Where are the world's female leaders?
Image: Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen greets supporters after her election victory at party headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan January 16, 2016. REUTERS/Pichi Chuang.
Taiwan elected the first female president in the Chinese-speaking world on Saturday when voters handed opposition leader Tsai Ing-wen a convincing victory.
Below is a list of countries which have women as heads of government or state. The date in brackets is the year they took office. (The list excludes figurehead monarchs.)
Bangladesh: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (2009)
Brazil: President Dilma Rousseff (2011)
Central African Republic: Interim President Catherine Samba-Panza (2014)
Chile: President Michelle Bachelet (2014)
Croatia: President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic (2015)
Germany: Chancellor Angela Merkel (2005)
Jamaica: Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller (2012)
Kosovo: President Atifete Jahjaga (2011)
Liberia: President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (2006)
Lithuania: President Dalia Grybauskaite (2009)
Malta: President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca (2014)
Mauritius: President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim (2015)
Namibia: Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila (2015)
Nepal: President Bidhya Devi Bhandari (2015)
Norway: Prime Minister Erna Solberg (2013)
Poland: Prime Minister Beata Szydlo (2015)
South Korea: President Park Geun-hye (2013)
Author: Emma Batha is a journalist specialising in humanitarian crises and women’s rights.
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