List of elected and appointed female heads of state and government

The following is a list of women who have been elected head of state or government of their respective countries since the interwar period (1918–1939), and below that is a list of appointed heads of state. The first list includes female presidents who are heads of state and may also be heads of government, as well as female heads of government who are not concurrently head of state, such as prime ministers. The list does not include female monarchs who are heads of state (but not of government).[lower-alpha 2]

This article is about female leaders of independent states. For constituent and dependent territories, see List of female constituent and dependent territory leaders.

Countries: Female heads of state or government (past or present)
The 29 countries that currently have women serving as elected or appointed heads of state or government, as of 29 November 2019.
The 75 countries that previously had women as elected or appointed head of state or government, since 1950, as of 29 November 2019.
Combined map: the 87 countries that have or had women as elected or appointed heads of state or government, as of 29 November 2019.
  Female head of government
  Female head of state
  Female head of state/government as the only elective position[lower-alpha 1]
  Both female head of state and female head of government (separate posts)
  Female prime minister or state counselor as deputy to the combined head of state and government
Not shown: Four former sovereign states also had a female head of state or government (East Germany, Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Tannu Tuva).

Yevgenia Bosch is sometimes considered the first modern woman leader of a national government. She was Minister of Interior and the Acting Leader in 1917-18 of the People's Secretariat of Ukraine, one of a number of competing ruling bodies in the Ukrainian People's Republic.[1][2] Khertek Anchimaa-Toka, of the mostly unrecognized and now-defunct Tuvan People's Republic, is regarded as "first ever elected woman head of state in the world".[3] She became the chair of the country's presidium in 1940.

The first woman to be democratically elected as prime minister of a country was Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka), when she led her party to victory at the 1960 general election.[4] The first woman to serve as president of a country was Isabel Martínez de Perón of Argentina, who as vice-president succeeded to the presidency in 1974 after the death of her husband. The first woman elected president of a country was Vigdís Finnbogadóttir of Iceland, who won the 1980 presidential election as well as three others to also become the longest-serving non-hereditary female head of state in history (16 years and 0 days in office).[3]

Madame Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, first female head of government in the world

Also included in the first list are twelve women who have held an office styled either as Prime Minister or State Counsellor, during periods when the country had an executive presidency, and the Prime Minister (or a similar position) was not legally and constitutionally the head of government, but rather a deputy to the president who was the combined head of state and head of government. These countries are the Central African Republic (1960–1976), Sri Lanka (since 1978), Namibia (since 1990), South Korea (since 1987), Peru (since 1993), and Myanmar (since 2016). Such leaders are marked by an asterisk.

Elected or appointed female chief executives

This list includes women who were appointed by a governing committee or parliament where heads of state or government are not directly elected by citizens. The list does not include women chosen by a hereditary monarch.
           Incumbent
  italics    Acting capacity only

