List of female speakers of national and territorial unicameral parliaments
In government, unicameralism (Latin uni, one + camera, chamber) is the practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber. Thus, a unicameral parliament or unicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of one chamber or house. Unicameral legislatures typically exist in small and homogeneous unitary states, where a second chamber is considered unnecessary.
Many women have been elected to parliaments around the world, starting around the first quarter of 20th century. Some of them were entrusted to take the position of Speaker of the parliament. This is a list of women who were chosen to serve as unicameral parliament speakers at the national and territorial level.[1]
National
Italics denotes an acting speaker of parliament and states that are either de facto (with limited to no international recognition) or defunct.
Name | Image | Country | Legislative Body | Mandate start | Mandate end | Term length |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Erzsébet Metzker Vass | Hungary | National Assembly | 21 March 1963 | 14 April 1967 | 4 years, 24 days | |
Soong Ching-ling | China, People's Republic of | National People's Congress | 6 July 1976 | 5 March 1978 | 1 year, 242 days | |
Alda Neves da Graça do Espírito Santo | São Tomé and Príncipe | National Assembly | 1980 | 1991 | 11 years, 0 days | |
Marie Davis Pierre | Dominica | House of Assembly | 13 August 1980 | 29 December 1988 | 8 years, 138 days | |
Maria Lea Pedini-Angelini | San Marino | Grand and General Council | 1 April 1981 | 1 October 1981 | 183 days | |
Maria Julia Castillo Rodas | El Salvador | Legislative Assembly | 1983 | 1985 | 2 years, 0 days | |
Gloriana Ranocchini | San Marino | Grand and General Council | 1 April 1984 | 1 October 1984 | 183 days | |
Rosemary Karspinsky Dodero | Costa Rica | Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica | 1 May 1986 | 1 May 1987 | 1 year, 0 days | |
Gloriana Ranocchini | San Marino | Grand and General Council | 1 October 1989 | 1 April 1990 | 182 days | |
Sabine Bergmann-Pohl | East Germany | Volkskammer | 5 April 1990 | 2 October 1990 | 180 days | |
Elmira Gafarova | Azerbaijan | National Assembly | 18 May 1990 | 5 March 1992 | 1 year, 292 days | |
Edda Ceccoli | San Marino | Grand and General Council | 1 October 1991 | 1 April 1992 | 183 days | |
Kirsti Kolle Grøndahl | Norway | Storting | 1993 | 2001 | 8 years, 0 days | |
Patrizia Busignani | San Marino | Grand and General Council | 1 April 1993 | 1 October 1993 | 183 days | |
Neva Edwards | Dominica | House of Assembly | 1 November 1993 | 2 August 1995 | 1 year, 274 days | |
Balbina Herrera | Panama | National Assembly | 1994 | 1995 | 1 year, 0 days | |
Gloria Salguero Gross | El Salvador | Legislative Assembly | 1994 | 1997 | 3 years, 0 days | |
Riitta Uosukainen | Finland | Eduskunta | 7 February 1994 | 23 March 1995 | 1 year, 44 days | |
Birgitta Dahl | Sweden | Riksdag | 3 October 1994 | 30 September 2002 | 7 years, 362 days | |
Riitta Uosukainen | Finland | Eduskunta | 21 April 1995 | 23 March 1999 | 3 years, 336 days | |
Martha Chávez | Peru | Congress of the Republic | 27 July 1995 | 26 July 1996 | 365 days | |
Ilga Kreituse | Latvia | Saeima | 7 November 1995 | 26 September 1996 | 324 days | |
Myriam Spiteri Debono | Malta | House of Representatives | September 1996 | August 1998 | 1 year, 334 days | |
Marijke Djwalapersad | Suriname | National Assembly | 10 October 1996 | 23 July 2000 | 3 years, 287 days | |
Rosa Zafferani | San Marino | Grand and General Council | 1 April 1999 | 1 October 1999 | 183 days | |
Riitta Uosukainen | Finland | Eduskunta | 20 April 1999 | 18 March 2003 | 3 years, 332 days | |
Martha Hildebrandt | Peru | Congress of the Republic | 27 July 1999 | 13 November 2000 | 1 year, 109 days | |
