Monday, January 16, 2006

Female Heads of State Popping up All Over

In recent weeks or months, women have made a number of firsts as heads of state. In November, Angela Merkel became the first woman Chancellor of Germany.

Yesterday, South America elected its first woman head of state, the new president of Chile Michelle Bachelet.

Today, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became the new president of Liberia. She is the first elected female head of state in the continent of Africa.

Of course, Ireland (former President Mary Robinson and current President Mary McAleese), England (former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher), and Israel (former Prime Minister Golda Meir) have all had women elected to top national offices.

[Update] Rich Magahiz mentions the Philippines' Corazon Aquino and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. I also left out Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan.

6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

For completeness sake, I'd like to mention the Philippines' Corazon Aquino and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The latter of whom, notably, having been embroiled in scandals over the last couple of years, same as any male head of state might in their own right. Such is progress.

1:38 PM  
Blogger Daryl McCullough said...

Good additions. My list was off the top of my head. I left off another scandal-ridden president, Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan.

5:07 PM  
Blogger Roberto Iza said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

5:38 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Benazir Bhutto: aka "Pinky"

It's true that the US hasn't joined the roster yet, but I'm still amazed and impressed that our country has elected a person who could not walk to the Presidency. That seems almost impossible nowadays.

7:57 PM  
Blogger Daryl McCullough said...

Benazir Bhutto: aka "Pinky"

So she was the inspiration for "Pinky" I wonder who "Blinky", "Inky" and "Clyde" were.

As I understand it, Roosevelt was almost never photographed in his wheelchair. Here is the only known photo of him in a wheelchair.

2:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It makes you wonder how we got from a press corps they had back then to the one we have now, which would have shown any celebrity wheelchair pictures they had obtained on the news in about 10 milliseconds.

9:58 PM  

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