The following is a list of female presidents and prime ministers who are presently in power as of MARCH 8, 2011.
CURRENT TOTAL: 18
| # | Country | Leader | In office since: | Notes |
| 1 | Ireland | President Mary McAleese | Nov. 11, 1997 - | elected |
| 2 | Finland (1st) | President Tarja Halonen | Mar. 1, 2000 - | elected |
| 3 | Germany | Chancellor Angela Merkel | Nov. 22, 2005 - | elected |
| 4 | Liberia | President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf | Jan. 16, 2006 - | elected |
| 5 | India | President Pratibha Patil | Jul. 25, 2007 - | elected |
| 6 | Argentina | President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner | Dec. 10, 2007 - | elected |
| 7 | Bangledesh | Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed | Jan. 6, 2009 - | elected |
| 8 | Iceland | Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardóttir | Feb. 1, 2009 - | appointed 2009, elected 2009 |
| 9 | Croatia | Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor | Jul. 6, 2009 - | appointed |
| 10 | Lithuania | President Dalia Grybauskaite | Jul. 12, 2009 - | elected |
| 11 | Kyrgyzstan | President Rosa Otunbayeva | Apr. 7, 2010 - | coup |
| 12 | Costa Rica | President Laura Chinchilla | May 8, 2010 - | elected |
| 13 | Trinidad and Tobago | Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar | May 26, 2010 - | elected |
| 14 | Finland (2nd) | Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi | Jun. 22, 2010 - | appointed |
| 15 | Australia | Prime Minister Julia Gillard | Jun. 24, 2010 - | appointed 2010, elected 2010 |
| 16 | Slovakia | Prime Minister Iveta Radicova | Jul. 8, 2010 - | elected |
| 17 | Brazil | President Dilma Rousseff | Jan. 1, 2011 - | elected |
| 18 | Switzerland | President Micheline Calmy-Rey | Jan. 1, 2011 - | appointed |
“Elected” refers to women leaders who were elected in democratic elections.
“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 - | 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 - | 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 - | 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 the house.
| Country | Leader | Term |
| Mongolia | President Sukhbaataryn 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 Luisa 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 Michele Pierre-Louis | Sep. 5, 2008 – Nov. 11, 2009 | appointed |
| Bangledesh | Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed | Jan. 6, 2009 - | elected |
| Iceland | Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardóttir | Feb. 1, 2009 - | appointed 2009, elected 2009 |
| Croatia | Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor | Jul. 6, 2009 - | 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 - | appointed |
| Slovakia | Prime Minister Iveta Radicová | Jul. 8, 2010 - | elected |
* Ms. 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 Jaatteenmaki | 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 |
All countries with female governor-generals
| 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 (4) | Four 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 four 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. |
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