This is a list of women who have been elected or appointed head of state or government of their respective countries since the mid-20th century. The list does not include female monarchs, however it does include female heads of government who are not concurrently head of state, such as prime ministers.
To date, the country with most female Heads of State is San Marino (16, with three of them serving two non-consecutive terms).
| Name | Image | Country | Office | Mandate start | Mandate end | Term length | Head of state or government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khertek Anchimaa-Toka |  |
 Tannu Tuva |
Chairperson of the Presidium of the Little Khural | 6 April 1940 | 11 October 1944 | 4 years, 188 days | Head of state |
| Sükhbaataryn Yanjmaa |  |
 Mongolia |
Acting Chairperson of the Presidium of the State Great Khural | 7 September 1953 | 7 July 1954 | 303 days | Head of state |
| Sirimavo Bandaranaike |  |
 Ceylon |
Prime Minister | 21 July 1960 | 27 March 1965 | 4 years, 249 days | Head of government |
| Indira Gandhi |  |
 India |
Prime Minister | 24 January 1966 | 24 April 1977 | 11 years, 90 days | Head of government |
| Soong Ching-ling |  |
 China |
Acting Co-Chairperson | 31 October 1968 | 24 April 1972 | 3 years, 176 days | Head of state |
| Golda Meir |  |
 Israel |
Prime Minister | 17 March 1969 | 3 June 1974 | 5 years, 78 days | Head of government |
| Sirimavo Bandaranaike | |
Ceylon/ Sri Lanka |
Prime Minister | 29 May 1970 | 23 July 1977 | 7 years, 55 days | Head of government |
| Isabel Martínez de Perón |  |
 Argentina |
President | 1 July 1974 | 24 March 1976 | 1 year, 267 days | Head of state |
| Elisabeth Domitien |  |
 Central African Republic |
Prime Minister | 2 January 1975 | 7 April 1976 | 1 year, 96 days | Head of government |
| Margaret Thatcher |  |
 United Kingdom |
Prime Minister | 4 May 1979 | 28 November 1990 | 11 years, 208 days | Head of government |
| Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo |  |
 Portugal |
Prime Minister | 1 July 1979 | 3 January 1980 | 186 days | Head of government |
| Lidia Gueiler Tejada |  |
 Bolivia |
Acting President | 16 November 1979 | 17 July 1980 | 244 days | Head of state |
| Indira Gandhi | |
India |
Prime Minister | 15 January 1980 | 31 October 1984 | 4 years, 290 days | Head of government |
| Dame Eugenia Charles |  |
 Dominica |
Prime Minister | 21 July 1980 | 14 June 1995 | 14 years, 328 days | Head of government |
| Gro Harlem Brundtland |  |
 Norway |
Prime Minister | 4 February 1981 | 14 October 1981 | 252 days | Head of government |
| Vigdís Finnbogadóttir |  |
 Iceland |
President | 1 August 1980 | 1 August 1996 | 16 years, 0 days | Head of state |
| Maria Lea Pedini-Angelini | |
 San Marino |
Captain Regent | 1 April 1981 | 1 October 1981 | 183 days | Head of state |
| Soong Ching-ling | |
China |
Honorary President | 16 May 1981 | 28 May 1981 | 12 days | Head of state |
| Agatha Barbara |  |
 Malta |
President | 15 February 1982 | 15 February 1987 | 5 years, 0 days | Head of state |
| Milka Planinc |  |
 Yugoslavia |
Prime Minister | 16 May 1982 | 15 May 1986 | 3 years, 364 days | Head of government |
| Gloriana Ranocchini | |
San Marino |
Captain Regent | 1 April 1984 | 1 October 1984 | 183 days | Head of state |
| Carmen Pereira | |
 Guinea-Bissau |
Acting President of Guinea-Bissau | 14 May 1984 | 16 May 1984 | 2 days | Head of state |
| Elisabeth Kopp |  |
 Switzerland |
Member of the Swiss Federal Council | 21 October 1984 | 12 January 1989 | 4 years, 83 days | Head of state |
