This document provides brief biographies of influential female leaders from around the world. It highlights several "firsts", including the world's first female acting president Sukhbaataryn Yanjmaa of Mongolia in 1953-1954, the first female non-acting president Isabel Peron of Argentina in 1974-1976, and the first female elected president Vidgis Finnbogadottir of Iceland from 1980-1996. It also notes several other notable women who broke barriers as the first female leaders in their countries.

1. Great/Powerful
Women in Politics
A History.

2. Sukhbaataryn Yanjmaa
1953-1954 (Mongolia)
World’s first female
(acting) president

3. Isabel Peron
1974-1976 (Argentina)
World’s first female
(non-acting) president

4. Vidgis Finnbogadottir
1980-1996 (Iceland)
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

5. Margaret Thatcher
1979-1990 (UK)
The longest-serving Prime
Minister of the United
Kingdom of the 20th
century

6. Mary McAleese
1997-2011 (Ireland)
First female president to
directly succeed another
female president

7. Sirimavo Bandaranaike
1994-2000 (Sri Lanka)
First female prime
minister to directly
succeed another female
prime minister

8. Chandrika Kumaratunga
1994-2000 (Sri Lanka)
First time the nation
possessed a female president
and female prime minister
(Sirimavo Bandaranaike –
previous slide)
simultaneously

9. Julia Gillard
2010-present
First prime minister of
Australia

10. Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir
2009-present (Iceland)
World’s first openly
lesbian world leader, first
female world leader to
wed a same-sex partner
while in office

11. Benazir Bhutto
1988-1990 (Pakistan)
The first female prime
minister of any Muslim
majority countries.
Re-elected again in
1993.

12. Michelle Obama
2008-present
Wife of the first African-
American President of the
United States of America
Barack Obama, and first
African-American First
Lady of the United States.