Source: Filibuster cartoons
The following is a list of female presidents and prime ministers who are presently in power as of FEBRUARY 2, 2012. For the last several years, we have been living in an era where a record-number of female leaders are holding power simultaneously.

 

CURRENT TOTAL: 19

FINLAND GERMANY LIBERIA INDIA ARGENTINA BANGLEDESH ICELAND LITHUANIA COSTA RICA
TRINIDAD AUSTRALIA SLOVAKIA BRAZIL MALI KOSOVO THAILAND DENMARK SWITZERLAND
JAMAICA

The highest-ever total record of female leaders serving simultaneously seems to be 20, which occurred during the late 2010-2011 period.

# Country Leader In office since: Notes
1 Finland President Tarja Halonen Mar. 1, 2000 - elected
2 Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel Nov. 22, 2005 - elected
3 Liberia President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Jan. 16, 2006 - elected
4 India President Pratibha Patil Jul. 25, 2007 - elected
5 Argentina President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner Dec. 10, 2007 - elected
6 Bangledesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed Jan. 6, 2009 - elected
7 Iceland Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir Feb. 1, 2009 - appointed 2009, elected 2009
8 Lithuania President Dalia Grybauskaite Jul. 12, 2009 - elected
9 Costa Rica President Laura Chinchilla May 8, 2010 - elected
10 Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar May 26, 2010 - elected
11 Australia Prime Minister Julia Gillard Jun. 24, 2010 - appointed 2010, elected 2010
12 Slovakia Prime Minister Iveta Radicová Jul. 8, 2010 - elected
13 Brazil President Dilma Rousseff Jan. 1, 2011 - elected
14 Mali Prime Minister Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé Apr. 3, 1011 - appointed
15 Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga Apr. 7, 2011 - elected
16 Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra Aug. 8, 2011 - elected
17 Denmark Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt Oct. 3, 2011 - elected
18 Switzerland President Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf Jan. 1, 2012 - appointed
19 Jamaica Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller Jan. 5, 2012 - elected

"Elected" refers to women leaders who were elected in democratic elections, including both direct election and parliamentary election.
"Succeeded" refers to leaders who automatically assumed their position following the resignation or impeachment of a predecessor, and were thus not specifically elected to their post.
"Appointed" refers to leaders who were appointed to office by a ruling party or executive, and were thus not specifically elected to their post.
"Coup" refers to a leader who staged a coup or revolution to take office through force.

Sometimes leaders who were originally appointed to office managed to win election. In such cases both dates are noted.

Queens or Vice-Regal Females in power

A few countries have reining female queens, or, if they are a member of the British Commonwealth, a female governor general representing Queen Elizabeth as Head of State. As they are merely symbolic rulers, they do not officially "count" as female world leaders in the same way politicians do.

# Country Leader In office since:
1 United Kingdom Queen Elizabeth II Feb. 6, 1952 -
2 Denmark Queen Margethe II Jan. 14, 1972 -
3 Netherlands Queen Beatrix Apr. 30, 1980 -
4 Saint Lucia Governor-General Dame Pearlette Louisy Sep. 17, 1997 -
5 Antigua and Barbuda Governor-General Dame Louise Lake-Tack Jul. 17, 2007 -
6 Australia Governor-General Quentin Bryce Sep. 5, 2008 -

