21 Female Leaders You Should Know

Chancellor of Germany

Merkel garnered the full spotlight when she was named TIME's person of the year, but her notable acts go beyond gracing a magazine cover. Despite strong opposition, she opened Germany's doors to migrants during the Syrian refugee crisis.

President of Liberia

Sirleaf is the first female president elected in Africa. She began her political career in 1972, with a scathing message against the oppressive government at her alma mater, then went on to work at the Treasury Department and later became its Minister of Finance. Although she was put on a 30-year ban from politics, she ran for president but lost to a political opponent accused of war crimes. She sent herself into exile for her own safety soon after. In 2006, she won the presidential election and was re-elected in 2011. She received a Nobel Peace Prize the same year, shared with Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman, for their "non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work."

State Counsellor of Myanmar

Suu Kyi took on the role of opposition leader against Burmese dictator General Ne Win. Speaking out against him, she led a peaceful movement for democracy and human rights. She worked to spread democracy throughout Myanmar and founded the National League for Democracy. But in 1989, she was put on house arrest for 15 years to block her from communicating with the outside world. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 and was released from house arrest in 2010. Today, she continues to vie for democracy in her country.

President of Chile

Bachelet is the first woman to serve as Chile's commander-in-chief. Her calling to the political realm was an unfortunate one, since both she and her father were tortured and exiled under Augusto Pinochet's dictatorial rule. Bachelet was sworn into her first term in 2006, and has been generally well-praised, especially after her handling of the global economic crisis in 2008. To top it off, she's also a pediatrician.

Crisis Manager, United States

Known as the real-life Olivia Pope, Smith is the inspiration for the TV show Scandal. She's the CEO, founder and president of crisis management firm Smith & Company and has covered cases with Monica Lewinsky, Wesley Snipes, Michael Vick and Sony. She also assists in public policy work on issues like the housing crisis and education. Consider it handled.

Chair of the Federal Reserve, United States

Yellen is an award-winning economist and the first woman to head the Federal Reserve of the United States. (She succeeded Ben Bernanke in 2014.) She's a graduate of both Yale and Brown, and even President Obama has offered her his high praise. "She's a proven leader, and she's tough—not just because she's from Brooklyn," he said when he nominated her as Fed Chair in 2013.

Former Prime Minister of Denmark

Schmidt is the first female prime minister and leader of the Social Democrats in Denmark. During her term she loosened the strict, anti-immigration laws set forth by her predecessors. After stepping down, Schmidt took on the role of Chief Executive for the non-governmental organization, Save the Children, which promotes children's rights in developing nations.

Former Attorney General, United States

The Harvard graduate started her career in federal law in the early '90s, picking up positions at The Federal Reserve and as the District Attorney for New York. While serving the latter, Lynch oversaw preliminary investigations of potential corruption among FIFA officials. In 2015, President Obama appointed her to the position of Attorney General, making her the second woman and first African-American woman to hold the title.

President of South Korea

Park's position as South Korea's first female president, among other accomplishments, earned her the #11 spot on Forbes' Most Powerful Women list (and #43 overall). Though reeling back from the Sewol ferry sinking, which occurred during her term, Park spearheaded a free trade deal with Canada—reportedly the first of its kind between Canada and an Asian country.

Chairperson of the State Bank of India

Bhattacharya is the first woman to head the State Bank of India, which has been in existence for over 200 years. She's also revolutionizing the bank's male-dominant history with a female focus: by allowing women two-year sabbaticals for going on maternity leave or taking time off to care for family members. Since women are primarily the caregivers in Indian society, this relieves working women from the risk of losing their jobs for tending to their families.

President of Indian National Congress

Gandhi, the widow of former Indian Prime Minster Rajiv Gandhi, has long been a supporter of women's and human rights. Though she stayed out of the political limelight immediately following her husband's assassination in 1991, she later entered a career in politics, securing positions like President of the Congress. Today her focus is on passing the Women's Reservation Bill, which seeks to reserve 33% of the seats in lower house of Indian Parliament to women.

Managing director, International Monetary Fund

One of the most powerful women in the world—in fact ranked #6 by Forbes—French native Lagarde is a woman of many hats. She's credited as a lawyer, politician for the Union for a Popular Movement party and, since 2011, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn). As the first woman to head the IMF, Lagarde is seeing the onset of a slight global upturn since the recent recession, and she's also helping the fund support female employment in order to avoid poverty and inequality.

President of Taiwan

Tsai Ing-Wen became Taiwan's first female president, after winning the January 2016 election by a huge lead—her votes almost doubled her opponent's. The Taipei-born leader doesn't hail for a political family, and actually began her career as a professor rather than a politician. Tsai is a member of the Democratic Progressive Party, which supports independence from China, and has a history of being pro-poor, pro-women and pro-LGBTQ. She is ranked number 17 on Forbes' Most Powerful Women of 2016. 

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

May is the second female Prime Minister of the U.K. after Margaret Thatcher. She was elected into office in July 2016 as the leader of the Conservative Party, succeeding David Cameron, who resigned after the Brexit referendum. Since coming into office, some of her main efforts have included guiding the U.K.'s exit from the European Union and tightening immigration.

Former President of Argentina

Kirchner, endearingly nicknamed CFK, is the second female president of Argentina, but the first to get re-elected. Her previous positions include National Deputy and National Senator for the South American country.

Prime Minister of Bangladesh

Wajed's father was the first president of Bangladesh, after vying for its separation from Pakistan in 1971. After entering politics in the '60s, Sheikh Hasina was his political liaison while he was imprisoned. In 1975, he was assassinated, along with Wajed's mother and three brothers. Now, she serves as Prime Minister (after being elected in 2009) and presides over one of the largest populations in the world. Wajed has supported democracy, promoted human rights and denounced violent military rule; but recently, she's been criticized for her response—or lack thereof—to hate crimes in the country.

Prime Minister of Norway

Solberg has been the leader of the Conservative Party since 2004 and Prime Minister since 2013. She's the second female in the country to hold the latter position. Her beginnings in government, however, go back even further: she's been a member of the Storting (Norwegian Parliament) since 1989. Throughout her political tenure, she's served as Minister of Local Government and Regional Development and participated in the Standing Committee on Health and Care Services Affairs, the Standing Committee on Foreign and Defense Affairs and the Electoral Committee.

President of Lithuania

Grybauskaitė became the first female president of Lithuania when she was elected in 2009, and became the first-ever president to serve two consecutive terms when she was re-elected in 2014.Like Margaret Thatcher, she is nicknamed the "Iron Lady," a moniker she earned for her staunch stance against Vladimir Putin, although Russia is a massive, looming neighbor. She credits her tough upbringing for her tenacious personality: "My character was created in the battle for survival," she told DW.

President of Mauritius

In 2015, Gurib-Fakim was sworn in as Mauritius' first female president and sixth overall. With a strong background in science rather than in politics, she has founded the Centre for Pytotherapy Research and authored or edited 28 books (and counting). She was invested in her country's biodiversity and researched plant life before being approached by Mauritius' majority party to become president. 

Prime Minister of Poland

The daughter of a coal miner, Szydło became the youngest mayor of Polish region Małopolska at the age of 35, and later became the leader of the Law and Justice party, which practices "traditional values" and is against more control from the European Union. She started gaining attention after spearheading Andrzej Duda's successful presidential campaign (he took office in 2015 and is still serving). Szydło was sworn in as Prime Minister in 2015.