Almost Every Famous Female Politician

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Updated March 11, 2024 82.7K views 4,693 items

From trailblazing pioneers to contemporary leaders, female politicians have played an integral role in shaping political systems and championing pressing issues around the globe. These trailblazing women have not only shattered glass ceilings but also left an indelible mark on global politics with their astute leadership, powerful voices, and unwavering commitment to their nations and constituents. 

This comprehensive compilation showcases a remarkable group of female politicians, highlighting each individual's achievements and unique impact on the political arena. Featuring leaders and changemakers from around the world, this selection provides an enlightening look at the many ways these women have forever altered the course of history, earning them a well-deserved place among the most distinguished female politicians of all time. 

Among the many illustrious women politicians featured in this compilation, several stand out as particularly significant due to their groundbreaking achievements and enduring legacies. For example, Hillary Clinton, a former U.S. Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, played an instrumental role in shaping American foreign policy and championing women's rights on the global stage. Nancy Pelosi, the first female Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, has been a formidable force in American politics, skillfully negotiating and legislating throughout her illustrious career. Likewise, Condoleezza Rice, who served as the first African-American woman U.S. Secretary of State, showcased her expertise in world affairs and sharp diplomatic acumen. 

The inspiring legacies of these extraordinary female politicians serve as a testament to their indomitable spirit, resilience, and unwavering dedication to their respective nations and the global community. Delving into the accomplishments and milestones achieved by these trailblazers, readers are sure to gain a newfound appreciation for the inimitable contributions these famous women in politics have made. From advocating for social justice to forging new paths forward in international relations, these extraordinary women have indubitably earned their place in the annals of political lore. 

  • Pauline Smeets

    Pauline Elisabeth Smeets is a former Dutch politician. As a member of the Labour Party she was an MP from January 30, 2003 to September 19, 2012. She focused on matters of small and medium enterprises, corporate social responsibility, tourism, recreation and regional economic policy.
  • Carrie L. Hoyt

    Carrie L. Hoyt (1866–1950) was the mayor of Berkeley, California, from January 20 to circa May, 1947. She is notable for having been Berkeley's first female mayor. Mrs. Hoyt was born Carrie Knoles in Petersburg, Illinois, on October 24, 1866. Her father was a lawyer, newspaper publisher and Civil War veteran. In 1887, the Knoles family moved to San Diego County where her father served as U.S. Commissioner for Southern California, prosecuting smuggling cases. Carrie Knoles met, and in 1888, married, William Hoyt. They had four children. In 1909, the Hoyts moved to Berkeley. She Hoyt was elected to the Berkeley City Council in 1923, the first year of the city manager form of government. After the city manager announced his intention to resign as of January 15, 1947, the Berkeley City Council chose Mayor Fitch Robertson to replace him, which it did on January 20. As the vice mayor, 80-year-old Hoyt then assumed the office of mayor to finish out Robertson's term, thus becoming Berkeley's first female mayor. Hoyt died on March 25, 1950, at her home in Berkeley. Hoyt's son, Ralph E. Hoyt, became Alameda County District Attorney and, later, a judge of the Superior Court.
  • Chris Heister
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    Chris Heister

    Chris Heister (born Gun Christina Heister 18 September 1950 in Östhammar) is a Swedish Moderate Party politician and Leader of the Opposition on Stockholm County Council. She was elected to the Riksdag in 1991 and served until 2002. 1999–2003 she was deputy chairman of the party. In 2002, she chose to step down from the Riksdag to pursue a career in Stockholm's local politics. Having experience as a health spokesman in the Rikdag, she is very active on health issues - the main function of Stockholm County Council. Heister was appointed governor of Västerbotten County in 2008. Since 1 February 2012 she has been governor of Stockholm County.On August 24, 2017, the Swedish Government decided to appoint Thomas Bodström as new governor and head of the County Administrative Board in Stockholm County. He will take office on November 1, 2017. The ordinance is six years and lasts until 31 October 2023. Thomas Bodström succeeds Chris Heister, whose appointment expires August 31 after just over five and a half years as governor in Stockholm County. During the period 1 September to 31 October, the Government has appointed Åsa Ryding as deputy governor.
  • Gun Hellsvik
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    Gun Hellsvik