All countries with  female presidents, past and present

Country Leader Term Notes
Argentina (1st time) President Isabel Peron Jul. 1, 1974 - Mar. 24, 1976 succeeded, wife
Iceland President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Aug. 1, 1980 - Jul. 31, 1996 elected
Malta President Agatha Barbara Feb. 15, 1982 - Feb. 15, 1987 elected
Philippines (1st time) President Corazon Aquino Feb. 25, 1986 - Jun. 30, 1992 elected, wife*
Nicaragua President Violeta de Chamorro Apr. 25, 1990 - Jan. 10, 1997 elected
Ireland (1st time) President Mary Robinson Dec, 3, 1990 - Sep. 12, 1997 elected
Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga Nov. 12, 1994 - Nov. 19, 2005 elected, daughter
Ireland (2nd time) President Mary McAleese Nov. 11, 1997 - Nov. 11, 2011 elected
Guyana President Janet Jagan Dec. 19, 1997 - Aug. 11, 1999 elected, wife
Switzerland (1st time) President Ruth Dreifuss Jan. 1, 1999 - Dec. 31, 1999 appointed
Latvia President Vaira Vike-Freiberga Jul. 8, 1999 - Jul. 8, 2007 elected
Panama President Mireya Moscoso Sep. 1, 1999 - Sep. 1, 2004 elected, wife
Finland President Tarja Halonen Mar. 1, 2000 - elected
Philippines (2nd time) President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Jan. 20, 2001 - June 30, 2010 succeeded 2001, elected 2004, daughter
Indonesia President Megawati Sukarnoputri Jul. 23, 2001 - Oct. 20, 2004 succeeded, daughter
Serbia  President Natasa Micic Dec. 30, 2002 - Jan. 27, 2004 appointed
Liberia President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Jan. 16, 2006 - elected
Chile President Michelle Bachelet Mar. 11, 2006 - Mar. 11, 2010 elected
Switzerland (2nd time) President Micheline Calmy-Rey Jan. 1, 2007 - Dec. 31, 2007 appointed
Bosnia & Herzegovina President Borjana Kristo Feb. 22, 2007 - Mar. 17, 2011 elected
India President Pratibha Patil Jul. 25, 2007 - elected
Argentina (2nd time) President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner Dec. 10, 2007 - elected, wife
Lithuania President Dalia Grybauskaite Jul. 12, 2009 - elected
Switzerland (3rd time) President Doris Leuthard Jan. 1, 2010 - Dec. 31, 2011 appointed
Kyrgyzstan President Rosa Otunbayeva Apr. 7, 2010 - Dec. 1, 2011 coup
Costa Rica President Laura Chinchilla May 8, 2010 - elected
Brazil President Dilma Rousseff Jan. 1, 2011 - elected
Switzerland (4th time) President Micheline Calmy-Rey Jan. 1, 2011 - Dec. 31, 2011 appointed
Switzerland (5th time) President Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf Jan. 1, 2012 - appointed

"Wife" indicates leaders whose husband was also president at one time.
"Daughter" indicates leaders whose father was also president at one time.

* though not a wife of a president, Ms. Aquino's political career was largely the result of her marriage to a very prominent senator, who was later assasinated. Her son, interestingly, would also later serve as president.

Less than a year in power (acting, interim leaders, etc)

The following female leaders all assumed office on some sort of interim basis and cannot be properly regarded as a "full" president. They often held the presidency while simultaniously holding some other office of government, usually speaker of parliament..

Country Leader Term
Mongolia  President Sükhbaataryn Yanjmaa Sep. 23, 1953 - Jul. 7, 1954
Bolivia President Lydia Gueiler Tejada Nov. 17, 1980 - Jul. 18, 1980
Guinea-Bissau President Carmen Pereira May 14, 1984 - May 16, 1984
Haiti President Ertha Pascal-Trouillot Mar. 13, 1990 - Jan. 7, 1991
East Germany President Sabine Bergmann-Pohl Apr. 5, 1990 - Oct. 2, 1990
Liberia President Ruth Perry Sep. 3, 1996 - Aug. 2, 1997
Ecuador President Rosalía Arteaga Serrano Feb. 9, 1997 - Feb. 11, 1997
Georgia (1st time) President Nino Burjanadz Nov. 23, 2003 - Jan. 25, 2004
Georgia (2nd time) President Nino Burjanadz Nov. 25, 2007 - Jan. 20, 2008
Israel President Dalia Itzik Jan. 25, 2007 - Jul. 15, 2007
Gabon President Rose Francine Rogombé Jun. 10, 2009 - Oct. 16, 2009