Name Portrait Country Office Mandate start Mandate end Term length Head of state or government
Khertek Anchimaa-Toka  Tannu Tuva[lower-alpha 3] Chairperson of the Presidium of the Little Khural 6 April 1940 11 October 1944 4 years, 188 days Head of state
Sükhbaataryn Yanjmaa Mongolia Acting Chairperson of the Presidium of the State Great Khural 7 September 1953 7 July 1954 303 days Head of state
Sirimavo Bandaranaike  Ceylon[lower-alpha 4] Prime Minister 21 July 1960 27 March 1965 4 years, 249 days Head of government
Indira Gandhi  India Prime Minister 24 January 1966 24 April 1977 11 years, 90 days Head of government
Soong Ching-ling  China Acting Co-Chairperson 31 October 1968 24 April 1972 3 years, 176 days Head of state
Golda Meir  Israel Prime Minister 17 March 1969 3 June 1974 5 years, 78 days Head of government
Sirimavo Bandaranaike  Ceylon/
 Sri Lanka		 Prime Minister 29 May 1970 23 July 1977 7 years, 55 days Head of government
Isabel Martínez de Perón  Argentina President 1 July 1974 24 March 1976 1 year, 267 days Head of state and government
Elisabeth Domitien  Central African Republic Prime Minister 2 January 1975 7 April 1976 1 year, 96 days Head of government
Margaret Thatcher  United Kingdom Prime Minister 4 May 1979 28 November 1990 11 years, 208 days Head of government
Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo  Portugal Prime Minister 1 August 1979 3 January 1980 186 days Head of government
Lidia Gueiler Tejada  Bolivia Acting President 16 November 1979 17 July 1980 244 days Head of state
Indira Gandhi  India Prime Minister 15 January 1980 31 October 1984
(assassinated)		 4 years, 290 days Head of government
Dame Eugenia Charles  Dominica Prime Minister 21 July 1980 14 June 1995 14 years, 328 days Head of government
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir  Iceland President 1 August 1980 1 August 1996 16 years, 0 days Head of state
Gro Harlem Brundtland  Norway Prime Minister 4 February 1981 14 October 1981 252 days Head of government
Soong Ching-ling  China Honorary President 16 May 1981 28 May 1981 12 days Head of state
Agatha Barbara  Malta President 15 February 1982 15 February 1987 5 years, 0 days Head of state
Milka Planinc  Yugoslavia Prime Minister 16 May 1982 15 May 1986 3 years, 364 days Head of government
Carmen Pereira  Guinea-Bissau Acting President 14 May 1984 16 May 1984 2 days Head of state
Corazon Aquino  Philippines President 25 February 1986 30 June 1992 6 years, 126 days Head of state and government
Gro Harlem Brundtland  Norway Prime Minister 9 May 1986 16 October 1989 3 years, 160 days Head of government
Stella Sigcau  Transkei Prime Minister 5 October 1987 30 December 1987 86 days Head of government
Benazir Bhutto  Pakistan Prime Minister 2 December 1988 6 July 1990 1 year, 216 days Head of government
Ertha Pascal-Trouillot  Haiti Acting President 13 March 1990 7 February 1991 331 days Head of state
Kazimira Prunskienė  Lithuania Prime Minister 17 March 1990 10 January 1991 299 days Head of government
Sabine Bergmann-Pohl  East Germany President of the People's Chamber 5 April 1990 2 October 1990 180 days Head of state
Violeta Chamorro  Nicaragua President 25 April 1990 10 January 1997 6 years, 260 days Head of state and government
Gro Harlem Brundtland  Norway Prime Minister 3 November 1990 25 October 1996 5 years, 357 days Head of government
Mary Robinson  Ireland President 3 December 1990 12 September 1997 6 years, 283 days Head of state
Khaleda Zia  Bangladesh Prime Minister 27 February 1991 30 March 1996 5 years, 32 days Head of government
Édith Cresson  France Prime Minister 15 May 1991 2 April 1992 323 days Head of government
Hanna Suchocka  Poland Prime Minister 11 July 1992 25 October 1993 1 year, 106 days Head of government
Tansu Çiller  Turkey Prime Minister 13 June 1993 6 March 1996 2 years, 267 days Head of government
Kim Campbell  Canada Prime Minister 25 June 1993 4 November 1993 132 days Head of government
Sylvie Kinigi  Burundi Prime Minister 10 July 1993 27 October 1993 109 days Head of government
Agathe Uwilingiyimana  Rwanda Prime Minister 18 July 1993 7 April 1994
(assassinated)		 263 days Head of government
Benazir Bhutto  Pakistan Prime Minister 19 October 1993 5 November 1996 3 years, 17 days Head of government