| Corazon Aquino |  |
 Philippines |
President | 25 February 1986 | 30 June 1992 | 6 years, 126 days | Head of state |
| Gro Harlem Brundtland | |
Norway |
Prime Minister | 9 May 1986 | 16 October 1989 | 3 years, 160 days | Head of government |
| Benazir Bhutto |  |
 Pakistan |
Prime Minister | 2 December 1988 | 6 July 1990 | 1 year, 216 days | Head of government |
| Gloriana Ranocchini | |
San Marino |
Captain Regent | 1 October 1989 | 1 April 1990 | 182 days | Head of state |
| Ertha Pascal-Trouillot |  |
 Haiti |
Acting President | 13 March 1990 | 7 February 1991 | 331 days | Head of state |
| Kazimira Prunskienė |  |
 Lithuania |
Prime Minister | 17 March 1990 | 10 January 1991 | 299 days | Head of government |
| Sabine Bergmann-Pohl |  |
 East Germany |
President of the People's Chamber | 5 April 1990 | 2 October 1990 | 180 days | Head of state |
| Violeta Chamorro |  |
 Nicaragua |
President | 25 April 1990 | 10 January 1997 | 6 years, 260 days | Head of state |
| Gro Harlem Brundtland | |
Norway |
Prime Minister | 3 November 1990 | 25 October 1996 | 5 years, 357 days | Head of government |
| Mary Robinson |  |
 Ireland |
President | 3 December 1990 | 12 September 1997 | 6 years, 283 days | Head of state |
| Khaleda Zia |  |
 Bangladesh |
Prime Minister | 27 February 1991 | 30 March 1996 | 5 years, 32 days | Head of government |
| Édith Cresson |  |
 France |
Prime Minister | 15 May 1991 | 2 April 1992 | 323 days | Head of government |
| Edda Ceccoli | |
San Marino |
Captain Regent | 1 October 1991 | 1 April 1992 | 183 days | Head of state |
| Hanna Suchocka |  |
 Poland |
Prime Minister | 11 July 1992 | 25 October 1993 | 1 year, 106 days | Head of government |
| Ruth Dreifuss |  |
Switzerland |
Member of the Swiss Federal Council | 1 April 1993 | 31 December 2002 | 9 years, 296 days | Head of state |
| Patrizia Busignani | |
San Marino |
Captain Regent | 1 April 1993 | 1 October 1993 | 183 days | Head of state |
| Tansu Çiller |  |
 Turkey |
Prime Minister | 13 June 1993 | 6 March 1996 | 2 years, 267 days | Head of government |
| Kim Campbell |  |
 Canada |
Prime Minister | 25 June 1993 | 4 November 1993 | 132 days | Head of government |
| Sylvie Kinigi | |
 Burundi |
Prime Minister | 10 July 1993 | 27 October 1993 | 109 days | Head of government |
| Agathe Uwilingiyimana |  |
 Rwanda |
Prime Minister | 18 July 1993 | 7 April 1994 | 263 days | Head of government |
| Benazir Bhutto | |
Pakistan |
Prime Minister | 19 October 1993 | 5 November 1996 | 3 years, 17 days | Head of government |
| Sylvie Kinigi | |
Burundi |
Acting President | 27 October 1993 | 5 February 1994 | 101 days | Head of state |
| Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga |  |
Sri Lanka |
Prime Minister[b] | 19 August 1994 | 12 November 1994 | 85 days | Head of government |
| Chandrika Kumaratunga |  |
Sri Lanka |
President | 12 November 1994 | 19 November 2005 | 11 years, 7 days | Head of state |
| Sirimavo Bandaranaike | |
Sri Lanka |
Prime Minister[b] | 14 November 1994 | 9 August 2000 | 5 years, 269 days | Head of government |
| Reneta Indzhova | |
 Bulgaria |
Acting Prime Minister | 17 October 1994 | 25 January 1995 | 100 days | Head of government |
| Claudette Werleigh | |
Haiti |
Prime Minister | 7 November 1995 | 27 February 1996 | 112 days | Head of government |
| Sheikh Hasina |  |
Bangladesh |
Prime Minister | 12 June 1996 | 15 July 2001 | 5 years, 33 days | Head of government |
| Ruth Perry | |
 Liberia |
Chairperson of the Council of State | 3 September 1996 | 2 August 1997 | 333 days | Head of state |