All countries with  female prime ministers, past and present

Country Leader Term Notes
Sri Lanka (1st time) Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike Jul. 21, 1960 - Mar. 27, 1965 elected, wife
India (1st time) Prime Minister Indira Gandhi Jan. 19, 1966 - Mar. 24, 1977 elected, daughter
Israel Prime Minister Golda Meir Mar. 17, 1969 - Jun. 3, 1974 appointed 1969, elected 1971
Sri Lanka (2nd time) Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike May 29, 1970 - Jul. 23, 1977 "
Central African Republic Prime Minister Elisabeth Domitien Jan. 2, 1975 - Apr. 7, 1976 appointed*
United Kingdom Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher May 4, 1979 - Nov. 28, 1990 elected
India (2nd time) Prime Minister Indira Gandhi Jan. 14, 1980 - Oct. 31, 1984 "
Dominica Prime Minister Dame Eugenia Charles Jul. 21, 1980 - Jun. 14, 1995 elected
Norway (1st time) Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland Feb. 4, 1981 - Oct. 14, 1981 elected
Yugoslavia Prime Minister Milka Planinc May 16, 1982 - May 15, 1986 appointed*
Norway (2nd time) Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland May 9, 1986 - Oct. 16, 1989 "
Pakistan (1st time) Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto Dec. 2, 1988 - Aug. 6, 1990 elected, daughter
Norway (3rd time) Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland Nov. 3, 1990 - Oct. 25, 1996 "
Bangledesh (1st time) Prime Minister Khaleda Zia Mar. 20, 1991 - Mar. 30, 1996 elected, daughter
Poland Prime Minister Hanna Suchocka Jul. 8, 1992 - Oct. 26, 1993 appointed
Turkey Prime Minister Tansu Çiller Jun. 25, 1992 - Mar. 6, 1996 appointed
Pakistan (2nd time) Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto Oct. 19, 1993 - Nov. 5, 1996 "
Sri Lanka (3rd time) Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike Nov. 14, 1994 - Aug. 10, 2000 "
New Zealand (1st time) Prime Minister Jenny Shippley Dec. 8, 1997 - Dec. 10, 1999 appointed
New Zealand (2nd time) Prime Minister Helen Clark Dec. 10, 1999 - Nov. 19, 2008 elected
Senegal Prime Minister Mame Madior Boye Mar. 2, 2001 - Nov. 4, 2002 appointed
Bangledesh (2nd time) Prime Minister Khaleda Zia Oct. 10, 2001 - Oct. 29. 2006 "
São Tomé and Príncipe Prime Minister Maria das Neves Oct. 7, 2002 - Sep. 18, 2004 appointed
Mozambique Prime Minister Luísa Diogo Feb. 17, 2004 - Jan. 16, 2010 appointed 2004, elected 2009
Ukraine (1st time) Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko Jan. 24, 2005 - Sep. 8, 2005 elected
Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel Nov. 22, 2005 - elected
Jamaica Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller Mar. 30, 2006 - Sep. 11, 2007 appointed
South Korea Prime Minister Han Myung Sook Ap. 19, 2006 - Mar. 7, 2007 appointed
Ukraine (2nd time) Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko Dec. 18, 2007 - Mar. 11, 2010 "
Haiti (2nd time) Prime Minister Michèle Pierre-Louis Sep. 5, 2008 - Nov. 11, 2009 appointed
Bangledesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed Jan. 6, 2009 - elected
Iceland Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir Feb. 1, 2009 - appointed 2009, elected 2009
Croatia Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor Jul. 6, 2009 - Dec. 2011 appointed
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar May 26, 2010 - elected
Australia Prime Minister Julia Gillard Jun. 24, 2010 - appointed
Finland Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi Jun. 22, 2010 - Jun. 22, 2011 appointed
Slovakia Prime Minister Iveta Radicová Jul. 8, 2010 - elected
Mali Prime Minister Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé Apr. 3, 1011 - appointed
Denmark Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt Oct. 3, 2011 - elected
Jamaica (2nd time) Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller Jan. 5, 2012 - elected

* The infamous Milka Planinc served as head of government in Yugoslavia's Communist regime. Élisabeth Domitién served under the dictatorship of the insane "Emperor" Bokassa. They are the only two female prime ministers who ruled in non-democratic countries.

Less than a year in power (acting, interim leaders, etc)

