List of the first women holders of political offices

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This is a list of political offices which have been held by a woman, with details of the first woman holder of each office. It is ordered by country, by dates of appointment. Former countries, such as Yugoslavia, are also listed.

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008)

Africa

Asia

Europe

North America

Oceania

South America

International organizations

African Union

President of the Pan-African Parliament - Gertrude Mongella - 2004 (at its founding)^[1]
Vice President of the Pan-African Parliament - Elise Loum - 2004^[2]
Chairperson of the African Union Commission - Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma - 2012^[3]

European Union

President of the European Parliament – Simone Veil – 1979^[4]
President-in-Office of the European Council – Margaret Thatcher – 1981^[5]
European Commissioner – Christiane Scrivener / Vasso Papandreou – 1989^[6]
Leader of the Socialist Group and of any major party – Pauline Green – 1994^[7]
Co Vice-President of the European Commission – Loyola de Palacio – 1999^[8]
First Vice-President of the European Commission – Margot Wallström – 2004^[9]
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy – Catherine Ashton – 2009^[10]
President of the European Commission – Ursula von der Leyen – 2019.

League of Nations

Substitute Delegate and Ambassador to the League of Nations – Elena Văcărescu – 1922^[11]
Permanent Delegate and Ambassador to the League of Nations – Elena Văcărescu – 1924^[11]

United Nations

Head of the section of Welfare Policy – Alva Myrdal – 1949^[12]
Chairman of UNESCO's social science section – Alva Myrdal – 1950^[12]
President of the United Nations General Assembly – Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit – 1953^[13]
Permanent Representative – Agda Rössel (Permanent Representative of Sweden to the United Nations) – 1958^[14]
Head of the United Nations Children's Fund – Carol Bellamy – 1995^[15]
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights – Mary Robinson – 1997^[16]
Deputy Secretary-General – Louise Fréchette – 1998^[17]
Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme – Anna Tibaijuka – 2000^[18]
Under-Secretary-General – Inga-Britt Ahlenius – 2005^[19]
Assistant-Secretary-General – Helvi Sipilä – 1972^[20]
President of the International Court of Justice – Rosalyn Higgins – 2006^[21]
Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme – Helen Clark – 2009^[22]
Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund – Christine Lagarde – 2011^[23]

See also

References

^ Пулич, Анастасия (23 March 2004). "Who is Gertrude Mongella?". Pravdareport.com. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
^ "Resource Person Biographies. Hon. Estelle Flore Angangou - PDF". Docplayer.net. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
^ "Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma". Insipiringwomen.co.za. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
^ "The President of the European Parliament - Former E.P. Presidents". Europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
^ "Margaret Thatcher | Biography & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
^ Ladies First Archived 21 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
^ Ladies First Archived 25 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Loyola de Palacio, commissioner for optimism". The Economist. 27 July 2000. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
^ "European Commission - PRESS RELEASES - Press release - Margot Wallström Vice-President of the European Commission Women in Ireland and Europe Labour Women's Conference 10 September, Dublin, Ireland". europa.eu. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
^ "Catherine Ashton | Biography & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
^ ^a ^b LAZĂR, Ioan. "ELENA VĂCĂRESCU: "The Ambassador of the Romanian Soul and Reunification"".
^ ^a ^b Pace, Eric (3 February 1986). "Alva Myrdal, Nobel Women, Dies in Sweden at 84". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
^ "Press Kit - Presidents of the General Assembly - 60th session of the United Nations General Assembly". Un.org. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
^ "HERstory: A celebration of leading women in the United Nations". UN News. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
^ Richardson, Lynda (14 January 2005). "A Forceful Voice for the Children of the Tsunami". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
^ "Mary Robinson | president of Ireland". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
^ [1] Archived 3 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Anna Tibaijuka: 'Not Easy For African Women In The UN System' - New African Magazine". newafricanmagazine.com. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
^ Lynch, Colum. "U.N. mounts questionable defense of Ban". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
^ Ketokoski-Rexed, Anja-Riitta (3 August 2009). "Helvi Sipilä | Obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
^ "International Court of Justice names its first female president". UN News. 6 February 2006. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
^ "Helen Clark | prime minister of New Zealand". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
^ "Christine Lagarde | French lawyer and politician". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 19 February 2019.

v t e Women in government
Lists of female holders of political office	Elected or appointed national leaders heads of state and government deputy heads of state deputy heads of government Ministers and secretaries defence finance foreign interior justice Speakers of national and territorial legislatures lower houses unicameral parliaments upper houses Constituent and dependent territory leaders First women holders of political offices first governors and chief ministers first members of parliament first mayors first heads of state and government in Muslim-majority countries Hereditary monarchs queens regnant
National politics/government/legislatures	Afghanistan Parliament Australia House Senate Premiers Canada House Senate First ministers France Assembly Senate Jamaica House India Governors Lieutenant governors and administrators Chief ministers Deputy chief ministers Iran Islamic Consultative Assembly Ireland Dáil Seanad Cabinet ministers Junior ministers Israel Malaysia House Senate Mongolia Mongolia Nepal Parliament Papua New Guinea Parliament Philippines House Senate Governors Russia Heads of federal subjects Sri Lanka Parliament Turkey Ministers United Kingdom Commons Lords United States House Senate Governors Lieutenant governors
Related	All-women shortlist Council of Women World Leaders Gender power gap Muslim women political leaders Women Political Leaders

General	Timeline First-wave Second-wave timeline Third-wave Fourth-wave
Social	Bicycling and feminism Feminist history Women's history Timeline of women's legal rights (other than voting)
Women's suffrage	Timeline Australia Canada Japan Kuwait Majority-Muslim countries New Zealand Switzerland United Kingdom Wales United States Timeline African-American States of Utah Virginia Wyoming

Movements and ideologies

General	Analytical Anarchist Anti-abortion Anti-fascist Atheist Carceral Choice Conservative Cultural Cyber HCI Difference Eco Vegetarian Equality Eugenic Fat Gender-critical or trans-exclusionary Global Hip hop Activism Individualist Labor Lesbian Liberal Equity Lipstick Materialist Maternal Neo- New Post- Postcolonial Postmodern Post-structural French Radical Reactionary Separatism Sex-positive Social Socialist Marxist Standpoint State Trans Transnational Victim Womanism Africana Women's liberation
Religious	Atheist Buddhist Christian Mormon New Womanist Asian Neopagan Dianic Wicca Reclaiming Ecofeminist Hindu Islamic Jewish Orthodox Sikh
Ethnic and racial	Black Chicana Indigenous Kurdish (Jineology) Native American Sámi Jewish Mizrahi Romani White

Concepts

Complementarianism

Gender mainstreaming

By country

Lists

People	Art critics Ecofeminist authors Economists Jewish Muslim Philosophers Poets Rhetoricians Suffragists and suffragettes Women's rights activists
Other	Conservative feminisms Literature American Comic books Parties Women's studies journals SCUM Manifesto (1967) Women in peacekeeping

This article includes an officeholders-related list of lists.