From Angela Merkel to Sonia Gandhi, here are some influential women in politics

On 27 July, Hillary Clinton became the first woman in US history to be nominated as president. According to CNN, the former first lady and secretary of state claimed her place in history after becoming the Democratic Party’s nominee for US president. As Hillary Clinton prepares to take on a tough fight with Donald Trump, take a look at other leaders from around the world, who are some of the most influential women in politics. Angela Merkel She is popularly known as one of the ‘architects’ of the European Union. In 2005, the German politician became the first female Chancellor of Germany, who was then elected to a second term in 2009, and is currently serving her third term after winning in 2013. She has also been the leader of the Christian Democratic Union, since 2000. Merkel is known for getting her country out of severe recession and is said to have played a crucial role in opening the country’s borders to immigrants from Syria and other countries.  In 2012, Forbes Magazine ranked her as the world’s second most powerful person. [caption id=“attachment_2923672” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  A file photo of Angela Merkel. REUTERS[/caption] Sonia Gandhi An Italian-born Indian politician and widow of former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi is currently the president of the Indian National Congress. She has been leading the party since 1998, making her the longest serving president of the party. [caption id=“attachment_2829946” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A file photo of Sonia Gandhi. PTI[/caption] Gandhi has always topped the world’s most influential people’s list. While her first victory dates back to 1999, when she won the Lok Sabha elections from Bellary and Amethi, a Congress government was formed as she won by a huge margin in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections from Rae Bareilly again. In 2009, she played a major role as her party came back to power winning 2006 seats in the Lok Sabha, a highest by any party at that time. Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto was the first democratically-elected leader of a Muslim country. She served as prime minister twice and just as she was going to contest in the 2008 general elections, she was assassinated in 2007. At 16, she had left her homeland to study at Harvard’s Radcliffe College. She returned in 1977 and her father Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto became the prime minister of Pakistan. Faced by many tragedies in the family, attacks and allegations through her reign, Bhutto still remains the most powerful leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and one of the most influential Muslim women leaders. [caption id=“attachment_2923674” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Benazir Bhutto. Image Courtesy: Facebook/BenazirBhutto[/caption] Ellen Johnson Sirleaf [caption id=“attachment_2923680” align=“alignleft” width=“385”]  Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Image Courtesy: Facebook/EllenJohnson[/caption] Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has been the president of Liberia for the past 10 years and is the first female head of state in Africa. The Nobel Prize winner is known to have played a major role in developing a country dominated by civil war. She received the Nobel Prize for her efforts to further women rights. She was also an influential economist for the World Bank as Liberia collapsed due to the civil war. Yingluck Shinawatra Yingluck Shinawatra, though currently not in power, was earlier Thailand’s first women prime minister and the 45 year old became the youngest leader of the country in 60 years. The Pheu Thai party won in 2011, under Shinawatra’s leadership. She also led the world’s biggest wildlife summit to fight ivory trade. The former businesswoman followed the footsteps of her brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, former prime minister. [caption id=“attachment_2923688” align=“alignnone” width=“850”]  A file photo of Yingluck Shinawatra. REUTERS[/caption]