| Rosalía Arteaga Serrano |  |
 Ecuador |
Acting President | 9 February 1997 | 11 February 1997 | 2 days | Head of state |
| Mary McAleese |  |
Ireland |
President | 11 November 1997 | 10 November 2011 | 13 years, 364 days | Head of state |
| Jenny Shipley |  |
 New Zealand |
Prime Minister | 5 December 1997 | 5 December 1999 | 2 years, 0 days | Head of government |
| Janet Jagan |  |
 Guyana |
Prime Minister | 6 December 1997 | 11 August 1999 | 1 year, 327 days | Head of government |
| Janet Jagan | |
Guyana |
President | 19 December 1997 | 11 August 1999 | 1 year, 235 days | Head of state |
| Anne Enger Lahnstein |  |
Norway |
Acting Prime Minister | 30 August 1998 | 23 September 1998 | 24 days | Head of government |
| Ruth Metzler |  |
Switzerland |
Member of the Swiss Federal Council | 1 January 1999 | 31 December 2003 | 4 years, 364 days | Head of state |
| Rosa Zafferani | |
San Marino |
Captain Regent | 1 April 1999 | 1 October 1999 | 183 days | Head of state |
| Irena Degutienė |  |
Lithuania |
Acting Prime Minister | 4 May 1999 | 18 May 1999 | 14 days | Head of government |
| Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga |  |
 Latvia |
President | 8 July 1999 | 8 July 2007 | 8 years, 0 days | Head of state |
| Nyam-Osoryn Tuyaa | |
 Mongolia |
Acting Prime Minister | 22 July 1999 | 30 July 1999 | 8 days | Head of government |
| Mireya Moscoso |  |
 Panama |
President | 1 September 1999 | 1 September 2004 | 5 years, 0 days | Head of state |
| Irena Degutienė | |
Lithuania |
Acting Prime Minister | 27 October 1999 | 3 November 1999 | 7 days | Head of government |
| Helen Clark |  |
New Zealand |
Prime Minister | 5 December 1999 | 19 November 2008 | 8 years, 350 days | Head of government |
| Tarja Halonen |  |
 Finland |
President | 1 March 2000 | 1 March 2012 | 12 years, 0 days | Head of state |
| Maria Domenica Michelotti | |
San Marino |
Captain Regent | 1 April 2000 | 1 October 2000 | 183 days | Head of state |
| Gloria Macapagal Arroyo |  |
Philippines |
President | 20 January 2001 | 30 June 2010 | 9 years, 161 days | Head of state |
| Mame Madior Boye | |
 Senegal |
Prime Minister | 3 March 2001 | 4 November 2002 | 1 year, 246 days | Head of government |
| Megawati Sukarnoputri |  |
 Indonesia |
President | 23 July 2001 | 20 October 2004 | 3 years, 89 days | Head of state |
| Khaleda Zia | |
Bangladesh |
Prime Minister | 1 October 2001 | 29 October 2006 | 5 years, 28 days | Head of government |
| Chang Sang | |
 South Korea |
Acting Prime Minister | 11 July 2002 | 31 July 2002 | 20 days | Head of government |
| Maria das Neves | |
 São Tomé and Príncipe |
Prime Minister | 3 October 2002 | 18 September 2004 | 1 year, 351 days | Head of government |
| Micheline Calmy-Rey |  |
Switzerland |
Member of the Swiss Federal Council | 1 January 2003 | 31 December 2011 | 8 years, 364 days | Head of state |
| Anneli Jäätteenmäki |  |
Finland |
Prime Minister | 17 April 2003 | 24 June 2003 | 68 days | Head of government |
| Beatriz Merino |  |
 Peru |
President of the Council of Ministers[a] | 28 June 2003 | 15 December 2003 | 170 days | Head of government |
| Valeria Ciavatta | |
San Marino |
Captain Regent | 1 October 2003 | 1 April 2004 | 183 days | Head of state |
| Nino Burjanadze |  |
 Georgia |
Acting President | 23 November 2003 | 25 January 2004 | 63 days | Head of state |
| Luísa Diogo |  |
 Mozambique |
Prime Minister | 17 February 2004 | 16 January 2010 | 5 years, 333 days | Head of government |
| Barbara Prammer |  |
