10 women who were political trailblazers

Ellen Fairclough, Canada’s first female cabinet minister

A member of the House of Commons for 13 years, Fairclough was a chartered accountant before ascending to Ottawa’s ranks. Her background in dollars and cents likely influenced her tenure in the House, where she counted equal pay for equal work among her political priorities. She was appointed Secretary of State in 1957, served as the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and was also the first female acting prime minister for two days in 1958.

Sirimavo Bandaranaike, first female head of government

Bandaranaike was the prime minister of Sri Lanka and Ceylon three times, between 1960 to 2000, and she pursued a program of socialist economic policies, nationalizing key sectors of the economy and carrying out land reforms. She was eventually expelled from parliament on charges of abuse of power.

Indira Gandhi, first female Prime Minister of India

Gandhi was first elected in 1966 and held the office of the Prime Minister for 15 years in two separate tenures, though she fielded accusations of corruption and nepotism. She was partly responsible for the creation of the independent nation of Bangladesh, and she also led India’s Green Revolution, which addressed the chronic food shortages that affected impoverished farmers in the state of Punjab.

Margaret Thatcher, first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Not every female figurehead could persuade Meryl Streep to don prosthetic teeth, but this “Iron Lady” did! Over three terms, Thatcher’s singularly hard-lined approach to economic and foreign affairs earned its own political school of thought — “Thatcherism,” naturally —  though her national legacy is one of mixed criticism and praise.

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, first female president of Iceland

In 1975, Finnbogadóttir was the artistic director of the Reykjavik Theatre Company when she — and 90 percent of Icelandic women — “Women’s Day Off,” a national protest demanding equal rights. At the time, only 5 percent of elected parliamentarians were women, and without this surge feminist sentiment, Finnbogadóttir told the BBC she doesn’t think her political career would have been possible. Five years later, she became president and proved so popular that in two of the three elections that followed, no one bothered to run against her.

Corazon Aquino, first female president of the Philippines

In 1983, Benigno Ninoy Aquino Jr., the charismatic senator and opponent of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, was assassinated. His widow, Corazon – deemed an “ordinary housewife” — emerged to lead the People Power revolution to topple Marcos’ 20-year dictatorship. In the course of her six-year presidency, she survived at least six coup attempts from soldiers loyal to Marcos as she transitioned the country from dictatorship to democracy. 

Kim Campbell, first female Canadian prime minister

The British Columbian broke her first glass ceiling in high school, where she was elected as the first female class president. Nearly three decades later, Campbell became Canada’s first female justice minister and introduced tougher gun laws after the École Polytechnique massacre. When then-PM Brian Mulroney stepped down as Conservative party leader, Campbell went on to become Canada’s first and only female prime minister.

Julia Gillard, first female Prime Minister of Australia

Gillard had a fairly illustrious political career before holding the PM post as leader of Australia’s Labour Party — namely, as the country’s deputy PM and in ministerial roles — but it was her scathing takedown of opposition leader Tony Abbott’s illustrious career as a misogynist that left the diplomatic and internet spheres agog. (We recommend getting yourself a cold drink, and enjoying this footage of Gillard’s speech.)

Angela Merkel, first female chancellor of Germany

Named TIME’s person of the year in 2015, Merkel has taken decisive action on the economy and environment — not to mention immigration. The de facto head of the European Union has shown her astute leadership during the Syrian refugee crisis, by welcoming a million migrants into Germany last year alone. Oh yeah, and she also happens to be a quantum chemist.

Tsai Ing-wen, first female president of Taiwan

The former law professor was elected earlier this year, and has already demonstrated diplomatic flair in managing Taiwan’s delicate relationship with China — without pledging the nation’s complete allegiance to the foreign giant.

More:
‘In 20 years, are you really going to say, I wish I’d cleaned my bathroom more?’
3 surgeries, fiery pain, dismissive docs: My life with endometriosis
Sorry, buddy — you can’t sue a woman for getting her pregnant