Council of Women World Leaders
The Council of Women World Leaders, created in 1996, is a network of 83 current and former presidents and prime ministers. It is the only organization in the world dedicated to women heads of state and government. The council's Ministerial Initiative also involves current and former cabinet ministers and secretaries in the work of the council.
| Formation | 1996 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Mary Robinson Laura Liswood |
| Type | NGO, network |
| Purpose | To mobilize the highest-level women leaders on issues of critical importance to women |
| Headquarters | United Nations Foundation, Washington, D.C. |
Membership | 83 current and former women prime ministers and presidents |
Secretary General | Laura Liswood |
Council Chair | Katrín Jakobsdóttir |
| Affiliations | United Nations Foundation |
| Website | councilwomenworldleaders.org |
Leadership
Katrín Jakobsdóttir
Council Chair
(2020–present)
Prime Minister of Iceland
(2017–present)Laura Liswood
Secretary General
(1996–present)
Chair Emeritae
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir
Council Chair
(1996–1999)
President of Iceland
(1980–1996)Kim Campbell
Council Chair
(1999–2003)
Prime Minister of Canada
(1993)Mary Robinson
Council Chair
(2003–2009)
President of Ireland
(1990–1997)Tarja Halonen
Council Chair
(2009–2014)
President of Finland
(2000–2012)Dalia Grybauskaitė
Council Chair
(2014–2019)
President of Lithuania
(2009–2019)Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović
Council Chair
(2019–2020)
President of Croatia
(2015–2020)
Members
Members currently serving as heads of state or government
Najla Bouden
Prime Minister of Tunisia
(2021–present)Ana Brnabić
Prime Minister of Serbia
(2017–present)Zuzana Čaputová
President of Slovakia
(2019–present)Mette Frederiksen
Prime Minister of Denmark
(2019–present)Sheikh Hasina
Prime Minister of Bangladesh
(1996–2001, 2009–present)Kaja Kallas
Prime Minister of Estonia
(2021–present)Saara Kuugongelwa
Prime Minister of Namibia
(2015–present)Sanna Marin
Prime Minister of Finland
(2019–present)Katerina Sakellaropoulou
President of Greece
(2020–present)Maia Sandu
President of Moldova
(2020–present)Ingrida Šimonytė
Prime Minister of Lithuania
(2020–present)Paula-Mae Weekes
President of Trinidad and Tobago
(2018–present)Sahle-Work Zewde
President of Ethiopia
(2018–present)Salome Zourabichvili
President of Georgia
(2018–present)Tsai Ing-wen
President of the Republic of China
(2016–present)
Members who previously served as heads of state or government
Mercedes Aráoz
Prime Minister of Peru
(2017–2018)Jacinda Ardern
Prime Minister of New Zealand
(2017–2023)Michelle Bachelet
President of Chile
(2006–2010, 2014–2018)Joyce Banda
President of Malawi
(2012–2014)Violeta Chamorro
President of Nicaragua
(1990–1996)Gro Harlem Brundtland
Prime Minister of Norway
(1981, 1986–1989, 1990–1996)Micheline Calmy-Rey
President of Switzerland
(2007, 2011)Susanne Camelia-Römer
Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles
(1993, 1998–1999)Tansu Çiller
Prime Minister of Turkey
(1993–1996)Helen Clark
Prime Minister of New Zealand
(1999–2008)Paula Cox
Premier of Bermuda
(2010–2012)Édith Cresson
Prime Minister of France
(1991–1992)Viorica Dăncilă
Prime Minister of Romania
(2018–2019)Luisa Diogo
Prime Minister of Mozambique
(2004–2010)Park Geun-hye
President of South Korea
(2013–2017)Julia Gillard
Prime Minister of Australia
(2010–2013)Pamela F. Gordon
Premier of Bermuda
(1997–1998)Ameenah Gurib-Fakim
President of Mauritius
(2015–2018)Hilda Heine
President of the Marshall Islands
(2016–2020)Atifete Jahjaga
President of Kosovo
(2011–2016)Kersti Kaljulaid
President of Estonia
(2016–2021)Mari Kiviniemi
Prime Minister of Finland
(2010–2011)Jadranka Kosor
Prime Minister of Croatia
(2009–2011)Chandrika Kumaratunga
President of Sri Lanka
(1994–2005)Maria Liberia Peters
Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles
(1984–1986, 1988–1994)Mary McAleese
President of Ireland
(1997–2011)Angela Merkel
Chancellor of Germany
(2005–2021)Mireya Moscoso
President of Panama
(1999–2004)Roza Otunbayeva
President of Kyrgyzstan
(2010–2011)Pratibha Patil
President of India
(2007–2012)Michèle Pierre-Louis
Prime Minister of Haiti
(2008–2009)Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca
President of Malta
(2014–2019)Dilma Rousseff
President of Brazil
(2011–2016)Jenny Shipley
Prime Minister of New Zealand
(1997–1999)Portia Simpson-Miller
Prime Minister of Jamaica
(2006–2007, 2012–2016)Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
President of Liberia
(2006–2018)Jennifer M. Smith
Premier of Bermuda
(1998–2003)Erna Solberg
Prime Minister of Norway
(2013–2021)Simonetta Sommaruga
President of Switzerland
(2015, 2020)Laimdota Straujuma
Prime Minister of Latvia
(2014–2016)Hanna Suchocka
Prime Minister of Poland
(1992–1993)Megawati Sukarnoputri
President of Indonesia
(2001–2004)Aminata Touré
Prime Minister of Senegal
(2013–2014)Yulia Tymoshenko
Prime Minister of Ukraine
(2005, 2007–2010)Mirtha Vásquez
Prime Minister of Peru
(2021–2022)Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga
President of Latvia
(1999–2007)Sophie Wilmès
Prime Minister of Belgium
(2019–2020)Begum Khaleda Zia
Prime Minister of Bangladesh
(1991–1996, 2001–2006)Natalia Gavrilița
Prime Minister of Moldova
(2021–2023)
Deceased members
Corazon Aquino
President of the Philippines
(1986–1992)Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
(1960–1965, 1970–1977, 1994–2000)Benazir Bhutto
Prime Minister of Pakistan
(1988–1990, 1993–1996)Eugenia Charles
Prime Minister of Dominica
(1980–1995)Janet Jagan
President of Guyana
(1997–1999)
See also
References
External links
- Official website
- Council of Women World Leaders on Twitter
- Council of Women World Leaders on Facebook