Council of Women World Leaders

The Council of Women World Leaders is a network of current and former women prime ministers and presidents established in 1996 by Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, former President of Iceland (1980–1996), and Laura Liswood, Secretary General. The Council's mission is to mobilize the highest-level women leaders globally for collective action on issues of critical importance to women. The Council is located in Washington, D.C.

Board of Directors

• Kim Campbell: Prime Minister of Canada (1993); Former Council Chair (1999–2003)
• Vigdís Finnbogadóttir: President of Iceland (1980–1996); Founding Council Chair (1996–1999)
• Dalia Grybauskaitė: President of Lithuania (2009–present); Council Chair (2014–present)
• Tarja Halonen: President of Finland (2000–2012); Former Council Chair (2009–2014)
• Mary Robinson: President of Ireland (1990–1997); Former Council Chair (2003–2009)

Secretariat

• Madeleine Albright: Founding Chair of the Ministerial Initiative (1996–2007); Secretary of State of the United States (1997–2001)
• Kathy Calvin: CEO (2009–present); President (2013–present) of the United Nations Foundation
• Laura Liswood: Secretary General (1996–present)
• Margot Wallström: Chair of the Ministerial Initiative (2007–present); First Vice President of the European Commission (2004–2010); Foreign Minister of Sweden (2014–present)

General Membership

Current Council Members

• Michelle Bachelet: President of Chile (2006–2010, 2014–present)
• Joyce Banda: President of Malawi (2012–2014)
• 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)
• Violeta Chamorro: President of Nicaragua (1990–1996)
• Laura Chinchilla: President of Costa Rica (2010–2014)
• 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)
• Luisa Diogo: Prime Minister of Mozambique (2004–2010)
• Ruth Dreifuss: President of Switzerland (1999)
• Julia Gillard: Prime Minister of Australia (2010–2013)
• Pamela F. Gordon: Premier of Bermuda (1997–1998)
• Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović: President of Croatia (2015–present)
• Sheikh Hasina: Prime Minister of Bangladesh (1996–2001, 2009–present)
• Atifete Jahjaga: President of Kosovo (2011–present)
• Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: President of Liberia (2005–present)
• Emily de Jongh-Elhage: Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles (2006–2010)
• Cristina Fernández de Kirchner: President of Argentina (2007–present)
• Mari Kiviniemi: Prime Minister of Finland (2010–2011)
• Jadranka Kosor: Prime Minister of Croatia (2009–2011)
• Chandrika Kumaratunga: President of Sri Lanka (1994–2005)
• Doris Leuthard: President of Switzerland (2010)
• Maria Liberia Peters: Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles (1984–1986, 1988–1994)
• Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo: President of the Philippines (2001–2010)
• Mary McAleese: President of Ireland (1997–2011)
• Beatriz Merino: Prime Minister of Peru (2003)
• Angela Merkel: Chancellor of Germany (2005–present)
• Mireya Moscoso: President of Panama (1999–2004)
• Maria das Neves: Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe (2002–2004)
• Roza Otunbayeva: President of Kyrgyzstan (2010–2011)
• Geun-hye Park: President of South Korea (2013–present)
• Pratibha Patil: President of India (2007–2012)
• Kamla Persad-Bissessar: Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago (2010–2015)
• Michèle Pierre-Louis: Prime Minister of Haiti (2008–2009)
• Kazimira Prunskienė: Prime Minister of Lithuania (1990–1991)
• Iveta Radičová: Prime Minister of Slovakia (2010–2012)
• Dilma Rousseff: President of Brazil (2011–present)
• Simonetta Sommaruga: President of Switzerland (2015)
• Jenny Shipley: Prime Minister of New Zealand (1997–1999)
• Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir: Prime Minister of Iceland (2009–2013)
• Portia Simpson-Miller: Prime Minister of Jamaica (2006–2007, 2012–present)
• Jennifer M. Smith: Premier of Bermuda (1998–2003)
• Erna Solberg: Prime Minister of Norway (2013–present)
• Hanna Suchocka: Prime Minister of Poland (1992–1993)
• Megawati Sukarnoputri: President of Indonesia (2001–2004)
• Helle Thorning-Schmidt: Prime Minister of Denmark (2011–2015)
• Yulia Tymoshenko: Prime Minister of Ukraine (2005 (2007–2010)
• Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga: President of Latvia (1999–2007)
• Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf: President of Switzerland (2012)
• Khaleda Zia: Prime Minister of Bangladesh (1991–1996, 2001–2006)

Deceased Former Members

• Corazon Aquino: President of the Philippines (1986–1992)
• Benazir Bhutto: Prime Minister of Pakistan (1988–1990, 1993–1996)
• Sirimavo Bandaranaike: Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (1960–1965, 1970–1977, 1994–2000)
• Eugenia Charles: Prime Minister of Dominica (1980–1995)
• Janet Jagan: President of Guyana (1997–1999)
• Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo: Prime Minister of Portugal (1979–1980)
• Margaret Thatcher: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1979–1990)

See also

• List of elected and appointed female heads of state
• List of elected or appointed female heads of government

External links

• Official website