01 Janauary 2008...

Happy New Year and Happy Birthday to the first appointed/elected female head of state in the world!

Khertek Anchimaa-Toka was born 1 January 1912 to a poor family in what is now Bay-Tayginsky Kozhuun of Tuva. Anchimaa-Toka became Chairperson of the Presidium of the Parliament of the Republic of Tunna Tuva in 1940, making her the first woman in the world to be appointed or elected as head of state. She held the position until 1944. After that, she remained politically active as a vice-chairman of the Regional Executive Committee, and then a vice-chairman of Tuvan Council of Ministers. She retired in 1972.

The New Year 2008, sixty plus years after Anchimaa-Toka's term, rang in with only 12 countries having female prime ministers and/or presidents.

Eight countries have female Presidents:
Argentina, Chile, Finland, India, Ireland, Liberia, The Philippines, and Switzerland.

Four countries have woman Prime Ministers:
Germany, New Zealand, Mozambique, and Ukraine

Also three counties have reigning queens: Denmark, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom (the Queen of the UK is represented by female Governor Generals in Antigua and Barbuda, Canada and Saint Lucia, who function as their countries' de-facto Heads of State and The Netherlands Antilles has a female prime minister).

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_elected_or_appointed_female_heads_of_state
http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/

The First American “petticoat politician” to Run for President

“We’ll overthrow this bogus Republic and plant a government of righteousness instead!” roared Victoria Woodhull in 1872 as the first female to run for president in the USA.

Although virtually ignored by history, Woodhull was well-known in her day. Woodhull was not merely a politician; she and her sister were the first female stockbrokers on Wall Street, she was the publisher of a newspaper, a lobbyist, a social reformer, lecturer, and a mother of two.

Her political platform extended beyond women’s rights. Woodhull ran as presidential candidate of the Equal Rights Party, which supported not only women's right to vote and work, but also supported nationalization of land; cost-based pricing to reduce excessive profits; a fairer division of earnings between labor and capital; the elimination of exorbitant interest rates; and free speech and a free press.

To learn more about Victoria Woodhull visit:
http://feministgeek.com/teaching-learning/woodhull/

America’s Victoria: Remembering Victoria Woodhull is a recent documentary film chronicling the life of this 19-century American feminist, which is now available on DVD from Zoie Films.
http://www.zoiefilms.com/homevideo.html

To view film clips about Woodhull including
HerStory - Victoria Woodhull (3:08), and
Victoria Woodhull Short (2:50) visit:
http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1243622980

To learn about women and the American presidency visit American Women Presidents, a national political action committee (PAC) dedicated to electing women to the U.S. presidency. Their presidential hopefuls for 2008 included Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius.