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| Sühbaataryn Yanjmaa (1893-1962)
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The widow of national hero Sühbaatar was First Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Great Khural of Mongolia and acted as Chairman of the Presidium (i.e., head of the State) during a vacancy in that position from 23 Sep 1953 to 7 Jul 1954. If we consider such a post as having a real ruling status, she would have been (excepting queens) the absolute first woman political ruler in contemporary history.
(Info submitted by Juan Jorge Schäffer)
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| Song Qingling (Sung Ch'ing-ling) (1893-1981)
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The widow (got married in 1914) of doctor Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Chinese Republic, and the sister-in-law of marshall Chiang Kai-shek, his successor as president of the Republic of China (then Taiwan), constitutes a very special case. From 31 Oct 1968 to 24 Feb 1972 no head of state was mentioned in the People's Republic of China, as such a post remained vacant in the wake of Liu Shaoqi's fall into disgrace, during the Cultural Revolution, and up to 1972 no acting president was appointed in the person of Dong Biwu. He and Song Qingling were vicepresidents by then (she was elected to the post in 1954, after being deputy premier since 1949), so, de facto (and in theory), both leaders shared the presidential duties in 1968-1972. Furthermore, when in 1976 Zhu De, the head of state by then as chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (the presidency of the Republic was officially abolished the previous year), passed away, a vacancy period was inaugurated and not filled until 1978, with the appointment of Ye Jianying. In this months were the 21 vice-chairmen, among them four women: Song Qingling, Cai Chang, Li Suwen, and (from 2 Dec 1976) Deng Yingchao, the widow of just deceased premier Zhou Enlai. Song became a member of the Communist Party only on her deathbed, and in 1980, shortly before her death, was elected "Honorary President" of the People's Republic of China.
(Info submitted by Juan Jorge Schäffer)
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| María Estela ('Isabel') Martínez de Perón (1931-)
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Served as president of Argentina from 1 Jul 1974 to 24 Mar 1976. Was married since 1961 with Juan Domingo Perón, president in the terms 1946-1955 and 1973-1974, and replaced him automatically in his death as she held the vicepresidency of the Republic and the presidency of the Senate since the 1973 electoral victory of the 'Perón-Perón' formula. In fact. Perón's incapacitation forced her to act as president since Jun 29. She was the first woman who became president, both in America and in the world. And also was the first one ousted in a military coup.
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| Lydia Gueiler Tejada (1926-)
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Caretaker president of Bolivia from 17 Nov 1979 to 18 Jul 1980. Deposed in a military coup.
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| Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (1930-)
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President of Iceland from 1 Aug 1980 to 1 Aug 1996, has got several "firsts": 1st woman president in Europe, 1st one elected directly by the people in the world and when quitting in 1996 was the female political ruler longest-time in office in the world, as well as the doyen among all European non-monarch rulers.
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| Maria Lea Pedini-Angelini (1953?-)
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Co-Captain-regent (head of State and Government) of San Marino in 1981 (1 Apr to 1 Oct).
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| Agatha Barbara (1923-2002)
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President of Malta from 15 Feb 1982 to 15 Feb 1987. Second woman president in Europe behind Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (see above).
Gloriana Ranocchini (1957-)
Co-Captain-regent (head of State and Government) of San Marino from 1 Apr to 1 Oct 1984 and from 1 Oct 1989 to 1 Apr 1990.
Acting president of Guinea Bissau from 14 May 1984 to 16 May 1984 in the capacity of chairman of the National People's Assembly.
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| Corazon (Cory) Aquino (1933-2009)
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President of the Philippines from 25 Feb 1986 to 30 Jun 1992. Widow of Benigno Aquino, assassinated in 1983. Asia's first woman president.
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| Ertha Pascal-Trouillot (1943-)
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Dame Ertha Pascal-Trouillot served as interim president of Haiti from 13 Mar 1990 to 7 Feb 1991. America's third female president and second black female ruler in the continent after Dominica's premier Eugenia Charles.
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| Sabine Bergmann-Pohl (1946-)
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Chairman of the Volkskammer of the late German Democratic Republic in 1990 was the last head of State (Staatspräsident), nominal and interim, before the unification. Her testimonial tenure lasted six months: from 5 Apr to 2 Oct 1990. In fact, the only female head of State in former communist East Europe.
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| Violeta Barrios de Chamorro (1929-)
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President of Nicaragua from 25 Apr 1990 to 10 Jan 1997. Widow of Pedro Joaquín Chamorro, assassinated in 1978.
President of Ireland from 3 Dec 1990 to 12 Sep 1997, when unexpectedly resigned, three months before the expiration of her mandate. After that, she served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to 12 Sep 2002.
Edda Ceccoli
Co-Captain-regent (head of State and Government) of San Marino from 1 Oct 1991 to 1 Apr 1992.
Co-Captain-regent (head of State and Government) of San Marino in 1993 (1 Apr to 1 Oct).
Acting President (de facto) of Burundi from 27 Oct 1993 to 5 Feb 1994. See profile at the Prime Ministers' page.