Sylvie Kinigi  Burundi Acting President 27 October 1993 5 February 1994 101 days Head of state
Chandrika Kumaratunga  Sri Lanka Prime Minister 19 August 1994 12 November 1994 85 days Deputy head of government
President 12 November 1994 19 November 2005 11 years, 7 days Head of state and government
Sirimavo Bandaranaike  Sri Lanka Prime Minister 14 November 1994 9 August 2000 5 years, 269 days Deputy head of government
Reneta Indzhova  Bulgaria Acting Prime Minister 17 October 1994 25 January 1995 100 days Head of government
Claudette Werleigh  Haiti Prime Minister 7 November 1995 27 February 1996 112 days Head of government
Sheikh Hasina  Bangladesh Prime Minister 12 June 1996 15 July 2001 5 years, 33 days Head of government
Ruth Perry  Liberia Chairwoman of the Council of State 3 September 1996 2 August 1997 333 days Head of state and government
Rosalía Arteaga  Ecuador Acting President 9 February 1997 11 February 1997 2 days Head of state and government
Mary McAleese  Ireland President 11 November 1997 10 November 2011 13 years, 364 days Head of state
Jenny Shipley  New Zealand Prime Minister 8 December 1997 10 December 1999 2 years, 2 days Head of government
Janet Jagan  Guyana President 19 December 1997 11 August 1999 1 year, 235 days Head of state and government
Irena Degutienė  Lithuania Acting Prime Minister 4 May 1999 18 May 1999 14 days Head of government
Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga  Latvia President 8 July 1999 8 July 2007 8 years, 0 days Head of state
Nyam-Osoryn Tuyaa  Mongolia Acting Prime Minister 22 July 1999 30 July 1999 8 days Head of government
Mireya Moscoso  Panama President 1 September 1999 1 September 2004 5 years, 0 days Head of state and government
Irena Degutienė  Lithuania Acting Prime Minister 27 October 1999 3 November 1999 7 days Head of government
Helen Clark  New Zealand Prime Minister 10 December 1999 19 November 2008 8 years, 350 days Head of government
Tarja Halonen  Finland President 1 March 2000 1 March 2012 12 years, 0 days Head of state
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo  Philippines President 20 January 2001 30 June 2010 9 years, 161 days Head of state and government
Mame Madior Boye  Senegal Prime Minister 3 March 2001 4 November 2002 1 year, 246 days Head of government
Megawati Sukarnoputri  Indonesia President 23 July 2001 20 October 2004 3 years, 89 days Head of state and government
Khaleda Zia  Bangladesh Prime Minister 1 October 2001 29 October 2006 5 years, 28 days Head of government
Chang Sang  South Korea Acting Prime Minister 11 July 2002 31 July 2002 20 days Deputy Head of government
Maria das Neves  São Tomé and Príncipe Prime Minister 3 October 2002 18 September 2004 1 year, 351 days Head of government
Anneli Jäätteenmäki  Finland Prime Minister 17 April 2003 24 June 2003 68 days Head of government
Nino Burjanadze  Georgia Acting President 23 November 2003 25 January 2004 63 days Head of state
Luísa Diogo  Mozambique Prime Minister 17 February 2004 16 January 2010 5 years, 333 days Head of government
Barbara Prammer  Austria Co-Acting President 6 July 2004 8 July 2004 2 days Head of state
Radmila Šekerinska  North Macedonia Acting Prime Minister 12 May 2004 12 June 2004 31 days Head of government
3 November 2004 15 December 2004 42 days
Yulia Tymoshenko  Ukraine Prime Minister 24 January 2005 6 September 2005 225 days Head of government
Maria do Carmo Silveira  São Tomé and Príncipe Prime Minister 8 June 2005 21 April 2006 317 days Head of government
Angela Merkel  Germany Chancellor 22 November 2005 Incumbent 15 years, 76 days Head of government
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf  Liberia President 16 January 2006 22 January 2018 12 years, 6 days Head of state and government
Michelle Bachelet  Chile President 11 March 2006 11 March 2010 4 years, 0 days Head of state and government
Portia Simpson-Miller  Jamaica Prime Minister 30 March 2006 11 September 2007 1 year, 165 days Head of government
Dalia Itzik  Israel Acting President 25 January 2007 15 July 2007 171 days Head of state
Pratibha Patil  India President 25 July 2007 25 July 2012 5 years, 0 days Head of state
Nino Burjanadze  Georgia Acting President 25 November 2007 20 January 2008 56 days Head of state
