Women of power : half a century of female presidents and prime ministers worldwide / Torild Skard.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Skard, Torild, 1936-

Standardized Title:

Maktens kvinner. English

Language:

English

Norwegian

Subjects (All):

Women--Political activity.

Women.

Women politicians.

Women presidents.

Women prime ministers.

Physical Description:

xiii, 585 pages : illustrations, map ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Bristol : Policy Press, 2014.

Language Note:

Translation of the Norwegian title "Maktens kvinner : verdens kvinnelige presidenter og statsministre, 1960-2010, published by Universitetsforlaget, 2012.

Summary:

At a time when a woman - Angela Merkel - is arguably the most powerful leader in Europe and another - Hillary Clinton - looks continuously poised for the U.S. presidency, it seems that women have broken through the glass ceiling and begun to populate the highest offices of the political world. This book is a testament to that feat, offering a comprehensive overview of female presidents and prime ministers.

Contents:

1 Breakthrough on several continents 7

Sirimavo Bandaranaike: first woman in Ceylon 7

India's 'Empress' Indira Gandhi 17

Golda Meir takes charge - and Dalia Irzik follows 28

Dancer Isabel Perón takes over in Argentina 37

Friend of the Central African Republics dictator: Elisabeth Domitien 42

Game of chance 47

2 Women in politics: background, approaches, research 53

Glimpses back in time 55

The United Nations 57

Changing world 60

Political structures and actors 66

3 Western industrial countries (I): women are able - in various ways 83

The world's first democracies 83

Margaret Thatcher: Conservative Iron Lady 85

Solitary swallows in Malta and Portugal: Agatha Barbara and Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo 96

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir and Icelandic red stockings 102

Norway's 'Mother', Gro Harlem Brundtland 105

Rising wave of feminism 115

4 'Roaring She-Tigers' in South Asia 121

Poor and populous South Asia 121

Benazir Bhutto: daughter of the East 122

Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh 135

Epilogue in India: Pratibha Patil 147

Chandrika Kumaratunga of Sri Lanka 150

Dynasties and violence 153

5 Equilibrists in East Asia 161

Manifold island realms 161

Cory Aquino, the Philippines' number one 162

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Philippines' number two 172

Megawati and Moslem men in Indonesia 180

When a dictator falls 188

Han Myung-sook: on her own merits in South Korea 192

6 Machismo, marianismo and modernism in Latin America 197

Violeta Chamorro: Peace Dove in Nicaragua 197

Third wave of democratisation 205

Bolivian revolutionary: Lidia Güeiler Tejada 209

Janet Jagan: from Chicago to Guyana 212

Panama's 'new dawn': Mireya Moscoso 218

Beatriz Merino: independent woman in Peru 222

Unlikely pioneer in Chile: Michelle Bachelet 224

Cristina Fernández follows up in Argentina 231

Pink Wave in Costa Rica and Brazil: Laura Chinchilla and Dilma Rousseff 238

Behind a successful woman is a strong man 243

7 Lopsided democracies in the Caribbean 253

British heritage and male networks 253

Eugenia Charles: a Caribbean matriarch 255

Three Haitian women in the turmoil: Ertha Pascal-Trouillot, Claudette Werleigh and Michele Pierre-Louis 262

Portia Simpson-Miller: up and down in Jamaica 267

Kamla Persad-Bissessar in Trinidad and Tobago 271

Male-dominated democracy 274

8 'Big Chiefs' in sub-Saharan Africa 279

Rudi Perry ends Liberia's civil war 279

Authoritarian rule in poor countries 284

Explosion in Rwanda and Burundi: Agatha Uwlingiyimana and Sylvie Kinigi 288

Maine Madior Boye: change of elites in Senegal 293

Political squeeze in Sao Tomé and Príncipe: Maria das Neves and Maria do Carnio Silveira 298

Luisa Diogo: assistant to the boss in Mozambique 301

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to the top in Liberia 305

Rose Rogombé, Gabon's master of ceremonies 313

Overshadowed by 'Big Chiefs' 314

9 Eastern Bloc: from communism to capitalism 321

Liberation becomes oppression 321

Satellites and collapse 325

Croatia's Milka Planinc and Jadranka Kosor 326

'Shock therapy' in the East 333

Lithuanian relay: Kazimiera Prunskiene and Dalia Grybauskaite 335

Sabine Bergmann-Pohl, the last head of East Germany 341

Polish compromise: Hanna Suchocka 343

Latvia's queen: Vaira Vike-Freiberga 346

Reneta Indzhova: Bulgarian episode 350

Rose Revolution with Nino Burjanadze 351

Yulia Tymoshenko: Ukraine's Orange Princess 353

'Communism' in Moldova: Zinaida Grcceanîi 358

Iveta Radicová, sociologist in Slovakia 364

Patriarchy continues 365

No women at the top: Russia 372

10 Western industrial countries (II): womanpower and defeat 375

Irish surprise: Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese 375

Edith Cresson: caught in a French trap 382

Kim Campbell: an impossible task in Canada 388

Ambitious Turkish economist: Tansu Ciller 391

Women's top two in New Zealand: Jenny Shipley and Helen Clark 396

Switzerland lets women in: Ruth Dreifuss, Michcline Calmy-Rey and Doris Leuthard 404

Finland's three national leaders: Tarja Halonen, Anneli Jäätteenmäki and Mari Kiviniemi 407

Angela Merkel: the world's quiet leader 414

Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir rescues the Saga island 423

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard under attack 427

Breakers, walls and rising tide 432

11 Where women came to power: summary of the regional chapters 439

Western countries 439

Eastern countries (former Eastern Bloc) 441

Latin America and the Caribbean 443

Asia 446

Sub-Saharan Africa 449

Where women did not go to the top 451

12 When women made it to the top: overview, variation, trends 461

Remarkable and limited 461

Favourable conditions 462

Well-equipped women 466

Struggling upwards 472

More or less power 481

Women's leadership 485

Woman-friendly democracy 496.

Notes:

Translation of: Maktens kvinner.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 517-559) and index.

ISBN:

9781447315780

1447315782

OCLC:

880196349