 Austria |
Co-acting President | 6 July 2004 | 8 July 2004 | 2 days | Head of state |
| Radmila Šekerinska |  |
 Macedonia |
Acting Prime Minister | 12 May 2004 | 12 June 2004 | 31 days | Head of government |
| Radmila Šekerinska | |
Macedonia |
Acting Prime Minister | 3 November 2004 | 15 December 2004 | 42 days | Head of government |
| Yulia Tymoshenko |  |
 Ukraine |
Prime Minister | 24 January 2005 | 6 September 2005 | 225 days | Head of government |
| Fausta Morganti | |
San Marino |
Captain Regent | 1 April 2005 | 1 October 2005 | 183 days | Head of state |
| Cynthia Pratt | |
 Bahamas |
Acting Prime Minister | 4 May 2005 | 6 June 2005 | 32 days | Head of government |
| Maria do Carmo Silveira | |
São Tomé and Príncipe |
Prime Minister | 8 June 2005 | 21 April 2006 | 317 days | Head of government |
| Angela Merkel |  |
 Germany |
Chancellor | 22 November 2005 | Incumbent | 11 years, 208 days | Head of government |
| Ellen Johnson Sirleaf |  |
Liberia |
President | 16 January 2006 | Incumbent (Term ends on 16 January 2018) | 11 years, 153 days | Head of state |
| Michelle Bachelet |  |
 Chile |
President | 11 March 2006 | 11 March 2010 | 4 years, 0 days | Head of state |
| Portia Simpson-Miller |  |
 Jamaica |
Prime Minister | 30 March 2006 | 11 September 2007 | 1 year, 165 days | Head of government |
| Han Myeong-sook |  |
South Korea |
Prime Minister
[c] |
19 April 2006 | 7 March 2007 | 322 days | Head of government |
| Doris Leuthard |  |
Switzerland |
Member of the Swiss Federal Council | 1 August 2006 | Incumbent | 10 years, 321 days | Head of state |
| Dalia Itzik |  |
Israel |
Acting President | 25 January 2007 | 15 July 2007 | 171 days | Head of state |
| Pratibha Patil |  |
India |
President | 25 July 2007 | 25 July 2012 | 5 years, 0 days | Head of state |
| Nino Burjanadze | |
Georgia |
Acting President | 25 November 2007 | 20 January 2008 | 56 days | Head of state |
| Cristina Fernández de Kirchner |  |
Argentina |
President | 10 December 2007 | 9 December 2015 | 7 years, 364 days | Head of state |
| Yulia Tymoshenko | |
Ukraine |
Prime Minister | 18 December 2007 | 3 March 2010 | 2 years, 75 days | Head of government |
| Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf |  |
Switzerland |
Member of the Swiss Federal Council | 1 January 2008 | 31 December 2015 | 7 years, 364 days | Head of state |
| Rosa Zafferani | |
San Marino |
Captain Regent | 1 April 2008 | 1 October 2008 | 183 days | Head of state |
| Zinaida Greceanîi |  |
 Moldova |
Prime Minister | 31 March 2008 | 14 September 2009 | 1 year, 167 days | Head of government |
| Michèle Pierre-Louis |  |
Haiti |
Prime Minister | 5 September 2008 | 11 November 2009 | 1 year, 67 days | Head of government |
| Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri |  |
 South Africa |
Acting President | 24 September 2008 | 25 September 2008 | 14 hours[2][3] | Head of state |
| Assunta Meloni | |
San Marino |
Captain Regent | 1 October 2008 | 1 April 2009 | 182 days | Head of state |
| Sheikh Hasina | |
Bangladesh |
Prime Minister | 6 January 2009 | Incumbent | 8 years, 163 days | Head of government |
| Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir |  |
Iceland |
Prime Minister | 1 February 2009 | 23 May 2013 | 4 years, 111 days | Head of government |
| Rose Francine Rogombé | |
 Gabon |
Acting President | 10 June 2009 | 16 October 2009 | 128 days | Head of state |
| Jadranka Kosor |  |
 Croatia |
Prime Minister | 6 July 2009 | 23 December 2011 | 2 years, 170 days | Head of government |
| Dalia Grybauskaitė |  |
