List of the first female holders of political offices in Africa

Main article: List of the first female holders of political offices

Benin

Foreign minister - Mariam Aladji Boni Diallo - 2006

Botswana

Foreign minister - Gaositwe K.T. Chiepe - 1985
Chairperson of the House of Chiefs - Mosadi Seboko - 2003 ^[1]

Burundi

Prime Minister - Sylvie Kinigi - 1993
President (acting) - Sylvie Kinigi - 1993
Ambassador of Burundi - Julie Ngiriye - 1993
Foreign minister - Antoinette Batumubwira - 2006

Cape Verde

Foreign minister - Fátima Veiga - 2002
Defence minister - Cristina Fontes Lima - 2006

Central African Republic

Prime Minister - Elisabeth Domitien - 1975

Comoros

Member of the Assembly of the Union of the Comoros - Djoueria Abdallah - 2004

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Foreign minister - Ekila Liyonda - 1987

Egypt

Pharaoh (Head of state) - Sobekneferu - 1806 BC (first known female Head of state in history)
Sultana (Head of state) - Shajar al-Durr - 1250 (first female Head of state in the Arab world)
Member of Parliament - Rawya Ateya - 1957 (first female MP in the Arab world)
Minister (for Social Affairs) - Dr. Hikmat Abu Zayd - 1962 ^[2]
Ambassador (to Denmark) - Dr. Aisha Rateb - 1979
Judge of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt - Tahany El-Gebaly - 2003

Gabon

Foreign minister - Pascaline Mferri Bongo - 1991
President (interim) - Rose Francine Rogombé - 2009

Guinea

Foreign minister - Mahawa Bangoura - 2000

Guinea-Bissau

President (acting) - Carmen Pereira - 1984
Foreign minister - Hilia Barber - 1999
Defence minister - Filomena Mascarenhas Tipote - 2005

Lesotho

Monarch (regent) - Queen 'Mamohato - 1970

Liberia

Foreign minister - Dorothy Musuleng-Cooper - 1994
Chairwoman of the Council of State - Ruth Perry - 1997
President pro tempore of the Liberian Senate - Grace B. Minor - 2002
President - Ellen Johnson Sirleaf - 2006

Madagascar

Foreign minister - Lila Ratsifandrihamanana - 1998
Defence minister - Cécile Manorohanta - 2007
Prime Minister - Cécile Manorohanta - 2009

Malawi

Foreign minister - Lilian Patel - 2000
Interior minister - Anna Kachikho - 2005
Vice President - Joyce Banda - 2009

Mali

Foreign minister - Sy Kadiatou Sow - 1994
Prime minister - Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé - 2011

Mauritania

Foreign minister - Naha Mint Mouknass - 2009

Mozambique

Prime Minister - Luisa Diogo - 2004
Foreign minister - Alcinda Abreu - 2005

Namibia

Interior minister - Rosalia Nghidinwa - 2005

Niger

Foreign minister - Aïchatou Mindaoudou - 1999

Nigeria

Finance Minister - Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala - 2003
Foreign Minister - Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala- 2006

Anambra State

Governor of Anambra State (South East Nigeria) - Virginia Etiaba - 2006

Rwanda

Prime Minister - Agathe Uwilingiyimana - 1993
Minister of Foreign Affairs - Rosemary Museminali - 2008
President of the Chamber of Deputies of Rwanda - Rose Mukantabana - 2008 ^[3]

São Tomé and Príncipe

Foreign minister - Maria do Nascimento da Graça Amorim - 1978
Prime Minister - Maria das Neves - 2002

Senegal

Prime Minister - Mame Madior Boye - 2001

Seychelles

Foreign minister - Danielle de St. Jorre - 1989

Sierra Leone

Foreign minister - Shirley Gbujama - 1996

South Africa

Foreign minister - Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma - 1999
Deputy President - Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka - 2005
Mayor of Cape Town - Helen Zille - 2006
Leader of a Major Party - Helen Zille - 2007
Premier of Western Cape - Lynne Brown - 2008

Swaziland

Monarch (regent) - Queen Dzeliwe - 1982

Tanzania

Foreign minister - Asha-Rose Migiro - 2006

Zimbabwe

Vice President - Joyce Mujuru - 2006

Uganda

Foreign minister - Elizabeth Bagaya - 1974

Footnotes and references

^ Guide2Women Leaders
^ "Women in the Executive Authority". Egypt State Information Service. http://www.sis.gov.eg/En/Story.aspx?sid=2259. Retrieved 2011-03-07.
^ IPU PARLINE database: Rwanda Chambre des Députés (Chamber of Deputies)

See also