Thu, 08 Mar 2012 03:46:54 GMT | By Amirul Ruslan, photos by Reuters
Women in charge: 2012's incumbent female heads of government

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia

Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf arrives for a meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Nigeria's capital Abuja February 16, 2012. Picture taken February 16, 2012. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde (NIGERIA - Tags: POLITICS) (© REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde)
Next
Previous
Previous
  • Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is silhouetted as she looks at a airplane during the reopening of Don Muang domestic airport in Bangkok March 5, 2012. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND - Tags: POLITICS TRANSPORT) (© REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang)
  • Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner delivers a speech at the Government House in Buenos Aires February 7, 2012. Fernandez accused Britain of "militarizing the South Atlantic" on Tuesday as tensions between the countries mount ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Falklands war. Britain and Argentina fought a brief war over the disputed British-ruled archipelago in 1982 and London refuses to negotiate the islands' sovereignty unless the roughly 3,000 islanders want talks. REUTERS/Enrique Marcarian (ARGENTINA - Tags: POLITICS) (© REUTERS/Enrique Marcarian)
  • Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf arrives for a meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Nigeria's capital Abuja February 16, 2012. Picture taken February 16, 2012. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde (NIGERIA - Tags: POLITICS) (© REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde)
  • Visiting Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is led by her Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak to step down from the stage after the welcoming ceremony outside the latter's office in Putrajaya near Kuala Lumpur February 20, 2012. REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad (MALAYSIA - Tags: POLITICS) (© REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad)
  • Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard gestures during a news conference at Parliament House in Canberra February 27, 2012. Gillard won a leadership showdown with party rival Kevin Rudd with strong backing from her party Monday, but now faces a mammoth task to rebuild support for her divided and unpopular minority government. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz (AUSTRALIA - Tags: POLITICS) (© REUTERS/Daniel Munoz)
  • Slovakia's Prime Minister Iveta Radicova arrives at European Union leaders summit in Brussels March 1, 2012. EU leaders wrestled on Thursday with the balance between budget austerity and reviving lost growth at the first summit for two years in which the euro zone debt crisis did not eclipse all else. REUTERS/Eric Vidal (BELGIUM - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) (© REUTERS/Eric Vidal)
  • Denmark's Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt arrives at a European Union leaders summit in Brussels March 2, 2012. European Union leaders met for a second day of talks in Brussels on Friday, where 25 of the bloc's 27 countries were due to formally sign a "fiscal compact" enshrining common debt rules among the 17 members of the euro zone. REUTERS/Eric Vidal (BELGIUM - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) (© REUTERS/Eric Vidal)
  • Brazilian President Dilma Roussoff addresses the media after her opening walk at the CeBit computer fair in Hanover, March, 6, 2012. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday she had received assurances from President Rousseff that Brazil would take part in a recapitalisation of the International Monetary Fund, which could in turn help boost crisis funds for the euro zone. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer (GERMANY - Tags: BUSINESS TELECOMS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY POLITICS) (© REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer)
Next
REUTERS/Afolabi SotundeShow Thumbnails
Previous3 of 15Next
Share this Gallery

The first and only elected female head of state in Africa, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is the second-term President of Liberia, having won in the 2005 presidential election and renewed her mandate in 2011. In 2011 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with Leymah Gbowee of Liberia and Tawakel Karman of Yemen for their work in ensuring the safety of women and women's rights.

User Picture
Write a comment...
0Comments