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Women in politics
Politische Power: Frauen in der Politik

Angela Merkel ist nicht die einzige prominente Politikerin auf der Welt: Es gibt mindestens sieben weitere Frauen, die zu den wichtigsten Entscheidungsträgern in ihren Ländern zählen. Aber wahrscheinlich haben Sie noch nie von ihnen gehört. Im Folgenden möchten wir einen Blick auf diese Frauen werfen: ihre Funktion, ihr Land und wie lange sie schon in der Politik aktiv sind.

Try also our quiz: women in politics.

Women on top

Contrary to popular belief, there are quite a few women in positions of political power around the world. Here we look at six of them in brief: who they are, where they came from and what they stand for.

Tarja Halonen has been President of Finland since 2000 and is now in her second term. A committed human rights activist, Ms Halonen has risen through the echelons of Finnish society from her working class beginnings. Her red hair has led her to be compared to US talk show host Conan O'Brien, who also sponsored her last reelection campaign. She is tipped to be a future UN Secretary General.

Pratibha Patil is the first female President of India, the world's largest democracy. This is no easy feat in a country that ranks 114 out of 134 in "disparity" in the World Economic Forum's ratings. Patil emerged suddenly from obscurity although she had worked for 45 years in politics. Her main interest is to improve education for girls: 54% of females in India are illiterate.

Mary McAleese is the first President of the Republic of Ireland to come from Northern Ireland and the second female ever to make it to the top Irish post. She is a former barrister and journalist, and has worked for the Irish national broadcasting company, RTÉ. She caused a controversy in 2005 at the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, where she compared the "irrational hatred of Jews" to the way Northern Irish children were taught to blindly hate Catholics. She later apologised to Unionists for this remark.

Helen Clark, a former sheep and cattle farmer, was the Prime Minister of New Zealand until 2008. In 2009, she became the first woman Administrator of the UN Development Programme. She is credited with having introduced reforms in New Zealand that made it part of the global economy: notably, overturning 'Rogernomics', the conservative monetary policies headed by Roger Douglas, a former New Zealand Finance Minister.

Cristina Fernàndez de Kirchner is the current President of Argentina and her CV resembles that of the first ever female President there, Isabel Martínez de Perón: both were former First Ladies who took on power once their husbands died. Fernàndez de Kirchner is a justicialist, active in a brand of politics founded by Juan and Evita Perón. She has a keen interest in human rights, poverty awareness and health improvement.

Hang Myeong-Sook was imprisoned and tortured in her early career for teaching communist ideas to workers, farmers and women with low wages. Later, it was ruled that her confession was made by force, and her name was then cleared. She was South Korea's first female prime minister from 2006 to 2007. She was nominated for the office of president in 2006 but did not succeed.

American-educated Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is a grandmother and the President of Liberia. Her career has been chequered, including a 10 year long house arrest in 1985 for speaking out against members of the military Doe regime. She has always been outspoken against Liberian corruption and heads a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to this end.

Despite everything, all the women above show that the path for women politicians may be difficult but by no means impossible.

Internet tip!
If this subject interests you, read about the recent documentary film entitled "Madame President". It highlights the lives of twelve women in positions of power across the globe.