If you think Ellen Sirleaf Johnson is the only woman to head a country or occupy the highest seat of government in Africa, you need to have another think coming.

Although it has been extremely difficult in Africa for women to ascend the highest seat of their country’s government, mainly due to the gender quota system and the continent’s perception of the role of women in the society, it has not deterred them from getting into politics and trying to make an impact beyond ministerial or senatorial roles.

Below are the women who have served as presidents, heads of government, interim heads of government or acting presidents for a period of time in Africa. While there are others like Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri of South Africa, who was the interim head of state for 14 hours, and Ruth Perry, head of the Liberian transitional government in 1996, the focus of this article is on the women who occupied the highest seat of government for a period of time.

1. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia: Born October 29, 1938, she became the first African woman to be elected as president and head of state. She was president from 2006-2018 and is a 2011 Nobel peace prize winner.

Before becoming president, she was assistant Minister of Finance from 1972-1973, and in 1980, she became minister of Finance, a post she held till1985. She was known for her financial integrity and her constant criticism of the government, an act which caused her to be imprisoned 3 times, the last time for a 10-year sentence.

She first ran for president in 1997 and came second in the elections. Undeterred by this defeat, she again ran for the office in 2005 and won. She has been credited for completely erasing Liberia’s foreign debts and helping to restore peace and healing to a nation ravaged by repeated civil wars. When she stepped down peacefully for the next president to take over power, it was the first time in the history of the country that there had been a peaceful exchange of power between democratic governments.

2. Joyce Banda of Malawi: Joyce Hilda Banda, born on the 12th of April 1949, became the first female president of Malawi after the president before her, Bingu wa Mutharika, died in office in 2012.

During her time in office, she introduced financial reforms to boost the country’s economy. They include selling off of a $15million presidential jet, cutting down of the president’s salary by 30%, improving the country’s foreign relations and sacking members of her cabinet when it was discovered they had been involved in theft and corruption in what has been termed the Capital Hill Cashgate Scandal. She was 2014 Forbes 40th most powerful woman in the world.

3. Catherine Samba-Panza of Central African Republic: the former mayor of Bangui was elected the interim president in 2014 after the interim president and leader of the Seleka (Muslim rebels), Michel Djotodia stepped down amid violent clashes in the country between Muslims and Christians. Born on the 26th of June 1954, it was her mother who was originally from the Central African Republic.

Samba-Panza had no ties to either the Seleka or the anti-balaka rebel groups and was therefore considered neutral enough to help bring peace to the troubled nation. She tried to move the country forward in spite of its many civil wars, and constantly advocated for peace and reconciliation amongst the warring factions. She was able to successfully hand over the reins of government to new president Faustin Archange Touadera in 2016. For her efforts in ensuring peace and stability, she was dubbed ‘Mother courage’ by the local media.

4. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim of Mauritius: Sworn in on the 5th of June 2015, she became president of an African country with no prior political experience. Her party, the Alliance Lapep chose her as its presidential candidate because they said they needed a neutral person with credibility She was Forbes 2016 96th Most powerful woman in the world and as president, tried to push for sustainable development, women in science and the diversity of Mauritius.

Born on the 17th of October, 1959, Gurib-Fakim is a scientist who, before becoming president, was involved in promoting the importance of biodiversity to the world. As president, she helped in raising awareness of global warming and promoted investments in science and technology in her country and beyond. She however had to resign in 2018 when it was revealed she had used a credit card given to her to advance science in Africa by an NGO, the Planet Earth Institute, for personal spending. She ensured all the funds utilized were repaid.

5. Sylvie Kinigi of Burundi: She was the prime minister from July 1993 to February 1994, and after the president Melchoir Ndadaye was killed in a coup, she became the interim head of state from October 1993 to till February 1994 when Cyprien Ntaryamira resumed as president and appointed another person, Anatole Kanyenkiko, as prime minister.

Born in 1952, she entered politics in 1991 as a senior consultant for the Prime minister. As head of the interim government, she put tribe aside by ensuring that the Tutsi rebels responsible for the coup were duly persecuted. She tried to restore calm and order to the country, and successfully prepared it for a new election. After the new government came in with its prime minister, Kinigi left to work for Burundi’s Commercial Bank, saying that she has ‘left the political scene’

6. Rose Francine Rogombé of Gabon: She became the interim president of the Republic of Gabon following the death of the president, Omar Bongo Ondimba on the 8th of June, 2009, and was given 45 days to organize elections for the country

Born on the 20th of September, 1942, she was the Gabon’s first female judge and also secretary of state for the advancement of women and human rights. Before becoming head of the Interim government, she was the president of the senate, the first woman in her country to hold that position. She successfully held the country together and prepared it for the elections which held in August 2009. After the swearing in of the new president, Ali Bongo, Rogombé went back to her post as president of the senate and remained there till 2015.

7. Oby Ezekwesili of Nigeria?: Born on the 28th of April 1963, Oby is the co-founder of Transparency International as well as the co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign. An economist and a chatered accountant, she has served as a senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence, Minister of Minerals Resources and Minister for Education. As Education Minister, she carried out an extensive and comprehensive reform program of the educational sector and her work has become some sort of reference for other African countries.

As seen above, being a politician is not as important as being the best person for the job. Based on her activities not just in the country, but also as a Vice-president of the World bank’s Africa Region and a Senior Advisor on Africa Economic Development Policy at the Open Society Foundations, New York, Oby, who holds a masters degree in international law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos and a Master of Public Policy and Administration degree from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University appears to be more than suited for the role of president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Although the presidential system of government seems like the toughest system for African women to make a breakthrough, the stories of the women above give a glimmer of hope that with time, African women can, and will compete with their male counterparts, confident that they will not be looked at as just women, but as people qualified (or not) to do the job of the president of their countries.

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