    Gun Birgitta Hellsvik (née Blomgren; 27 September 1942 – 14 November 2016) was a Swedish politician for the Moderate Party, serving as Minister for Justice 1991-1994. A lawyer by training, she worked as a civil law lecturer at Lund University before becoming a full-time politician. She served as Municipal commissioner of Lund 1983-1991, Minister for Justice 1991-1994, member of the Riksdag, chairman of the Riksdag Committee on Justice 1994-2001, President of the Nordic Council 1999, Director General of the Swedish Patent and Registration Office 2001-2007, and chairman of the board of the University of Borås 2004-2007. Laila Freivalds was both her predecessor and successor to the office of Minister for Justice. Hellsvik was known for her tough stance on drugs. She opposed dispensing clean needles to drug addicts, arguing that it would undermine people's confidence in the legal system. As Minister of Justice, she oversaw a legal change that made it a crime to be under the influence of an illicit drug, even in the absence of drug possession; she also authorised the police to forcibly obtain urine and blood samples from a suspected individual. She lauded the American war on drugs, claiming that "as so many times before, the United States, is showing us the right path". In a motion to parliament entitled "Strong measures against narcotics" (Krafttag mot narkotika;) she supported lifetime imprisonment for narcotics crimes, allowing the police the take urine and blood samples from small children to promote early detection of drug abuse and to authorise the police to routinely induce vomiting in individuals suspected of having swallowed narcotics, among other things; the proposals were voted down by parliament. Hellsvik died from cancer on 14 November 2016, at the age of 74.
  • Luciana Milagros León Romero (born 30 June 1978 in Lima) is a Peruvian politician (APRA). She is the daughter of Rómulo León Alegría, a well known politician in Peru.
  • Nalin Pekgul
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    Nalin Pekgul

    Nalin Pekgul (née Baksi; Sorani Kurdish: نالین پەکگوڵ‎) (born 30 April, 1967) is a Swedish Social Democratic politician, nurse and former parliamentarian. She was the first Muslim woman to sit in the Swedish Parliament.
  • Petrina Holdsworth
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    Petrina Holdsworth

    Petrina Alexandra Holdsworth (born 1 October 1952), is an English barrister turned politician, formerly National Chairman of the UK Independence Party (UKIP).
  • Val Shawcross

    Valerie Shawcross is a Labour Co-operative politician and former Deputy Mayor of London for Transport. She was a member of the London Assembly for Lambeth and Southwark between May 2000 and May 2016, when she voluntarily stood down. At the 2010 general election, Shawcross was the Labour Co-operative candidate for Bermondsey and Old Southwark.She was first elected to the Assembly in 2000, and retained her seat in 2004 and 2008. In 2000, Ken Livingstone appointed her as Chair of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA), a position she held until his defeat in 2008. She was the Labour London Assembly Spokesperson for Transport and Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, and also served on the Assembly Budget Scrutiny Committee. She is a former Labour Party national women's officer, and was a councillor for New Addington in Croydon from 1994 to 2000, serving as Chair of Education, and later Leader, of Croydon London Borough Council. She was previously employed by the Inner London Education Authority, The World University Service, The UK Council for Overseas Students Affairs, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the National Federation of Women's Institutes. Shawcross was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2002 for her services to local government. She is married to Michael Anteney. On 7 December 2010, it was announced that Shawcross would be the running mate of the Labour Party's official candidate for the 2012 London Mayoral election, Ken Livingstone.Shawcross narrowly failed in an attempt to become the Labour candidate at the 2012 Croydon North by-election after a meeting was held on 3 November 2012 of the local Labour Association. Steve Reed was adopted as candidate.In 2015, she announced that she would not seek re-election to the London Assembly at the 2016 elections. In May 2016, Sadiq Khan appointed her Deputy Mayor of London for Transport and Deputy Chair of Transport for London. In May 2018, she announced her intention to retire.
  • Sonja Irene Sjøli

    Sonja Irene Sjøli (born 6 June 1949 in Hamar) is a Norwegian politician representing the Conservative Party. She is currently a representative of Akershus in the Storting and was first elected in 1997.
  • Alice Åström