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner  Argentina President 10 December 2007 10 December 2015 8 years, 0 days Head of state and government
Yulia Tymoshenko  Ukraine Prime Minister 18 December 2007 3 March 2010 2 years, 75 days Head of government
Zinaida Greceanîi  Moldova Prime Minister 31 March 2008 14 September 2009 1 year, 167 days Head of government
Michèle Pierre-Louis  Haiti Prime Minister 5 September 2008 11 November 2009 1 year, 67 days Head of government
Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri  South Africa Acting President 25 September 2008 14 hours[5][6] Head of state and government
Sheikh Hasina  Bangladesh Prime Minister 6 January 2009 Incumbent 12 years, 31 days Head of government
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir  Iceland Prime Minister 1 February 2009 23 May 2013 4 years, 111 days Head of government
Rose Francine Rogombé  Gabon Acting President 10 June 2009 16 October 2009 128 days Head of state
Jadranka Kosor  Croatia Prime Minister 6 July 2009 23 December 2011 2 years, 170 days Head of government
Dalia Grybauskaitė  Lithuania President 12 July 2009 12 July 2019 10 years, 0 days Head of state
Cécile Manorohanta  Madagascar Acting Prime Minister 18 December 2009 20 December 2009 2 days Head of government
Roza Otunbayeva  Kyrgyzstan President 7 April 2010 1 December 2011 1 year, 238 days Head of state
Laura Chinchilla  Costa Rica President 8 May 2010 8 May 2014 4 years, 0 days Head of state and government
Kamla Persad-Bissessar  Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister 26 May 2010 9 September 2015 5 years, 106 days Head of government
Mari Kiviniemi  Finland Prime Minister 22 June 2010 22 June 2011 1 year, 0 days Head of government
Julia Gillard  Australia Prime Minister 24 June 2010 27 June 2013 3 years, 3 days Head of government
Iveta Radičová  Slovakia Prime Minister 8 July 2010 4 April 2012 1 year, 271 days Head of government
Dilma Rousseff  Brazil President 1 January 2011 31 August 2016
Suspended 12 May 2016		 5 years, 243 days
5 years, 132 days		 Head of state and government
Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé  Mali Prime Minister 3 April 2011 22 March 2012 354 days Head of government
Atifete Jahjaga  Kosovo President 7 April 2011 7 April 2016 5 years, 0 days Head of state
Yingluck Shinawatra  Thailand Prime Minister 3 July 2011 7 May 2014 2 years, 308 days Head of government
Helle Thorning-Schmidt  Denmark Prime Minister 3 October 2011 28 June 2015 3 years, 268 days Head of government
Portia Simpson-Miller  Jamaica Prime Minister 5 January 2012 3 March 2016 4 years, 58 days Head of government
Han Myeong-sook  South Korea Prime Minister 16 January 2012 12 April 2012 87 days Deputy Head of government
Adiato Djaló Nandigna  Guinea-Bissau Acting Prime Minister 10 February 2012 12 April 2012 62 days Head of government
Monique Ohsan Bellepeau  Mauritius Acting President 31 March 2012 21 July 2012 112 days Head of state
Slavica Đukić Dejanović  Serbia Acting President 5 April 2012 31 May 2012 56 days Head of state
Joyce Banda  Malawi President 7 April 2012 31 May 2014 2 years, 54 days Head of state and government
Park Geun-hye  South Korea President 25 February 2013 10 March 2017
Suspended 9 December 2016		 4 years, 13 days
3 years, 288 days		 Head of state and government
Alenka Bratušek  Slovenia Prime Minister 20 March 2013 18 September 2014 1 year, 182 days Head of government
Sibel Siber  Northern Cyprus Prime Minister 13 June 2013 2 September 2013 81 days Head of government
Tatiana Turanskaya  Transnistria Prime Minister 10 June 2013 13 October 2015 2 years, 125 days Head of government
Aminata Touré  Senegal Prime Minister 1 September 2013 8 July 2014 310 days Head of government
Erna Solberg  Norway Prime Minister 16 October 2013 Incumbent 7 years, 113 days Head of government
Laimdota Straujuma  Latvia Prime Minister 22 January 2014 11 February 2016 2 years, 20 days Head of government
Catherine Samba-Panza  Central African Republic Acting President 23 January 2014 30 March 2016 2 years, 67 days Head of state
Michelle Bachelet  Chile President 11 March 2014 11 March 2018 4 years, 0 days Head of state and government
Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca  Malta President 4 April 2014 4 April 2019 5 years, 0 days Head of state