Maria Domenica Michelotti | San Marino | Grand and General Council | 1 April 2000 | 1 October 2000 | 183 days | |
Alix Boyd Knights | Dominica | House of Assembly | 17 April 2000 | Incumbent | 16 years, 234 days | |
Rina Contreras Lopez | Costa Rica | Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica | 1 May 1986 | 1 May 1987 | 1 year, 0 days | |
Luz Salgado | Peru | Congress of the Republic | 13 November 2000 | 16 November 2000 | 3 days | |
Eugenia Ostapciuc | Moldova | Parliament | 20 March 2001 | 24 March 2005 | 4 years, 4 days | |
Vesna Perović | Montenegro | Parliament | 7 June 2001 | 5 November 2002 | 1 year, 151 days | |
Nino Burjanadze | Georgia | Parliament | 9 November 2001 | 7 June 2008 | 6 years, 211 days | |
Nataša Mićić | Serbia | National Assembly | 6 December 2001 | 27 January 2004 | 2 years, 52 days | |
Katalin Szili | Hungary | National Assembly | 15 May 2002 | 14 September 2009 | 7 years, 122 days | |
Ingrīda Ūdre | Latvia | Saeima | 5 November 2002 | 7 November 2006 | 4 years, 2 days | |
Anneli Jäätteenmäki | Finland | Eduskunta | 25 March 2003 | 16 April 2003 | 22 days | |
Ene Ergma | Estonia | Riigikogu | 31 March 2003 | 23 March 2006 | 2 years, 357 days | |
Liisa Jaakonsaari | Finland | Eduskunta | 17 April 2003 | 22 April 2003 | 5 days | |
Valeria Ciavatta | San Marino | Grand and General Council | 1 October 2003 | 1 April 2004 | 183 days | |
Lilijana Popovska | Macedonia, Republic of | Assembly of the Republic | 8 November 2003 | 18 November 2003 | 10 days | |
Marcella Liburd | Saint Kitts and Nevis | National Assembly | 2004 | 18 April 2008 | 4 years, 108 days | |
Fatma Ekenoglu | Northern Cyprus | Assembly of the Republic | 14 January 2004 | 6 May 2009 | 5 years, 112 days | |
Anna Benaki-Psarouda | Greece | Vouli | 19 March 2004 | 18 August 2007 | 3 years, 152 days | |
Margaret Wilson | New Zealand | House of Representatives | 3 March 2005 | 8 November 2008 | 3 years, 250 days | |
Fausta Morganti | San Marino | Grand and General Council | 1 April 2005 | 1 October 2005 | 183 days | |
Jozefina Topalli | Albania | Parliament | 3 September 2005 | 10 September 2013 | 8 years, 7 days | |
Dalia Itzik | Israel | Knesset | 28 March 2006 | 10 March 2009 | 2 years, 347 days | |
Belinda Bidwell | Gambia, The | National Assembly | 20 April 2006 | 5 February 2007 | 291 days | |
Mercedes Cabanillas | Peru | Congress of the Republic | 27 July 2006 | 26 July 2007 | 364 days | |
Cilia Flores | Venezuela | National Assembly | 15 August 2006 | 5 January 2011 | 4 years, 143 days | |
Akja Nuberdiyeva | Turkmenistan | Assembly | 22 December 2006 | Incumbent | 9 years, 351 days | |
Fatoumata Jahumpa Ceesay | Gambia, The | National Assembly | 5 February 2007 | 12 November 2010 | 3 years, 280 days | |
Ene Ergma | Estonia | Riigikogu | 2 April 2007 | 20 March 2014 | 6 years, 352 days | |
Rosa Zafferani | San Marino | Captain Regent | 1 April 2008 | 1 October 2008 | 183 days | |
Slavica Đukić Dejanović | Serbia | National Assembly | 25 June 2008 | 31 May 2012 | 3 years, 341 days | |
Assunta Meloni | San Marino | Grand and General Council | 1 October 2008 | 1 April 2009 | 182 days | |
Joyce Bamford-Addo | Ghana | Parliament | 7 January 2009 | 6 January 2013 | 3 years, 365 days | |
Ásta Ragnheiður Jóhannesdóttir | Iceland | Althing | 15 May 2009 | 23 May 2013 | 4 years, 8 days | |
Tsetska Tsacheva | Bulgaria | National Assembly | 14 July 2009 | 13 March 2013 | 3 years, 180 days | |
Irena Degutienė | Lithuania | Seimas | 15 September 2009 | 14 September 2012 | 2 years, 365 days | |
Margaret Nasha | Botswana | National Assembly | 21 October 2009 | 12 November 2014 | 5 years, 22 days | |
Verónica Macamo | Mozambique | Assembly of the Republic | 12 January 2010 | Incumbent | 6 years, 330 days | |
Jennifer Simons | Suriname | National Assembly | 30 June 2010 | Incumbent | 6 years, 160 days | |
Solvita Āboltiņa | Latvia | Saeima | 2 November 2010 | 4 November 2014 | 4 years, 2 days | |