    Alice Åström, born 1959, is a Swedish Left Party politician. She was a member of the Riksdag from 1994 to 2010.
  • Helena Höij

    Helena Höij, born 1965, is a Swedish Christian Democratic politician, She was a member of the Riksdag from 1998 to 2006 and the Third Deputy Speaker of the Riksdag from 2002 to 2006.
  • Kaori Maruya

    Kaori Maruya (丸谷 佳織, Maruya Kaori, born June 6, 1965) is a Japanese politician of the New Komeito Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Sapporo, Hokkaido and graduate of Fuji Women's University, she was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1996.
  • Kumiko Aihara

    Kumiko Aihara (相原 久美子, Aihara Kumiko, born 14 March 1947) is a Japanese politician of the Constitutional Democratic Party and a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Hokkaidō and law graduate of Hokkai Gakuen University, she was elected for the first time in 2007.
  • Atsuko Shimoda

    Atsuko Shimoda (下田 敦子, Shimoda Atsuko, born August 5, 1940) is a Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Hirosaki, Aomori and graduate of Akita Junior College (now Akita Eiyo Junior College), she was elected to the House of Councillors for the first time in 2004 after serving in the city assembly of Hirosaki for three terms.
  • Bjørg Mikalsen

    Bjørg Mikalsen (born 8 February 1945) is a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party. She served as a deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from Sogn og Fjordane during the term 2005–2009.
  • Glynis Roberts
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    Glynis Roberts

    Glynis Roberts (born August 5, 1961) is a politician from the tri-island nation of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. She is the Political Leader of the National United Front and the first female leader of a political party in Grenada. She was first elected to parliament in 2003 and represents the St George South constituency for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the House of Representatives of Grenada. The House of Representatives is the lower house of the Parliament of Grenada. It has 15 members, elected for a five-year term in single-seat constituencies. The St George South constituency, based in the southernmost part of Grenada, covers the communities of Calliste, True Blue, L'Anse aux Épines, Frequente, Grand Anse, Grand Anse Valley, Woburn, Springs and Belmont. It also takes in the Maurice Bishop International Airport in Point Salines, the world-famous Grand Anse beach and St. George's University. Most of Grenada's major hotels are concentrated in the district. Roberts was born in the rural parish of St David. As a minister of government, she managed to maintain a modest popularity and enjoyed good relations with both labour leaders and the island's hoteliers. Roberts has been an outspoken critic of domestic violence and a strong advocate of families and children. She was also chair of the Mercy Committee that oversaw the recent release from prison of former deputy prime minister Bernard Coard and six other men for their involvement in the death of the late prime minister Maurice Bishop in 1983.
  • Marie-France Stirbois

    Marie-France Stirbois (born Marie-France Charles on 11 November 1944 in Paris, died 17 April 2006 in Nice of cancer) was a French National Front politician, representing Dreux from 1989 to 1993, and a Member of the European Parliament from 1994 to 1999 and from 2003 to 2004. An old militant of the National Front, Marie-France Stirbois marked French political life by achieving (with her husband Jean-Pierre Stirbois) the first electoral success of the French National Front in 1983 in Dreux. Between 1989 and 1993, she was the only National Front member to sit on the National Assembly, after the Yann Piat camp had defected. She is buried in Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris.
  • Donata Gottardi

    Donata Maria Assunta Gottardi (born October 17, 1950 in Verona) is an Italian politician. She was a member of the European Parliament from May 8, 2006, when she took up a seat vacated after the 2006 Italian general election, until the 2009 European elections. She represented the Olive Tree coalition within the Party of European Socialists parliamentary group.
  • Ella Bohlin

    Ella Elin Nikolina Bohlin (born 1979) is a Christian Democratic politician in Sweden.
  • Maria Böhmer

    Maria Böhmer (born 23 April 1950) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Under the leadership of successive ministers Frank-Walter Steinmeier (2013-2017) and Sigmar Gabriel (2017), she served as Minister of State in the Federal Foreign Office, primarily responsible for cultural relations and education policy.
  • Marita Aronson

    Marita Aronson (born 10 May 1939 in Guddarp, Småland) is a Swedish Liberal People's Party politician. She was a member of the Riksdag from 2002 to 2006.
  • Mary Richard

