WOMEN RULERS AND LEADERS

svjetske liderke

Today women rule over many countries. The majority of them, at least in Europe, have no actual political power nor influence on state policy. They are mostly involved in humanitarian activities and/or are decorations at official parties and protocols. These rulers are queens and members of royalty, pathetic remains of the past times in which their grandmothers and grand-grandmothers had true political power and influence over destiny of their countries, nations and history as such. Today, when their descendants make the headlines of the tabloids proving that their "blue blood" does not protect them from the sad destiny or mistakes of the "common folks", women rulers by inheritance evoke sneer or pity.

Another group consists of the wives of the presidents or politicians. We have been persuaded that those women are the ones responsible for the public success of their spouses. These wives are "women from the shadow" who, standing behind their husbands possess, allegedly, true power. Is it really so, it is hard to tell, because they are mostly involved in humanitarian work and social activism, and attend official gatherings or parties.

But beside these "noras" of the present, there are a lot of women who have been elected by their people as true leaders. However we can only occassionally hear or read about them and they are rarely promoted as true role models for younger generations of women. Yet, those are the women who have been given the responsibility to lead their countries and make laws.

Women were allowed into the politics only 77 years ago when they finally succeeded in their fight for the right to vote. Today more and more women take part in governing bodies of their states and influence the policy of their countries as majors, prime ministers, presidents. Although many countries have still not achieved equal representation of men and women in parliament and other decision making bodies, numbers show trend of growth of the number of women actively involved in politics. The process is slow but unstoppable.

We can read about every single intimate detail from the lives of Lady Di, Stephani of Monaco or various European queens and royalty memebrs. Since they do not have any political power, they are not a threat to the men. Therefore, we would like to emphasize here the achievements and names of those women who succeeded to gain the trust of their constitutiencies and show that they can be as good leaders as their male colegues, or better. Many of them became prime ministers or presidents in the countries with a strong patriarchal tradition where gender discrimination has been a part of many centuries. Some of them continued the path started by their husbands or fathers, but each example evokes respect and hope. Let us remember their names, speak of them and follow their footsteps in order to gain true political power.

WOMEN PRESIDENTS

~ MARIA ESTELA ("Isabel") MARTINEZ DE PERON (1931-) President of Argentina, 1974-1976, widow of Juan Domingo Peron (President 1946-1955 and 1973-1974), . Mrs. Peron was the FIRST WOMAN PRESIDENT in the world.

~ LIDIA GUEILER TEJADA (1926-), President of Bolivia, 1979-1980. Replaced by the army putsch.

~ VIGIDIS FINNBOGADOTTIR (1930-) President of Island, 1980-1996, first woman elected President in Europe, woman with the longest mandate as President.

~ AGATHA BARBARA (1923-) President of Malta, 1982-1987, second woman president in Europa.

~ CORAZON AQUINO (1933-) President of Philliphini, 1986-1992. First woman president in Asia.

~ VIOLETA BARRIOS DE CHAMORRO (1929-) President of Nicaraguae, 1990-1997. She entered the politics after her Pedro Joaquin Chamorro was assasined opposing dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza.

~ MARY ROBINSON (1944-), President of Ireland from 1990.

~ SABINE BERGMANN-POHL (1946-) President of The Parliament of the German Democratic Republic 1990. The last leader of Eastern Germany.

~ CHANDRIKA KUMURATUNGE (1945-) President of Sri Lanka from 1994, ~ RUTH PERRY (1939-) First woman leader of an African state.





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WOMEN PRIME MINISTERS

~ SIRIMAVO BANDARANAIKE (1916), Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1994 and in periods 1960-1965 & 1970-1977

~ INDIRA GANDHI (1917-1984) Prime Minister of India 1966-1977 & 1980-1984

~ GOLDA MEIR (1898-1978) Prime Minister of Israel 1969-1974.

~ ELIZABETH DOMITIEN, Prime Minister of Central African Republic1975-1976.

~ MARGARET THATCHER (1925-) Prime Minister of Great Britain, 1979-1990,

~ MARIA DE LURDES PINTASSILGO (1930-) Prime Minister of Portugal, 1979-1980, second women on that position in Europa

~ MARY EUGENIA CHARLES (1919-) Prime Minister of Dominica, 1980-1995, probably the first black political leader in the world.

~ GRO HARLEM BRUNDTLAND (1939-) Prime Minister of Norway, 1981, 1986-1989 and 1990-1996.

~ MILKA PLANINC (1924-), today forgotten Prime Minister of former Yugoslavia 1982-1986, at the time the only woman leader in a communist country

~ BENAZIR BHUTTO (1953-) Prime Minister of Pakistan, 1988-1990, 1993-1996, first women at the head of a gov. in a muslim country

~ KAZIMIERA PRUNSHIENE (1943-), Litvanian Prime Minister, 1990-1991 the only woman leader of a country after the break up of Soviet Union

~ KHALEDA ZIA (1945-) Prime Minister of Bangladesh, 1991-1996.

~ EDITH CRESSON (1934-) Prime Minister of France, 1991-1992.

~ HANNA SUCHOCKA (1946-) Prime Minister of Poland 1992-1993.

~ KIM CAMPBELL (1947-) Prime Minister of Canada, 1993,

~ TANSU CILLER (1946-) Prime Minister of Turkey, 1993-1996.

~ SYLVIE KINIGI, Prime Minister of Burundi, 1993-1994.

~ AGATHE UWILINGIYIMANA, Prime Minister of Ruanda, 1993-1994.

~ RENETA INDZHOVA, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, 1994-1995.

~ CLAUDETTE WERLEIGH, Prime Minister of Haiti, 1995-1996.

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