Ewa Kopacz  Poland Prime Minister 22 September 2014 16 November 2015 1 year, 55 days Head of government
Florence Duperval Guillaume  Haiti Acting Prime Minister 20 December 2014 16 January 2015 27 days Head of government
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović  Croatia President 19 February 2015 18 February 2020 4 years, 364 days Head of state
Monique Ohsan Bellepeau  Mauritius Acting President 29 May 2015 5 June 2015 7 days Head of state
Ameenah Gurib  Mauritius President 5 June 2015 23 March 2018 2 years, 291 days Head of state
Natalia Gherman  Moldova Acting Prime Minister 22 June 2015 30 July 2015 38 days Head of government
Vassiliki Thanou  Greece Acting Prime Minister 27 August 2015 21 September 2015 25 days Head of government
Maya Parnas  Transnistria Acting Prime Minister 13 October 2015 30 November 2015 48 days Head of government
Bidhya Devi Bhandari    Nepal President 29 October 2015 Incumbent 5 years, 100 days Head of state
Beata Szydło  Poland Prime Minister 16 November 2015 11 December 2017 2 years, 25 days Head of government
Tatiana Turanskaya  Transnistria Prime Minister 30 November 2015 2 December 2015 2 days Head of government
Maya Parnas  Transnistria Acting Prime Minister 2 December 2015 23 December 2015 21 days Head of government
Hilda Heine  Marshall Islands President 28 January 2016 14 January 2020 3 years, 351 days Head of state and government
Aung San Suu Kyi  Myanmar State Counsellor 6 April 2016 1 February 2021 4 years, 306 days De facto head of government
Tsai Ing-wen  Republic of China (Taiwan) President 20 May 2016 Incumbent 4 years, 262 days Head of state
Doris Bures  Austria Co-Acting President 8 July 2016 26 January 2017 202 days Head of state
Theresa May  United Kingdom Prime Minister 13 July 2016 24 July 2019 3 years, 11 days Head of government
Kersti Kaljulaid  Estonia President 10 October 2016 Incumbent 4 years, 119 days Head of state
Ana Brnabić  Serbia Prime Minister 29 June 2017 Incumbent 3 years, 222 days Head of government
Halimah Yacob  Singapore President 14 September 2017 Incumbent 3 years, 145 days Head of state
Jacinda Ardern  New Zealand Prime Minister 26 October 2017 Incumbent 3 years, 103 days Head of government
Katrín Jakobsdóttir  Iceland Prime Minister 30 November 2017 Incumbent 3 years, 68 days Head of government
Viorica Dăncilă  Romania Prime Minister 29 January 2018 4 November 2019 1 year, 279 days Head of government
Paula-Mae Weekes  Trinidad and Tobago President 19 March 2018 Incumbent 2 years, 324 days Head of state
Mia Mottley  Barbados Prime Minister 25 May 2018 Incumbent 2 years, 257 days Head of government
Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh  Vietnam Acting President 21 September 2018 23 October 2018 32 days Head of state
Sahle-Work Zewde  Ethiopia President 25 October 2018 Incumbent 2 years, 104 days Head of state
Salome Zurabishvili  Georgia President 16 December 2018 Incumbent 2 years, 52 days Head of state
Brigitte Bierlein  Austria Chancellor 3 June 2019 7 January 2020 218 days Head of government
Maia Sandu  Moldova Prime Minister 8 June 2019 14 November 2019 159 days Head of government
Zuzana Čaputová  Slovakia President 15 June 2019 Incumbent 1 year, 236 days Head of state
Mette Frederiksen  Denmark Prime Minister 27 June 2019 Incumbent 1 year, 224 days Head of government
Sophie Wilmès  Belgium Prime Minister 27 October 2019 1 October 2020 340 days Head of government
Jeanine Áñez  Bolivia President 12 November 2019 8 November 2020 362 days Head of state and government
Sanna Marin  Finland Prime Minister 10 December 2019 Incumbent 1 year, 58 days Head of government
Katerina Sakellaropoulou  Greece President 13 March 2020 Incumbent 330 days Head of state
Rose Christiane Raponda  Gabon Prime Minister 16 July 2020 Incumbent 205 days Head of government
Victoire Tomegah Dogbé  Togo Prime Minister 28 September 2020 Incumbent 131 days Head of government
Vjosa Osmani  Kosovo Acting President 5 November 2020 Incumbent 93 days Head of state
Ingrida Šimonytė  Lithuania Prime Minister 25 November 2020 Incumbent 73 days Head of government
Maia Sandu  Moldova President 24 December 2020 Incumbent44 days Head of state
Kaja Kallas  Estonia Prime Minister 26 January 2021 Incumbent 11 days Head of government

