Readers have asked why our list of 33 elected women leaders doesn't include some of their favorites. The answer is that we chose to include only women who first rose to power after a democratic election, either in a direct vote or as leader of her party. This means that any woman who inherited or was appointed to her position, or who served in an acting or interim capacity, was not included, even if she was elected at a later date. This also excludes women who did not come into office following a general election.
We made these decisions in order to highlight the small number of women who have first gained office in an election.
Here are just some of the women who were not included in our greater list of women leaders and the reason why.
Inherited or appointed to her position, not elected
Kim Campbell (prime minister of Canada)Edith Cresson (prime minister of France)
Isabel Perón (president of Argentina)
Jenny Shipley (prime minister of New Zealand)
Chosen by her party, then elected
Gro Harlem Brundtland (prime minister of Norway)Tansu Çiller (prime minister of Turkey)
Indira Gandhi (prime minister of India)
Julia Gillard (prime minister of Australia)
Golda Meir (prime minister of Israel)
Did not come into office following a general election
Bidhya Devi Bhandari (president of Nepal)Atifete Jahjaga (president of Kosovo)
Vaira Vike-Freiberga (president of Latvia)
The history of women in leadership is multi-faceted and complex. This project is a look at women who first won power through elections, not a comprehensive list of all women rulers. We hope that you find it interesting and are inspired to learn about powerful women, including and in addition to the ones on our list.