    Mary Richard, (June 7, 1940 – September 9, 2010) was an aboriginal activist and politician in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Richard was born to a Métis family in Camperville, Manitoba. She has long been active in promoting language retention, housing, training, cultural awareness and business enterprise among and for Manitoba's aboriginal population. She became the director of the Manitoba Association of Native Languages in the 1980s, and held this position for almost a decade. In 1997, she was appointed by Winnipeg Mayor Susan Thompson to co-chair the North Main Task Force, examining social problems in north Winnipeg's aboriginal community. She was the first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Thunderbird House in north Winnipeg, which opened its doors in 2000. Although this was intended as a tourist destination, it soon became primarily a social outreach centre for the many low-income persons living in the area. Under Richard's leadership, Thunderbird House became active in programs to assist aboriginal youth escape solvent abuse, gang life and the sex trade. Richard was also a president of the Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg, and a former executive director of the Indian and Métis Friendship Centre of Winnipeg. She also owned the Teepee Restaurant in Winnipeg. In 2000, she was admitted to the Order of Manitoba. She campaigned for the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba in the 1999 provincial election, in the constituency of Point Douglas. Richard's campaign was part of an effort by Gary Filmon's government to increase its profile in the aboriginal community. She received 1224 votes (19.56%), an improvement over previous Conservative candidacies in the area. The winner was George Hickes of the New Democratic Party. The following year, Richard crossed to the Liberal Party of Canada and ran as that party's candidate in Winnipeg North Centre for the 2000 federal election. In explaining this move, Richard told a Winnipeg Free Press reporter that she had long supported the Progressive Conservatives at the provincial level and the Liberals at the federal level. She received 6,755 votes, finishing second against New Democrat Judy Wasylycia-Leis. She died on September 9, 2010, while undergoing treatment after a kidney transplant.
  • Satsuki Katayama

    Satsuki Katayama (片山 さつき, Katayama Satsuki, born May 9, 1959) is a Japanese politician serving her first term in Japan's House of Councillors, having been elected in July 2010 as a candidate for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). She previously represent the Shizuoka 7th district in the House of Representatives for one term from 2005 until 2009.
  • Yelena Vladimirovna Afanasyeva

    Yelena Vladimirovna Afanasyeva (Russian: Елена Владимировна Афанасьева; born March 27, 1975) is a member of the State Duma of Russia. She is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia group. She attended Orenburg Educational Institute. She was selected to be a senator in the Federation Council from September 26, 2014, representing the Orenburg region.
  • Kyoko Nishikawa

    Kyoko Nishikawa (西川 京子, Nishikawa Kyōko, born October 2, 1945) is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, a member of House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature).
  • Anne Marie Hoogland

    Anne Marie Hoogland (born 1967 in Zaandam) is a Dutch politician from Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She is currently chairman of the Westerpark district. In 2005, she came third in her run for the chairmanship of the Dutch Labour Party.
  • Janice Jordan

    Janice Jordan (born 1964 in Ojai, California), is a Californian activist and health advocate who was a candidate for U.S. Vice President in the 2004 election as the candidate of the Peace and Freedom Party, as the running mate of Leonard Peltier. They received 27,607 votes. She was the party's candidate for Governor of California in 2006, receiving 69,934 votes, 0.8% of the total.Jordan ran also for Congress in 1996 and 1998, for Mayor of San Diego in 2000, and for San Diego City Council in 2001.
  • Tatyana Yumasheva

    Tatyana Borisovna Yumasheva (Russian: Татьяна Борисовна Юмашева; born January 17, 1960; former also Dyachenko, née Yeltsina) is the younger daughter of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Naina Yeltsina.
  • Kuniko Koda

    Kuniko Koda (行田 邦子, Kōda Kuniko, born 8 September 1965) is a Japanese politician and a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature).
  • Willie Dille

    Wilhelmina Ruurdina Dille is a former Dutch politician. As a member of the Party for Freedom she was an MP from June 17, 2010 to September 19, 2012. She focused on matters of services for the disabled, youth, adoption and casualties of war. From March till June 2010 she was a member of the municipal council of The Hague.