Women in power across Europe

Ms Liz Truss has been unveiled as Britain's new prime minister. PHOTO: REUTERS

PARIS - Ms Liz Truss, who was unveiled as Britain's new prime minister Monday, joins a group of over a dozen European women who are either president or prime minister of their country.

Here is the list, which does not include Ms Ursula von der Leyen, who became the first woman president of the European Commission in December 2019:

Britain

In Britain, which is part of Europe but no longer part of the European Union, Ms Truss won the leadership race of the ruling Conservative Party, automatically making her leader of the country after Mr Boris Johnson's resignation in July.

Ms Truss is the third woman prime minister after "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher, who was in charge from 1979 to 1990, and Ms Theresa May, who governed from 2016 to 2019 - all Conservatives.

Denmark

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. PHOTO: AFP

Social Democrat leader Mette Frederiksen became her country's youngest-ever prime minister in June 2019, when she was elected premier at the age of 41. Denmark's first woman prime minister was Ms Helle Thorning-Schmidt, also from the Social Democrats, who served from 2011 to 2015.

Estonia

Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid. PHOTO: KERSTI KALJULAID

Former EU auditor Kersti Kaljulaid, 52, became the first female president of the Baltic state of Estonia in October 2016. The position is a largely ceremonial one.

Ms Kaja Kallas in January 2021 became Estonia's first woman prime minister. Her father Siim Kallas was prime minister from 2002-2004.

Finland

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin. PHOTO: AFP

In December 2019, Ms Sanna Marin, a Social Democrat, became the youngest sitting prime minister in the world at the age of 34.

Finland's third female prime minister has been in the headlines recently over pictures of her dancing and partying with friends.

France

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

Ms Elisabeth Borne, a 61-year-old engineer, was named French prime minister in May, becoming only the second woman to hold the position after Ms Edith Cresson, a Socialist, who held the job for less than a year in the early 1990s.

Greece

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou. PHOTO: KATERINA SAKELLAROPOULOU/FACEBOOK

Ms Katerina Sakellaropoulou, a trailblazing lawyer, was elected Greece's first female president in January 2020.

While the presidency is a mainly ceremonial role in Greece, Ms Sakellaropoulou had already broken new ground in the judiciary by becoming president of the country's top court in 2018.

Hungary

Hungarian President Katalin Novak. PHOTO: REUTERS

Ms Katalin Novak, a close ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban and former minister for family policy, was elected Hungary's first ever woman president in March 2022. The presidency is a largely ceremonial role.

Lithuania

Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte. PHOTO: AFP

Lithuanian former finance minister Ingrida Simonyte, a 47-year-old rock and ice hockey fan, was appointed prime minister of a centre-right government in December 2020.

Lithuania has a strong tradition of female leadership, with "Baltic Iron Lady" Dalia Grybauskaite spending a decade in power from 2009 to 2019.

Slovakia

Slovakian President Zuzana Caputova. PHOTO: AFP

Liberal lawyer and anti-graft campaigner Zuzana Caputova, 48, took office in June 2019 as Slovakia's first woman president.

A political novice, she had comfortably beaten the ruling party's candidate in elections. In Slovakia, the president has less power than the prime minister but can veto laws and appointments of senior judges.

Sweden

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson. PHOTO: REUTERS

Despite being a country that champions gender equality, Sweden never had a woman as prime minister before Ms Magdalena Andersson, a Social Democrat, who won the top job in November 2021.

An economist who had served as finance minister for seven years, Ms Andersson had a rocky start. Hours after becoming premier she resigned after her budget was rejected by Parliament and the Greens quit her coalition. Four days later she was re-elected.

Rest of Europe

Elsewhere in Europe, outside the EU, other women currently in power are: Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, Iceland's Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, Kosovo's President Vjosa Osmani, Moldova's President and Prime Minister Maia Sandu and Ms Natalia Gavrilita, Serbia's openly-gay Ana Brnabic, and Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. AFP

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