Female members of collective head-of-state bodies
  Incumbent
Name Portrait Country Office Mandate start Mandate end Term length Head of state or government
Nadezhda Krupskaya  Soviet Union Member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet 12 December 1937 27 February 1939 1 year, 77 days Member of the collective head of state
Klavdia Nikolaeva  Soviet Union Member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet 12 December 1937 10 February 1946 8 years, 60 days Member of the collective head of state
Anna Pankratova  Soviet Union Member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet 14 March 1954 25 May 1957 3 years, 41 days Member of the collective head of state
Yekaterina Furtseva  Soviet Union Member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet 12 March 1950 18 March 1962 12 years, 6 days Member of the collective head of state
Yodgor Nasriddinova  Soviet Union Member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet 24 March 1959 25 September 1970 11 years, 154 days Member of the collective head of state
Luise Ermisch  East Germany Member of the State Council 12 September 1960 13 November 1963 3 years, 62 days Member of the collective head of state
Irmgard Neumann  East Germany Member of the State Council 12 September 1960 13 November 1963 3 years, 62 days Member of the collective head of state
Tursunoy Akhundova  Soviet Union Member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet 18 March 1962 16 June 1974 12 years, 59 days Member of the collective head of state
Lieselott Herforth  East Germany Member of the State Council 13 November 1963 25 June 1981 17 years, 224 days Member of the collective head of state
Else Merke  East Germany Member of the State Council 13 November 1963 26 November 1971 8 years, 13 days Member of the collective head of state
Brunhilde Hanke  East Germany Member of the State Council 19 November 1964 5 April 1990 25 years, 137 days Member of the collective head of state
Anni Neumann  East Germany Member of the State Council 19 November 1964 26 November 1971 7 years, 7 days Member of the collective head of state
Zoya Pukhova  Soviet Union Member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet 12 June 1966 26 December 1991 25 years, 197 days Member of the collective head of state
Maria Schneider  East Germany Member of the State Council 13 July 1967 26 November 1971 4 years, 136 days Member of the collective head of state
Margarete Müller  East Germany Member of the State Council 26 November 1971 11 January 1990 18 years, 46 days Member of the collective head of state
Ilse Thiele  East Germany Member of the State Council 26 November 1971 11 January 1990 18 years, 46 days Member of the collective head of state
Rosel Walther  East Germany Member of the State Council 26 November 1971 5 April 1990 18 years, 130 days Member of the collective head of state
Valentina Tereshkova  Soviet Union Member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet June 1974 March or April 1989 c. 14 years Member of the collective head of state
Rimma Gavrilova  Soviet Union Member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet 16 June 1974 4 March 1984 9 years, 293 days Member of the collective head of state
Kamshat Donenbaeva  Soviet Union Member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet 16 June 1974 9 June 1989 14 years, 358 days Member of the collective head of state
Yekaterina Mukhina  Soviet Union Member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet 4 March 1979 4 March 1984 5 years, 0 days Member of the collective head of state
Violeta Chamorro  Nicaragua Member of the Junta of National Reconstruction 18 July 1979 19 April 1980 276 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Maria Lea Pedini-Angelini  San Marino Captain Regent 1 April 1981 1 October 1981 183 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Johanna Töpfer  East Germany Member of the State Council 25 June 1981 17 November 1989 8 years, 145 days Member of the collective head of state
Gloriana Ranocchini  San Marino Captain Regent 1 April 1984 1 October 1984 183 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Elisabeth Kopp   Switzerland Member of the Swiss Federal Council 21 October 1984 12 January 1989 4 years, 83 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Monika Werner  East Germany Member of the State Council 16 June 1986 5 April 1990 3 years, 293 days Member of the collective head of state
Eveline Klett  East Germany Member of the State Council 16 June 1986 5 April 1990 3 years, 293 days Member of the collective head of state
Gloriana Ranocchini  San Marino Captain Regent 1 October 1989 1 April 1990 182 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Edda Ceccoli  San Marino Captain Regent 1 October 1991 1 April 1992 183 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Biljana Plavšić Bosnia and Herzegovina Serb Member of the Presidency 1 March 1992 9 April 1992 39 days Member of the collective head of state
Tatjana Ljujić-Mijatović[7]  Bosnia and Herzegovina Serb Member of the Presidency 24 December 1992 5 October 1996 3 years, 286 days Member of the collective head of state
Ruth Dreifuss   Switzerland Member of the Swiss Federal Council 1 April 1993 31 December 2002 9 years, 296 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Patrizia Busignani  San Marino Captain Regent 1 April 1993 1 October 1993 183 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Ruth Metzler   Switzerland Member of the Swiss Federal Council 1 January 1999 31 December 2003 4 years, 364 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Rosa Zafferani  San Marino Captain Regent 1 April 1999 1 October 1999 183 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Maria Domenica Michelotti  San Marino Captain Regent 1 April 2000 1 October 2000 183 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Micheline Calmy-Rey   Switzerland Member of the Swiss Federal Council 1 January 2003 31 December 2011 8 years, 364 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Valeria Ciavatta  San Marino Captain Regent 1 October 2003 1 April 2004 183 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Fausta Morganti  San Marino Captain Regent 1 April 2005 1 October 2005 183 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Doris Leuthard   Switzerland Member of the Swiss Federal Council 1 August 2006 31 December 2018 12 years, 152 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf   Switzerland Member of the Swiss Federal Council 1 January 2008 31 December 2015 7 years, 364 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Rosa Zafferani  San Marino Captain Regent 1 April 2008 1 October 2008 183 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Assunta Meloni  San Marino Captain Regent 1 October 2008 1 April 2009 182 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Simonetta Sommaruga   Switzerland Member of the Swiss Federal Council 1 November 2010 Incumbent 10 years, 97 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Maria Luisa Berti  San Marino Captain Regent 1 April 2011 1 October 2011 183 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Denise Bronzetti  San Marino Captain Regent 1 October 2012 1 April 2013 182 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Antonella Mularoni  San Marino Captain Regent 1 April 2013 1 October 2013 183 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Anna Maria Muccioli  San Marino Captain Regent 1 October 2013 1 April 2014 182 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Valeria Ciavatta  San Marino Captain Regent 1 April 2014 1 October 2014 183 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Lorella Stefanelli  San Marino Captain Regent 1 October 2015 1 April 2016 183 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Mimma Zavoli  San Marino Captain Regent 1 April 2017 1 October 2017 183 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Vanessa D'Ambrosio  San Marino Captain Regent 1 April 2017 1 October 2017 183 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Karin Keller-Sutter   Switzerland Member of the Swiss Federal Council 1 January 2019 Incumbent 2 years, 36 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Viola Amherd   Switzerland Member of the Swiss Federal Council 1 January 2019 Incumbent 2 years, 36 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Aisha Musa el-Said[8]  Sudan Member of the Sovereignty Council 21 August 2019 Incumbent 1 year, 169 days Member of the collective head of state
Raja Nicola[8]  Sudan Member of the Sovereignty Council 21 August 2019 Incumbent 1 year, 169 days Member of the collective head of state
Mariella Mularoni  San Marino Captain Regent 1 October 2019 1 April 2020 183 days Member of the collective head of state and government
Grazia Zafferani  San Marino Captain Regent 1 April 2020 1 October 2020 183 days Member of the collective head of state and government

