short terms
Luísa Diogo Mozambique Prime Minister Ren. 2004-2010
Yulia Tymoshenko Ukraine Prime Minister Ren. 2005
2007-2010
Maria do Carmo Silveira Sao Tome and Principe Prime Minister Ren. 2005-2006
Angela Merkel Germany Chancellor since 2005
Portia Simpson Miller Jamaica Prime Minister 2006–2007
2012–2016
Han Myung-sook South Korea Prime Minister 2006-2007
Micheline Calmy-Rey Switzerland Federal President pp. 2007
2011
Zinaida Greceanîi Moldova Prime Minister 2008-2009
Michèle Pierre-Louis Haiti Prime Minister 2008-2009
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir Iceland Prime Minister 2009-2013
Jadranka Kosor Croatia Prime Minister 2009-2011
Doris Leuthard Switzerland Federal President pp. 2010
2017
Kamla Persad-Bissessar Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister 2010-2015
Mari Kiviniemi Finland Prime Minister 2010-2011
Julia Gillard Australia Prime Minister 2010-2013
Iveta Radičová Slovakia Prime Minister 2010–2012
Rosario Fernández Peru Prime minister 2011
Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé Mali Prime Minister 2011–2012
Yingluck Shinawatra Thailand Prime Minister 2011-2014 Sister of Thaksin Shinawatra ; deposed by the Thai Constitutional Court
Helle Thorning-Schmidt Denmark Prime Minister 2011-2015
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf Switzerland Federal President pp. 2012 Daughter of Leon Schlumpf
Adiato Diallo Nandigna Guinea-Bissau Prime Minister 2012
Alenka Bratušek Slovenia Prime Minister 2013-2014
Aleqa Hammond Greenland Prime Minister 2013-2014
Aminata Touré Senegal Prime Minister 2013-2014
Sibel Siber Northern Cyprus Prime Minister 2013 Transitional government
Erna Solberg Norway Prime Minister since 2013 General election September 9th 2013
Laimdota Straujuma Latvia Prime Minister 2014-2016 Appointment by President Andris Berzins
from December 7, 2015 to February 11, 2016 only provisionally
Tatiana Mikhailovna Turanskaya Transnistria Prime minister 2013-2015
Cynthia Ligeard New Caledonia District President 2014
Ewa Kopacz Poland Prime minister 2014-2015 previously Minister of Health and Speaker of Parliament
Ana Jara Peru Prime minister 2014-2015 removed from office
Simonetta Sommaruga Switzerland Federal President pp. 2015
since 2020
Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila Namibia Prime minister since 2015
Vasiliki Thanou-Christofilou Greece Prime Minister in office. 2015 provisional assumption of office
Beata Szydło Poland Prime minister 2015-2017 resigned despite having passed a vote of no confidence for internal party reasons
Theresa May Great Britain Prime minister 2016-2019
Aung San Suu Kyi Myanmar State advisor since 2016
Ana Brnabić Serbia Prime Minister since 2017
Carrie Lam Hong Kong Chief administrator since 2017
Mercedes Aráoz Peru Prime minister 2017-2018
Jacinda Ardern New Zealand Prime minister since 2017
Katrín Jakobsdóttir Iceland Prime Minister since 2017
Viorica Dăncilă Romania Prime Minister 2018-2019
Mia Mottley Barbados Prime minister since 2018
Brigitte Bierlein Austria Chancellor 2019-2020 appointed by Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen as Federal Chancellor of a transitional government
Maia Sandu Moldova Prime Minister 2019 voted out by a vote of no confidence
Mette Frederiksen Denmark Prime Minister since 2019
Sophie Wilmès Belgium Prime Minister since 2019 appointed by King Philippe as Executive Prime Minister
Sanna Marin Finland Prime Minister since 2019 meanwhile youngest head of government worldwide
Surname country Office Term of office Remarks
3 appointed
4thofficiating; Transitional Office (usually not elected)
5elected as prima inter pares for one year

See also