Country Leader Term
Portugal Prime Minister Maria de Lurdes Pintassilgo Aug. 1, 1979 - Jan. 3, 1980
Lithuania (1st time) Prime Minister Kazimiera Prunskien Mar. 17, 1990 - Jan. 10, 1991
France Prime Minister Edith Cresson May 15, 1991 - Apr. 2, 1992
Burundi Prime Minister Sylvie Kinigi Jul. 10, 1993 - Feb. 7, 1994
Canada Prime Minister Kim Campbell Jun. 25, 1993 - Nov. 4, 1993
Rwanda Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana Jul. 18, 1993 - Apr. 7, 1994
Bulgaria Prime Minister Reneta Indzhova Oct. 17, 1994 - Jan. 25, 1995
Sri Lanka Prime Minister Chandrika Kumaratunga Aug. 19, 1994 - Nov. 12, 1994
Haiti Prime Minister Claudette Werleigh Nov. 7, 1995 - Mar. 6, 1996
Guyana Prime Minister Janet Jagan Mar. 17, 1997 - Dec. 22, 1997
Lithuania (2nd time) Prime Minister Irena Degutiene May 4, 1999 - May 18, 1999
Lithuania (3rd time) Prime Minister Irena Degutiene Oct. 27, 1999 - Nov. 3, 1999
Mongolia Prime Minister Nyam-Osoryn Tuyaa Jul. 22, 1999 - Jul. 30, 1999
South Korea Prime Minister Chang Sang Jul. 11, 2002 - Jul. 31, 2002
Finland Prime Minister Anneli Jäätteenmäki Apr. 17, 2003 - Jun. 24, 2003
Peru Prime Minister Beatriz Merino June 28, 2003 - Dec. 15, 2003
Macedonia (1st time) Prime Minister Radmila Sekerinska May 12, 2004 - Jun. 2, 2004
Macedonia (2nd time) Prime Minister Radmila Sekerinska Nov. 18, 2004 - Dec. 17, 2004
São Tomé and Príncipe Prime Minister Maria do Carmo Silveira Jun. 8, 2005 - Apr. 21, 2006
Peru Prime Minister Rosario Fernández Mar. 19, 2011 - Jul. 28, 2011

All countries with female governor-generals

In a Commonwealth country, a governor general is a politician appointed by the prime minister to serve as "acting" head of state on behalf of the British monarch, the legal chief of state.

Canada (1st time) Governor-General Jeanne Sauvé May 14, 1984 - Jan. 29, 1990
Barbados Governor-General Dame Nita Barrow Jun. 6, 1990 - Dec. 19, 1995
New Zealand (1st time) Governor-General Dame Catherine Tizard Nov. 20, 1990 - Mar. 21, 1996
Saint Lucia Governor-General Dame Pearlette Louisy Sep. 17, 1997 -
Canada (2nd time) Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson Oct. 7, 1999 - Sep. 27, 2005
New Zealand (2nd time) Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright Apr. 4, 2001 - Aug. 23, 2006
Bahamas Governor-General Dame Ivy Dumont Nov. 13, 2001 - Nov. 25, 2005
Canada (3rd time) Governor-General Michaelle Jean Sep. 27, 2005 - Oct. 1, 2010
Antigua and Barbuda Governor-General Dame Louise Lake-Tack Jul. 17, 2007 -
Australia Governor-General Quentin Bryce Sep. 5, 2008 -

Countries that have had more than one female leader (includes acting, interim leaders etc)

Switzerland (5) Five presidents*
Sri Lanka (3) One president, two prime ministers
Haiti (3) One president, two prime ministers
Finland (3) One president, two prime ministers
Argentina (2) Two presidents
Bangledesh (2) Two prime ministers
Guyana (2) One president, one prime minister*
Iceland (2) One president, one prime minister
India (2) One president, one prime minister
Ireland (2) Two presidents
Israel (2) One president, one prime minister
Lithuania (2) One president, two prime ministers
Liberia (2) Two presidents
Philippines (2) Two presidents
New Zealand (2) Two prime ministers
São Tomé and Príncipe (2) Two prime ministers
South Korea (2) Two prime ministers

Switzerland has seen five female presidential terms, though two of those were held by the same woman. Guyana's double-status is debatable, since their female prime minister and female president were the same person.

Historic figures

Sükhbaataryn Yanjmaa of Mongolia (1953-1954) World's first female (acting) president
Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka (1960-1965) World's first female prime minister
Isabel Peron of Argentina (1974-1976) World's first female (non-acting) president
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir of Iceland (1980-1996) World's first female elected president, and first female world leader who did not have a father or husband who was also leader at one time.
Mary McAleese of Ireland (1997- ) First time that a female president directly succeed another female president.
Sri Lanka (1994-2000) First time that a nation possessed a female prime minister and a female president simultaneously. Sri Lanka in 1994 also marked the first time a female prime minister directly succeeded another female prime minister.
Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir of Iceland (2009- ) World's first lesbian world leader, first female world leader to wed a same-sex partner while in office.

MAP SUMMARY:

map

Light pink- acting heads of government / state, Dark pink- full-term heads of state / government

World's 10 most populous nations and female leader status:

1 China No
2 India Yes
3 United States No
4 Indonesia Yes
5 Brazil Yes
6 Pakistan Yes
7 Bangladesh Yes
8 Nigeria No
9 Russia No
10 Japan No

Go to top