Lithuania |
President | 12 July 2009 | Incumbent (Term ends on 12 July 2019) | 7 years, 341 days | Head of state |
| Cécile Manorohanta | |
 Madagascar |
Acting Prime Minister | 18 December 2009 | 20 December 2009 | 2 days | Head of government |
| Roza Otunbayeva |  |
 Kyrgyzstan |
President | 7 April 2010 | 1 December 2011 | 1 year, 238 days | Head of state |
| Laura Chinchilla |  |
 Costa Rica |
President | 8 May 2010 | 8 May 2014 | 4 years, 0 days | Head of state |
| Kamla Persad-Bissessar |  |
 Trinidad and Tobago |
Prime Minister | 26 May 2010 | 9 September 2015 | 5 years, 106 days | Head of government |
| Mari Kiviniemi |  |
Finland |
Prime Minister | 22 June 2010 | 22 June 2011 | 1 year, 0 days | Head of government |
| Julia Gillard |  |
 Australia |
Prime Minister | 24 June 2010 | 27 June 2013 | 3 years, 3 days | Head of government |
| Iveta Radičová |  |
 Slovakia |
Prime Minister | 8 July 2010 | 4 April 2012 | 1 year, 271 days | Head of government |
| Simonetta Sommaruga |  |
Switzerland |
Member of the Swiss Federal Council | 1 November 2010 | Incumbent | 6 years, 229 days | Head of state |
| Dilma Rousseff |  |
 Brazil |
President | 1 January 2011 | 31 August 2016[4] | 5 years, 243 days | Head of state |
| Rosario Fernández |  |
Peru |
President of the Council of Ministers[a] | 19 March 2011 | 28 July 2011 | 131 days | Head of government |
| Maria Luisa Berti | |
San Marino |
Captain Regent | 1 April 2011 | 1 October 2011 | 183 days | Head of state |
| Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé | |
 Mali |
Prime Minister | 3 April 2011 | 22 March 2012 | 354 days | Head of government |
| Atifete Jahjaga |  |
 Kosovo |
President | 7 April 2011 | 7 April 2016 | 5 years, 0 days | Head of state |
| Yingluck Shinawatra |  |
 Thailand |
Prime Minister | 3 July 2011 | 7 May 2014 | 2 years, 308 days | Head of government |
| Helle Thorning-Schmidt |  |
 Denmark |
Prime Minister | 3 October 2011 | 28 June 2015 | 3 years, 268 days | Head of government |
| Portia Simpson-Miller | |
Jamaica |
Prime Minister | 5 January 2012 | 3 March 2016 | 4 years, 58 days | Head of government |
| Adiato Djaló Nandigna | |
Guinea-Bissau |
Acting Prime Minister | 10 February 2012 | 12 April 2012 | 62 days | Head of government |
| Monique Ohsan Bellepeau | |
 Mauritius |
Acting President | 31 March 2012 | 21 July 2012 | 112 days | Head of state |
| Slavica Đukić Dejanović |  |
 Serbia |
Acting President | 5 April 2012 | 31 May 2012 | 56 days | Head of state |
| Joyce Banda |  |
 Malawi |
President | 7 April 2012 | 31 May 2014 | 2 years, 54 days | Head of state |
| Denise Bronzetti | |
San Marino |
Captain Regent | 1 October 2012 | 1 April 2013 | 182 days | Head of state |
| Park Geun-hye |  |
South Korea |
President | 25 February 2013 | 10 March 2017[5] | 4 years, 13 days | Head of state |
| Alenka Bratušek |  |
 Slovenia |
Prime Minister | 20 March 2013 | 18 September 2014 | 1 year, 182 days | Head of government |
| Antonella Mularoni |  |
San Marino |
Captain Regent | 1 April 2013 | 1 October 2013 | 183 days | Head of state |
| Sibel Siber |  |
 Northern Cyprus |
Prime Minister | 13 June 2013 | 2 September 2013 | 81 days | Head of government |
| Tatiana Turanskaya |  |
 Transnistria |
Prime Minister | 10 June 2013 | 13 October 2015 | 2 years, 125 days | Head of government |
| Aminata Touré | |
Senegal |
Prime Minister | 1 September 2013 | 8 July 2014 | 310 days | Head of government |
| Anna Maria Muccioli | |
San Marino |
Captain Regent | 1 October 2013 | 1 April 2014 | 182 days | Head of state |
