From humble beginnings to beauty industry pioneer and millionaire
One of the more controversial figures on this list, Aung San Suu Kyi was once celebrated as a beacon for human rights and democracy, and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. She served as the State Counselor of Myanmar from 2016 to 2021, but has been heavily criticized for her treatment of Rohingya Muslims. In the beginning of 2021, following the Myanmar coup d'état, the military declared the November 2020 general election results as fraudulent and Kyi was arrested. Several charges were filed against her and, on 6 December 2021, she was sentenced to four years on two of them, and on January 10, 2022, she was sentenced to an additional four years on another set of charges.
Justin Trudeau, Canada's prime minister, appointed Julie Payette as the country's governor general. She served from October 2017 to January 2021.
See also: The strange rules presidential children have to follow
Sophie Wilmès was the first woman to head the Belgian government. She was elected prime minister of the country in October 2019. She led a caretaker government while negotiations proceeded to form a new coalition government in 2020. In October 2020, Wilmès was appointed deputy prime minister and foreign minister in the new government. She served in those positions until 2022.
Mette Frederiksen is a Danish politician. On June 27, 2019, she was elected Prime Minister of Denmark.
Sanna Marin served as Prime Minister of the Republic of Finland from 2019 to 2023, when she was only 34 years old. She was the world's youngest female head of state.
Paula-Mae Weekes was the first president of her home country, Trinidad and Tobago. She was president between 2018 and 2023.
After Evo Morales' resignation, Jeanine Áñez served as the Interim President of Bolivia from 2019 to 2020.
Kamala Harris made history as not only the first woman ever elected as US vice president but also as the first Black and first person of South Asian descent to be elected. She has been serving since 2021.
Katrín Jakobsdóttir has a strong background in environmentalism and feminism, and served as the 28th Prime Minister of Iceland from 2017 to 2024.
Lucille George-Wout has served as the Governor of Curaçao since 2013.
The Swedish parliament made a historic decision in November 2021 when Magdalena Andersson, the country's first female prime minister, was voted into office. However, Andersson's coalition party lost its majority in the 2022 national election, and Andersson announced her resignation. Ulf Kristersson replaced her, just one month short of a year into her term.
After 396 years, Barbados, a former British colony, made a historic transition from a Realm to a Republic at midnight on November 30, 2021, after removing Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. In her place, Dame Sandra Mason was sworn in as the country's first-ever president. Rihanna was also present at the ceremony and declared a national hero by the country's prime minister, Mia Mottley.
Liz Truss was announced as the new UK Prime Minister in 2022, replacing Boris Johnson who resigned in disgrace over multiple scandals. Truss, the former Foreign Secretary and International Trade Secretary, defeated Rishi Sunak with 57% of the Conservative Party member base voting her in. She was the third woman to hold the office of UK PM, and 45 days later, she became the shortest-serving PM in the nation's history when she stepped down due to heavy criticism of her economic plans.
Brothers of Italy party leader Giorgia Meloni won a general election that made her Italy’s first female prime minister back in September 2022. However, she is leading the most far-right government since Benito Mussolini's infamous fascist era. Meloni co-founded Brothers of Italy in 2012, an intensely conservative party infamous for anti-immigration and anti-LGBT policies.
Arden was New Zealand's much-loved prime minister from 2017 to 2023. She successfully guided the country through the COVID-19 pandemic all while raising a baby. She stepped down before the end of her term in 2023, saying she simply “no longer had enough in the tank” to do the job.
She was followed by Christine Kangaloo who won the election in 2023. The country has only ever had female presidents! Kangaloo was formerly the president of the Senate of Trinidad and Tobago.
On June 3, 2024, Claudia Sheinbaum became Mexico's first-ever female president, as well as the first Jewish person to be elected. The climate scientist achieved a landslide victory.
In 2024, her role is to be taken over by President-elect Halla Tómasdóttir, a well-known businesswoman and public speaker in Iceland.
How does that James Brown song go? "It's a man's world," right? Well, that's quite the contrary in 2024. Women around the world still have a long way to go for equal rights, but there have been serious strides for women in recent years. One of said strides is the number of women in leadership positions. Many countries are electing their first female heads of state, while other leaders have served their countries for years.
To find out more, click through this gallery, and meet the female leaders governing the world.
The most powerful female leaders in the world
In 2024, several women have been elected as new leaders
LIFESTYLE Politics
How does that James Brown song go? "It's a man's world," right? Well, that's quite the contrary in 2024. Women around the world still have a long way to go for equal rights, but there have been serious strides for women in recent years. One of said strides is the number of women in leadership positions. Many countries are electing their first female heads of state, while other leaders have served their countries for years.
To find out more, click through this gallery, and meet the female leaders governing the world.