Influential Women Leaders in History

The fight for women's suffrage was spearheaded by figures like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Their relentless advocacy led to the 19th Amendment, granting American women the right to vote in 1920.

Indira Gandhi, India's first and only female prime minister to date, served four terms. Her controversial yet impactful leadership included the Green Revolution and India's first nuclear weapon test in 1974.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, known as Africa's 'Iron Lady', was the first elected female head of state in Africa. Taking office in 2006, she led Liberia through post-war reconstruction and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.

Benazir Bhutto broke new ground in the Islamic world by becoming Pakistan’s first female Prime Minister in 1988. Her political legacy is complex, marked by both accusations of corruption and her assassination in 2007.

Angela Merkel, Germany's first female chancellor, served from 2005 to 2021. Nicknamed 'The World's Most Powerful Woman', she navigated the Eurozone crisis, the migrant crisis, and significantly shaped EU politics.

The first female president in the world was Vigdís Finnbogadóttir of Iceland, elected in 1980, serving an unprecedented four terms until 1996.