21 female political leaders you need to know about: Part two

Part one of our round-up of women in politics highlighted that sixty-one years after the UN Convention on the Political Rights of Women came into effect, only 21.9% of national parliamentarians worldwide are female. This is an improvement on the recent past but remains less than half of what is required. Some countries perform better than others. Here is the second half of our list of current 2015 female heads of state.

Brazil: Dilma Rousseff

Dilma Rousseff is the first Brazilian female president. This socialist politician has held office since 2011. She was formerly a member of Marxist urban guerrilla groups that rebelled against the military dictatorship following the 1964 coup d’état. Rousseff was jailed and allegedly tortured for two years. She is now a member of the centre-left Workers’ Party. Her current stance is pro-life and against gay marriage, though she supports same-sex civil unions. She promotes the privatization of industry while supporting social welfare schemes and the criminalization of homophobia.

Lithuania: Dalia Grybauskaite

Dalia Grybauskaite is the first female President of Lithuania and the first to serve two consecutive terms. She previously served as the European Commissioner for Financial Programming and the Budget. Her presidential campaign was independent, but she received backing from the conservative Homeland Union party. Her policies are centre-right and she supports LGBT rights. Internationally, she is known for describing Russia as a terrorist state comparable to ISIS. She cites Margaret Thatcher and Mahatma Gandhi as her political role models.

Norway: Erna Solberg

Erna Solberg has led the Norwegian Conservative Party since 2004 and has been Prime Minister since 2013. She focuses on lowering taxes and diversifying the economy to reduce dependence on oil revenue. She previously led the Norwegian Conservative Women’s Association. Fox News in the USA has compared her to Ronald Reagan.

Republic of Korea: Park Geun-hye

The incumbent president of South Korea is the first female head of state in the modern history of northeast Asia. Park leads the right-wing Saenuri Party and maintains a market-oriented approach. She was considered the most conservative candidate in 2012. Her policies have softened since her 2008 bid which focused on lower taxes and reduced regulation. Her foreign policy aligns closely with the United States.

Malta: Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca

Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca is a member of the Maltese centre-left Labour Party. She took office in April 2014 as the second female president and the youngest person to hold the position. She focuses on social inclusion and standards of living. She established a non-profit advisory foundation to investigate these conditions across Malta.

Peru: Ana Jara Velásquez

Ana Jara is the incumbent Peruvian prime minister and formerly served as Minister of Women and Vulnerable Populations. She belongs to the left-wing Peruvian Nationalist Party. Since being sworn in during mid-2014, she has worked to reduce unemployment and poverty. She aims to combine sustainable economic growth with social initiatives.