Female viceregal representatives
  Incumbent
  • Italics denotes an acting chief executive

Below are women who have been appointed representatives of heads of state, such as female governors-general and French representatives of Andorra. As governors-general are appointed representatives of the monarch of the Commonwealth realms (currently Elizabeth II) and the French Representatives of Andorra are appointed representatives of the French Co-Prince of Andorra (currently Emmanuel Macron), they act as heads of state and carry out on a regular basis the functions and duties associated with such a role in the Commonwealth realms (excluding the United Kingdom, which has no governor-general, as the monarch of the Commonwealth realms primarily resides there) and Andorra, respectively.

Name Portrait Country Office Mandate start Mandate end Term length Head of state or government
Dame Elmira Minita Gordon  Belize Governor-General 21 September 1981 17 November 1993 12 years, 57 days Head of state
Jeanne Sauvé  Canada Governor General 14 May 1984 29 January 1990 5 years, 260 days Head of state
Dame Nita Barrow  Barbados Governor-General 6 June 1990 19 December 1995 5 years, 196 days Head of state
Dame Catherine Tizard  New Zealand Governor-General 13 December 1990 21 March 1996 5 years, 99 days Head of state
Dame Pearlette Louisy  Saint Lucia Governor-General 17 September 1997 31 December 2017 20 years, 105 days Head of state
Adrienne Clarkson  Canada Governor General 7 October 1999 27 September 2005 5 years, 324 days Head of state
Dame Sian Elias  New Zealand Administrator of the Government (Acting Governor-General) 22 March 2001 4 April 2001 13 days Head of state
Dame Silvia Cartwright  New Zealand Governor-General 4 April 2001 4 August 2006 5 years, 122 days Head of state
Dame Ivy Dumont  The Bahamas Governor-General 11 November 2001 30 November 2005 4 years, 19 days Head of state
Monica Dacon  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Acting Governor-General 3 June 2002 2 September 2002 91 days Head of state
Michaëlle Jean  Canada Governor General 27 September 2005 1 October 2010 5 years, 4 days Head of state
Dame Sian Elias  New Zealand Administrator of the Government (Acting Governor-General) 4 August 2006 23 August 2006 19 days Head of state
Emmanuelle Mignon  Andorra Representative of the French Co-Prince 6 June 2007 24 September 2008 1 year, 110 days Head of state
Dame Louise Lake-Tack  Antigua and Barbuda Governor-General 17 July 2007 13 August 2014 7 years, 27 days Head of state
Dame Quentin Bryce  Australia Governor-General 5 September 2008 28 March 2014 5 years, 204 days Head of state
Dame Sian Elias  New Zealand Administrator of the Government (Acting Governor-General) 23 August 2011 31 August 2011 8 days Head of state
Sylvie Hubac  Andorra Representative of the French Co-Prince 15 May 2012 5 January 2015 2 years, 235 days Head of state
Sandra Mason  Barbados Acting Governor-General 30 May 2012 1 June 2012 2 days Head of state
Dame Cécile La Grenade  Grenada Governor-General 7 May 2013 Incumbent 7 years, 275 days Head of state
Dame Marguerite Pindling  The Bahamas Governor-General 8 July 2014 28 June 2019 6 years, 213 days Queen's representative
Dame Sian Elias  New Zealand Administrator of the Government (Acting Governor-General) 31 August 2016 28 September 2016 28 days Head of state
Dame Patsy Reddy  New Zealand Governor-General 28 September 2016 Incumbent 4 years, 131 days Queen's representative
Julie Payette  Canada Governor General 2 October 2017 21 January 2021 3 years, 127 days Queen's representative
Dame Sandra Mason  Barbados Governor-General 8 January 2018 Incumbent 3 years, 29 days Head of state
Dame Susan Dougan  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Governor-General 1 August 2019 Incumbent 1 year, 189 days Head of state