Anne Makinda | Tanzania | National Assembly | 12 November 2010 | 17 November 2015 | 5 years, 5 days | |
Pany Yathotou | Laos | National Assembly | 23 December 2010 | Incumbent | 5 years, 350 days | |
Maria Luisa Berti | San Marino | Grand and General Council | 1 April 2011 | 1 October 2011 | 183 days | |
Rebecca Kadaga | Uganda | Parliament | 19 May 2011 | Incumbent | 5 years, 202 days | |
Maria da Assunção Esteves | Portugal | Assembly of the Republic | 21 June 2011 | 23 October 2015 | 4 years, 124 days | |
Denise Bronzetti | San Marino | Grand and General Council | 1 October 2012 | 1 April 2013 | 182 days | |
Halimah Yacob | Singapore | Parliament | 14 January 2013 | Incumbent | 3 years, 328 days | |
Antonella Mularoni | San Marino | Grand and General Council | 1 April 2013 | 1 October 2013 | 183 days | |
Liliana Palihovici | Moldova | Parliament | 25 April 2013 | 30 May 2013 | 35 days | |
Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury | Bangladesh | Jatiyo Sangshad | 30 April 2013 | Incumbent | 3 years, 221 days | |
Gabriela Rivadeneira | Ecuador | National Assembly | 14 May 2013 | Incumbent | 3 years, 207 days | |
Sibel Siber | Northern Cyprus | Assembly of the Republic | 4 September 2013 | Incumbent | 3 years, 94 days | |
Anna Maria Muccioli | San Marino | Grand and General Council | 1 October 2013 | 1 April 2014 | 182 days | |
Loreta Graužinienė | Lithuania | Seimas | 3 October 2013 | 14 November 2016 | 3 years, 42 days | |
Valeria Ciavatta | San Marino | Grand and General Council | 1 April 2014 | 1 October 2014 | 183 days | |
Maja Gojković | Serbia | National Assembly | 23 April 2014 | Incumbent | 2 years, 228 days | |
Ana María Solórzano | Peru | Congress of the Republic | 26 July 2014 | 26 July 2015 | 1 year, 0 days | |
Jiko Luveni | Fiji | Parliament | 6 October 2014 | Incumbent | 2 years, 62 days | |
Tsetska Tsacheva | Bulgaria | National Assembly | 27 October 2014 | Incumbent | 2 years, 41 days | |
Ināra Mūrniece | Latvia | Saeima | 4 November 2014 | Incumbent | 2 years, 33 days | |
Gladys Kokorwe | Botswana | National Assembly | 12 November 2014 | Incumbent | 2 years, 25 days | |
Maya Hanoomanjee | Mauritius | National Assembly | 22 December 2014 | Incumbent | 1 year, 351 days | |
Zoe Konstantopoulou | Greece | Vouli | 6 February 2015 | 4 October 2015 | 240 days | |
Lorena Guadalupe Peña | El Salvador | Legislative Assembly | 14 May 2015 | Incumbent | 1 year, 207 days | |
Maria Lohela | Finland | Eduskunta | 29 May 2015 | Incumbent | 1 year, 192 days | |
Pia Kjærsgaard | Denmark | Folketing | 3 July 2015 | Incumbent | 1 year, 157 days | |
Lorella Stefanelli | San Marino | Grand and General Council | 1 October 2015 | 1 April 2016 | 183 days | |
Onsari Gharti Magar | Nepal | Parliament | 16 October 2015 | Incumbent | 1 year, 52 days | |
Amal Al Qubaisi | United Arab Emirates | Federal National Council | 18 November 2015 | Incumbent | 1 year, 19 days | |
Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân | Vietnam | National Assembly | 31 March 2016 | Incumbent | 251 days | |
Hadiya Khalaf Abbas | Syria | People's Council | 6 June 2016 | Incumbent | 184 days | |
Iris Marina Blandón | Nicaragua | National Assembly | 10 September 2016 | Incumbent | 88 days | |
Territorial
Italics denotes an acting speaker of parliament
Name | Image | Country | Legislative Body | Mandate start | Mandate end | Term length |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Marguerite Story | Cook Islands | Parliament | 1965 | 1979 | 14 years, 0 days | |
Ruby M. Rouss | United States Virgin Islands | Legislature | 1981 | 1982 | 1 year, 0 days | |
Ruby M. Rouss | United States Virgin Islands | Legislature | January 1987 | March 1987 | 59 days | |
Rosita Beatrice Missick-Butterfield | Turks and Caicos Islands | House of Assembly | 1991 | 1993 | 2 years, 364 days[2] | |
