Almost one month after voting day in New Zealand, 37-year-old Jacinda Ardern has become the country’s new prime minister. Ardern’s victory, which was a surprising coup for the country’s left, makes her New Zealand’s third female prime minister and its youngest leader in 150 years.
It also means she joins a group of 12 other women who make up the world’s currently serving female heads of government, or 13 if you include Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen, who was elected as the democratically-ruled island’s first female leader last year. The countries the women lead represent less than 7% of the UN’s 193 member states.
Of the 13 women, six are heads of European countries, two are heads of South American countries and four are their country’s first female leaders. Europe counts the most women in power. Bangladesh leads in longevity – its prime minister Sheik Hasina has been in power for 13 years, accumulated over two terms. Marshall Islands president Hilda Heine is Ardern’s only female counterpart in the Asia-Pacific region and is relatively new to the job, having served just over a year.
In November, the group will shrink again as Liberian president and first female African head of state, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, steps down after serving a maximum two terms in power. None of her potential successors are female. Doris Leuthard will also finish her tenure as President of the Swiss Confederation at the end of 2017 and will likely be replaced by the confederation’s vice president, Alain Berset.
Current female heads of government
Sheikh Hasina
Role: Prime minister, Bangladesh
Years in office: 13
Political stance: Left
Country’s first female leader?: No
Michelle Bachelet
Role: President, Chile
Years in office: 7
Political stance: Left
Country’s first female leader?: Yes
Angela Merkel
Role: Chancellor, Germany
Years in office: 11
Political stance: Right
Country’s first female leader?: Yes
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Role: President, Liberia
Years in office: 11
Political stance: Centre
Country’s first female leader?: Yes
Hilda Heine
Role: President, Marshall Islands
Years in office: 1
Political stance: Independent
Country’s first female leader?: Yes
Erna Solberg
Role: Prime minister, Norway
Years in office: 4
Political stance: Right
Country’s first female leader?: No
Beata Szydlo
Role: Prime minister, Poland
Years in office: 1
Political stance: Right
Country’s first female leader?: No
Doris Leuthard
Role: President of Swiss Confederation, Switzerland
Years in office: <1
Political stance: Right
Country’s first female leader?: No
Theresa May
Role: Prime minister, United Kingdom
Years in office: 1
Political stance: Right
Country’s first female leader?: No
Jacinda Ardern
Role: Prime minister, New Zealand
Years in office: <1
Political stance: Left
Country’s first female leader?: No
Ana Brnabić
Role: Prime minister, Serbia
Years in office: <1
Political stance: Independent
Country’s first female leader?: Yes
Saara Kuugongelwa
Role: Prime minister, Namibia
Years in office: 2
Political stance: Left
Country’s first female leader?: Unknown
Mercedes Aráoz
Role: Prime minister, Peru
Years in office: <1
Political stance: Right
Country’s first female leader?: Unknown