| Erna Solberg |  |
Norway |
Prime Minister | 16 October 2013 | Incumbent | 3 years, 245 days | Head of government |
| Laimdota Straujuma |  |
Latvia |
Prime Minister | 22 January 2014 | 11 February 2016 | 2 years, 20 days | Head of government |
| Catherine Samba-Panza |  |
Central African Republic |
Acting President | 23 January 2014 | 30 March 2016 | 2 years, 67 days | Head of state |
| Michelle Bachelet | |
Chile |
President | 11 March 2014 | Incumbent (Term ends on 11 March 2018) | 3 years, 99 days | Head of state |
| Valeria Ciavatta | |
San Marino |
Captain Regent | 1 April 2014 | 1 October 2014 | 183 days | Head of state |
| Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca |  |
Malta |
President | 4 April 2014 | Incumbent | 3 years, 75 days | Head of state |
| Ana Jara |  |
Peru |
President of the Council of Ministers[a] | 22 July 2014 | 2 April 2015 | 254 days | Head of government |
| Ewa Kopacz |  |
Poland |
Prime Minister | 22 September 2014 | 16 November 2015 | 1 year, 55 days | Head of government |
| Florence Duperval Guillaume |  |
Haiti |
Acting Prime Minister | 20 December 2014 | 16 January 2015 | 27 days | Head of government |
| Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović |  |
Croatia |
President | 19 February 2015 | Incumbent | 2 years, 119 days | Head of state |
| Saara Kuugongelwa |  |
 Namibia |
Prime Minister | 21 March 2015 | Incumbent | 2 years, 89 days | Head of government |
| Monique Ohsan Bellepeau | |
Mauritius |
Acting President | 29 May 2015 | 5 June 2015 | 7 days | Head of state |
| Ameenah Gurib |  |
Mauritius |
President | 5 June 2015 | Incumbent | 2 years, 13 days | Head of state |
| Natalia Gherman |  |
Moldova |
Acting Prime Minister | 22 June 2015 | 30 July 2015 | 38 days | Head of government |
| Vassiliki Thanou |  |
 Greece |
Acting Prime Minister | 27 August 2015 | 21 September 2015 | 25 days | Head of government |
| Lorella Stefanelli | |
San Marino |
Captain Regent | 1 October 2015 | 1 April 2016 | 183 days | Head of state |
| Maya Parnas |  |
Transnistria |
Acting Prime Minister | 13 October 2015 | 30 November 2015 | 48 days | Head of government |
| Bidhya Devi Bhandari |  |
 Nepal |
President | 29 October 2015 | Incumbent | 1 year, 232 days | Head of state |
| Beata Szydło |  |
Poland |
Prime Minister | 16 November 2015 | Incumbent | 1 year, 214 days | Head of government |
| Tatiana Turanskaya | |
Transnistria |
Prime Minister | 30 November 2015 | 2 December 2015 | 2 days | Head of government |
| Maya Parnas | |
Transnistria |
Acting Prime Minister | 2 December 2015 | 23 December 2015 | 21 days | Head of government |
| Hilda Heine |  |
 Marshall Islands |
President | 28 January 2016 | Incumbent | 1 year, 141 days | Head of state |
| Tsai Ing-wen |  |
 Taiwan |
President | 20 May 2016 | Incumbent | 1 year, 29 days | Head of state |
| Doris Bures |  |
Austria |
Co-Acting President | 8 July 2016 | 26 January 2017 | 202 days | Head of state |
| Theresa May |  |
United Kingdom |
Prime Minister | 13 July 2016 | Incumbent | 340 days | Head of government |
| Kersti Kaljulaid |  |
 Estonia |
President | 10 October 2016 | Incumbent | 251 days | Head of state |
| Mimma Zavoli | |
San Marino |
Captain Regent | 1 April 2017 | Incumbent | 78 days | Head of state |
| Vanessa D'Ambrosio | |
San Marino |
Captain Regent | 1 April 2017 | Incumbent | 78 days | Head of state |
| Ana Brnabić |  |
Serbia |
Prime Minister | June 2017 | Designate | Head of government |
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