Sybil I. McLaughlin | Cayman Islands | Legislative Assembly | 15 February 1991 | November 1996 | 5 years, 260 days | |
Anabela Ritchie | Macau | Legislative Assembly | 20 April 1992 | 20 December 1999 | 7 years, 244 days | |
Marita Petersen | Faroe Islands | Løgting | 1994 | 1995 | 1 year, 0 days | |
Lorraine L. Berry | United States Virgin Islands | Legislature | 1997 | 1998 | 1 year, 0 days | |
Emily Augusta Saunders | Turks and Caicos Islands | House of Assembly | 1998 | 1999 | 1 year, 364 days[3] | |
Rita Fan | Hong Kong | Legislative Council | 2 July 1998 | 30 September 2008 | 10 years, 90 days | |
Susana Chou | Macau | Legislative Assembly | 20 December 1999 | 15 October 2009 | 9 years, 299 days | |
Viveka Eriksson | Åland Islands | Lagtinget | 2001 | 2005 | 4 years, 0 days | |
Julianna O'Connor-Connolly | Cayman Islands | Legislative Assembly | November 2001 | October 2003 | 1 year, 334 days | |
V. Inez Archibald | British Virgin Islands | House of Assembly | 2003 | 2007 | 4 years, 0 days | |
Nassimah Dindar | Réunion | President of the General Council | 1 April 2004 | 2 April 2015 | 11 years, 1 day | |
Brenda Christian | Pitcairn Islands | Island Council | 8 November 2004 | 15 December 2004 | 37 days | |
Lorraine L. Berry | United States Virgin Islands | Legislature | 2005 | 2007 | 2 years, 0 days | |
Edna Moyle | Cayman Islands | Legislative Assembly | 18 May 2005 | 27 May 2009 | 4 years, 9 days | |
Eileen Bell | Northern Ireland | Assembly | 8 May 2007 | 8 May 2007 | 0 days | |
Margaret Anne Catherine Hopkins | Saint Helena | Legislative Council | 2008 | Incumbent | 8 years, 341 days | |
Ruth Heilmann | Greenland | Inatsisartut | 2008 | 2009 | 1 year, 0 days | |
Judith Won Pat | Guam | Liheslaturan Guåhan | 7 March 2008 | Incumbent | 8 years, 275 days | |
Mary J. Lawrence | Cayman Islands | Legislative Assembly | 27 May 2009 | 29 May 2013 | 4 years, 2 days | |
Barbara Webster-Bourne | Anguilla | House of Assembly | 27 February 2010 | Incumbent | 6 years, 284 days | |
Robin-Eleanor Adams | Norfolk Island | Norfolk Legislative Assembly | 24 March 2010 | 20 March 2013 | 2 years, 361 days | |
Teresina Bodkin | Montserrat | Legislative Council | 16 April 2010 | 2014 | 3 years, 260 days | |
Rosemary Butler | Wales | National Assembly | 11 May 2011 | 11 May 2016 | 5 years, 0 days | |
Tricia Marwick | Scotland | Parliament | 11 May 2011 | 12 May 2016 | 5 years, 1 day | |
Clare Christian | Isle of Man | Legislative Council | 12 July 2011 | Incumbent | 5 years, 148 days | |
Britt Lundberg | Åland Islands | Lagtinget | 28 November 2011 | 28 November 2015 | 4 years, 0 days | |
Ingrid Moses-Scatliffe | British Virgin Islands | House of Assembly | 8 December 2011 | Incumbent | 4 years, 365 days | |
Niki Rattle | Cook Islands | Parliament | 22 May 2012 | Incumbent | 4 years, 199 days | |
Julianna O'Connor-Connolly | Cayman Islands | Legislative Assembly | 29 May 2013 | Incumbent | 3 years, 192 days | |
Sarah Wescot-Williams | Sint Maarten | Staten | 10 October 2014 | 13 November 2014 | 34 days | |
Shirley Osborne | Montserrat | Legislative Council | 23 January 2015 | Incumbent | 1 year, 319 days | |
Nassimah Dindar | Réunion | President of the Departmental Council | 2 April 2015 | Incumbent | 1 year, 249 days | |
Elin Jones | Wales | National Assembly | 11 May 2016 | Incumbent | 210 days |
See also
- List of female speakers of national and territorial lower houses
- List of female speakers of national and territorial upper houses
- Parliament
- Speaker (politics)
- Unicameralism
References
- ↑ http://guide2womenleaders.com/Vice-Presidents.htm
- ↑ "The life and times of Dr Rosita Butterfield". Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands: Turks & Caicos Weekly News. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
- ↑ "PRZEWODNICZĄCE PARLAMENTÓW 1991-2000" (in Polish). Warsaw, Poland: SMOLEC. 2000. Retrieved 27 January 2016.