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| Chandrika Kumaratunga (1945-)
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President of Sri Lanka from 14 Nov 1994 to 19 Nov 2005, although also served as prime minister before, from 19 Aug until her presidential oath taking. Daughter of the late Sirimavo Bandaranaike, three times prime minister of Sri Lanka, the last one at the moment of her demise in 2000, so Sri Lanka was the first republic in the world whose two top executive offices were simultaneously held by women; in addition, both posts have been filled through democratic elections... and the daughter appointed the mother to hold the premiership in 1994. Chandrika's father and Sirimavo's husband, Solomon, was assassinated while being prime minister in 1959. The same fate suffered Chandrika's husband, Vijaya Kumaratunga, also assassinated in 1988.
Chairman of the Council of State (a six-member collective presidency) of the National Transitional Government of Liberia from 3 Sep 1996 to 2 Aug 1997. Perry has been, excepting queens (and Burundian premier Sylvie Kinigi, who acted as president briefly de facto in early 90s), Africa's first female head of State
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| Rosalía Arteaga Serrano (1956-)
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Ephemeral caretaker president of Ecuador in 9-11 Feb 1997.
President of Ireland since 11 Nov 1997. First woman president having succeeded another one, Mary Robinson, in history.
President of Guyana from 19 Dec 1997 to 11 Aug 1999, but also prime minister from 17 Mar to 22 Dec 1997. Succeeded her husband Cheddi Jagan in the Presidency some months after his passing. The sixth woman occupying the presidential office in America and the second one with an additional premiership experience in the world (the first one was Sri Lanka's Chandrika Kumaratunga).
The first female Swiss head of State as president of the Confederation following a very, very long list of one-year male rulers. Dreifuss was elected by the Federal Assembly to serve as president of Switzerland for the period 1 Jan 1999-1 Jan 2000.
Co-Captain-regent (head of State and Government) of San Marino twice, from 1 Apr to 1 Oct 1999 and from 1 Apr to 1 Oct 2008.
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| Vaira Vike-Freiberga (1937-)
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The first woman to be president of a country in East/Central Europe or came out with the former Soviet Union, was electer by the Parliament of Latvia on 17 Jun 1999 for a four-year term, starting on Jul 8. After winning a second and final term in 2004, she left the office on Jul 8, 2007.
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| Mireya Elisa Moscoso de Arias (1946-)
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The first woman president of Panama served from 1 Sep 1999 to 1 Sep 2004. She is the widow (1988) of former president Arnulfo Arias Madrid.
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| Tarja Kaarina Halonen (1943-)
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Finland's first woman president, since 1 Mar 2000. Her tenure expires in 2006.
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| Maria Domenica Michelotti (1952-)
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Co-captain regent of San Marino for the period 1 Apr 2000-1 Oct 2000. The sixth woman to become co-captain regent since 1981.
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| Maria Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (1947-)
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President of the Philippines since 20 Jan 2001. Daughter of late president Diosdado Macapagal and second woman president of this Asian State.
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| Megawati Sukarnoptri (1947-)
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The daughter of the late president Sukarno is president of Indonesia from 23 Jul 2001 to 20 Oct 2004.
Co-captain regent of San Marino for the period 1 Oct 2003-1 Apr 2004. The seventh woman to become co-captain regent since 1981.
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| Nino Burdzhanadze (1964-)
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Acting president of Georgia twice, from 23 Nov 2003 to 25 Jan 2004, and again from 25 Nov 2007 to 20 Jan 2008.
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| Fausta Simona Morganti (1944-)
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Co-captain regent of San Marino for the period 1 Apr 2005-1 Oct 2005.
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| Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (1939-)
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President of Liberia since 16 Jan 2006. She is Africa's first elected woman president.
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| Michelle Bachelet Jeria (1951-)
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President of Chile from 11 Mar 2006.
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| Micheline Calmy-Rey (1945-)
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President of the Swiss Confederation for the annual period 1 Jan 2007-1 Jan 2008.
Being the speaker of the Parliament or Knesset, she ruled in 2007 as acting president of the State of Israel, from Jan 25, when the incumbent office-holder, Moshe Katzav, took a three month leave of absence to deal with criminal charges, to Jul 1, when Katzav resigned formally. To Jul 15, upon the inauguration of Shimon Peres, Itzik was interim president.
Pratibha Patil (1934-)
President of India since 25 jul 2007.
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (1953-)
President of Argentina since 10 Dec 2007.
Assunta Meloni
Co-Captain-regent (head of State and Government) of San Marino from 1 Oct 2008 to 1 Apr 2009.
Rose Francine Rogombé
Interim president of Gabon from 10 Jun to 16 Oct 2009.
Dalia Grybauskaite
President of Lithuania since 12 Jul 2009.
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© Copyright ZPC, Roberto Ortiz de Zárate, 1996-2009
http://www.terra.es/personal2/monolith/00women2.htm mothman@teleline.es |
