Ladies First: Female Heads of State
See the female phenoms who run the world.
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Catherine Samba-Panza — Central African Republic - BET.com honors these women who were the first people “woman-enough” to take the helm as leader of their respective nations. — Naeesa Aziz Catherine Samba-Panza was elected as the interim president of the Central African Republic in January 2014 and tasked to calm the violent divide between Christian and Muslim militias. She previously served as the mayor of Bangui, the nation's capitol. (AFP PHOTO / Eric FEFERBERG)
Photo By Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images
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Portia Simpson-Miller — Jamaica - Portia Simpson-Miller is the seventh prime minister of Jamaica. She was installed in January 2012 and served as prime minister previously from March 2006 to Sept. 2007.(Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
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Joyce Banda — Malawi - Joyce Banda is the first female president of Malawi. Banda assumed the office after the death of former President Bingu wa Mutharika. (Photo: Lefteris Pitarakis - WPA Pool /Getty Images)
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Ellen Johnson Sirleaf — Liberia - Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is the 24th president of Liberia and the first elected female head of state in Africa. Sirleaf is currently serving her second term as president and in 2011 she was jointly awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for her work in women’s rights.(Photo: Finbarr O'Reilly/Reuters)
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Park Geun-Hye — South Korea - Park Geun-Hye is South Korea's 11th president. She is the first female to hold the office. (Photo: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
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Yingluck Shinawatra — Thailand - Yingluck Shinawatra is prime minister of Thailand. (Photo: REUTERS/Bobby Yip)
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Dilma Rousseff — Brazil - Dilma Rousseff is the 36th president of Brazil and the first woman in Brazil’s history to ever hold the position. Before she took the helm as president, Rousseff was also the first woman to become chief of staff.(Photo: Kerim Okten-Pool/Getty Images)
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Laura Chinchilla — Costa Rica - Laura Chinchilla is Costa Rica’s first and only female president and the sixth woman to be elected president of a Latin American country. Before entering politics, Chinchilla worked as a consultant, advising non-governmental organizations in Latin America and Africa on judicial reform and public security issues.(Photo: Chip East/REUTERS)
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Pratibha Patil — India - Pratibha Patil was India’s first female president, serving from 2004 to 2007. A trained lawyer, Patil enjoyed a long career in politics before assuming office.(Photo: AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
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Gloria Macapgal-Arroyo — Philippines - Gloria Macapgal-Arroyo served not only as president of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, but also vice president from 1998 to 2001. Before entering politics, Arroyo worked as a professor of economics.(Photo: Pool photo(Kyodo) /Landov)
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