See also

Notes
  1. Either as a combined post, or where the head of state is appointed or a monarch.
  2. As of 2020, there are three female monarchs of sovereign states, Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and 15 other Commonwealth realms, Margrethe II of Denmark and Ntfombi of Eswatini (as Queen Mother and co-head of state with her son, King Mswati III). In 2015, Elizabeth II (1952–present) became the longest-reigning queen regnant and female head of state in world history. In 2016, she became the longest currently serving head of state and longest currently reigning monarch.
  3. A partially recognized state that is now a part of Russia.
  4. Now known as Sri Lanka.

References
  1. Targino, Rafael (February 7, 2015). "Em 25 anos, dobra número de mulheres no comando de países em todo o mundo". Revista Fórum. (Portuguese). Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  2. Serge, Victor (2002). Memoirs of a Revolutionary. University of Iowa. ISBN 978-0-87745-827-2.
  3. "6 of the First Women Heads of State". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  4. "Sirimavo Bandaranaike". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  5. "No wars, no drama for Matsepe-Casaburri". IOL News. 26 September 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  6. Chikane, Frank (28 April 2012). "Emotional farewell as Mbeki holds last cabinet meeting". Daily Nation. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  7. "Institucije BiH u periodu 1992-1996: Ko su bili članovi Predsjedništva, premijeri i ministri RBiH". Faktor.ba (in Bosnian). 22 May 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  8. "FFC finally agree on nominees for Sudan's Sovereign Council". Sudan Tribune. 20 August 2019. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
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