By Edson Baraukwa | Africa Guardian
Despite the deeply rooted patriarchal system in our culture, women have still managed to beat the system and are taking over some of the leadership roles traditionally designated for men, including the highest seat in the country.
Did you know that Africa currently has two female presidents and only a total of 10 African women have ever served as president of their countries?
Here is a look at female presidents in Africa, starting with the current women presidents and past presidents.
Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan (Tanzania).
Samia Suluhu Hassan (born 27 January 1960) is a Tanzanian politician who has been serving since 19 March 2021 as the sixth and first female president of Tanzania. She is a member of the ruling social-democrat Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party and the third female head of government of an East African Community (EAC) country. Upon the death in office of President John Magufuli, she was sworn in as president.
A native of Zanzibar,[2] Suluhu served as a minister in the semi-autonomous region during the administration of President Amani Karume. She served as the Member of Parliament for the Makunduchi constituency from 2010 to 2015 and was the Minister of State in the Vice-President’s Office for Union Affairs from 2010 to 2015. In 2014, she was elected as the vice-chairperson of the Constituent Assembly tasked with the drafting of the country’s new constitution.
Suluhu became Tanzania’s first female vice-president following the 2015 general election, after being elected on the CCM ticket with President Magufuli. Suluhu and Magufuli were re-elected to a second term in 2020. She briefly served as the second female interim Head of State in the EAC – 27 years after Sylvie Kinigi of Burundi, spanning a period around the end of the year 1993.
As President, Suluhu’s government enacted policies to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic in Tanzania – in contrast to denialism under Magufuli – and made efforts towards political reconciliation with opposition parties.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Sahle-Work Zewde (Ethiopia).
President Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia is the other only female president in Africa currently.
She assumed the presidential office on the 25th of October 2018, following her appointment by The Federal Parliamentary Assembly, becoming the first female president in the country.
Before becoming president, Sahle-Work Zewde had a long diplomatic career. She served as an ambassador to Senegal, with accreditation to Cape Verde, Mali, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Guinea, between 1989 and 1993. She was the ambassador to Djibouti and France.
Besides her ambassadorial positions, Sahle-Work also served as the Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
She served as the Director-General for African Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, and the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON).
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim (Mauritius).
Dr. Bibi Ameenah Firdaus Gurib-Fakim (born 17 October 1959)[3] is a Mauritian politician and biodiversity scientist who served as the sixth president of Mauritius from 2015 to 2018. In December 2014, she was selected to be the presidential candidate of the Alliance Lepep. After Kailash Purryag resigned on 29 May 2015, both Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth and Leader of the Opposition Paul Berenger positively welcomed her nomination, which was unanimously approved in a vote in the National Assembly.[4]
Gurib-Fakim is the first woman elected as president of the country and is the third woman to have served as Head of State following Queen Elizabeth II and Monique Ohsan Bellepeau, who preceded her in this office and was her first Vice President. She served as a 2019 keynote speaker of Cambridge University‘s conference “Africa Together: Which Way Forward?” hosted by the African Society of Cambridge University.[5] (Source: Wikipedia)
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia).
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is a former President of Liberia. She was the first elected female president of both Liberia and the whole of Africa.
Sirleaf vied for the presidency for the first time in 2005 and won with a 59% majority. She was sworn in on the 16th of January 2006 as the 24th president of Liberia and the first female president of the country.
She ran for a second term during the 2011 general election and won. She served her second and final time until 2018.
Joyce Banda (Malawi).
She became the president following the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika and served until 2014. She vied for the presidency in 2014 but was defeated.
Women Presidents In Africa Under Acting Capacity.
Sylvie Kinigi (Burundi).
Served as acting president from 27 October 1993 to 5 February 1994.
Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri (South Africa).
Served as acting president for 4 days in September 2005 and again for 14 hours on 25 September 2008.
Rose Francine Rogombe (Gabon).
Served as the interim president of Gabon from 10 June 2009 to 16 October 2009 following the death of the then-president Omar Bongo.
Agnes Monique Ohsan Bellepeau (Mauritius).
Served as acting president between 31 March 2012 to 21 July 2012 and again from 29 May 2015 to 5 June 2015.
Catherine Samba Panza (Central African Republic).
Served as acting president from January 2014 to March 2016.