Romancing True Power:D20

photo credit: Helga Traxler

Dynamic DuosThere are five couples on the D20 list: the Mugabes, the Maos, the Ceauescus, the Miloevis, and the Perns. The wives have been selected not only because they were the first ladies or were seen as the mothers of their nations, but because they co-dicktated the countries with their husbands. Like the male Dicks, the five female counterparts we recognize here share many common traits, including:

1) They serve as spokespersons, goodwill ambassadors, and consultants for their husbands. They are deeply committed to their partners political careers.

2) They hold senior political positions in the government. Most of them are the second most powerful person in the country.

3) Many of our female Dicks are highly educated; some have esteemed PhDs. Elena Ceauescu earned her doctorate in polymer chemistry from the University of Bucharest. Mrs. Milosevic received her PhD in sociology at Belgrade University and later became a tenured professor there. Grace Mugabe, was a sociologist, remarkably obtaining a doctoral degree from the University of Zimbabwe within just two months from enrollment.

4) Some were actresses before becoming First Ladies. Madame Mao, stage name Lan Ping, was featured in numerous films and plays in Shanghai. Evita Pern was a renowned actress, performing in many films and radio dramas.

D20 Journal

Cristina Fernndez de KirchnerCristina Kirchner (b. 1953) is the current President of Argentina and widow of former president Nstor Kirchner. She is the second woman to serve as President of Argentina and the first directly elected female president and the first woman re-elected. She was repeatedly elected to the Argentine National Congress, both as a National Deputy and National Senator. Cristina succeed her husband via the ballot box after his first-term. In 2011, she was re-elected to a second term in a landslide victory.

First Lady

via www.taringa.netvia chubutparatodos.com.ar

Nstor Kirchner y Cristina Kirchner via csmonitor.com

Evita PernMara Eva Duarte de Pern (1919-1952), better known as Evita, was the second wife of Argentine President Juan Pern and served as the First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death. She was a renowned actress, performing in many films and radio dramas before she married Juan Pern. Evita served as spokespersons and goodwill ambassador of her husband during his presidency. She also ran the Ministries of Labor and Health, championed women's suffrage in Argentina, and founded the nation's first large-scale female political party, the Female Peronist Party. At the age of 33, she died of cervical cancer.

First Lady

via libcom.orgvia telegraph.co.uk

via www.britannica.com

Grace MugabeGrace Mugabe (b. 1965) President Robert Mugabes former secretary, married the president in 1996, becoming the first lady. She is dubbed Gucci Grace and The First Shopper for her lavish shopping excursions. Last September, Mrs. Mugabe obtained a doctoral degree from the University of Zimbabwe within just two months from enrollment. She is the biggest supporter of her husband and openly defends him. Grace Mugabe was recently promoted to the head of The Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) womens wing, which is believed to be a sign that she is being positioned to succeed her husband.

First Lady

Grace Mugabe on her Meet the People tour in 2014; via theguardian.com

Grace Mugabe at her first political rally in Chinhoyi 2014. via theguardian.comRobert Mugabe and his wife Grace greet supporters after his

address at a rally in 2013; via theguardian.co.uk

Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham Clinton (b. 1947) is regarded as the most openly empowered presidential wife in American history, after Eleanor Roosevelt. From 2009 to 2013 she was the 67th Secretary of State, serving under President Barack Obama. She previously represented New York in the US Senate from 2001 to 2009 as the first female senator of New York. Clinton is the only American First Lady ever to hold national office. Although she hasnt officially announced to run for the 2016 presidential race, Hillary Clinton continues to have a lead over the possible Democratic candidates. In the latest 2014 Gallup poll, Hillary Clinton takes the top spot on a list of admired living women for the 13th year in a row, six times more than Eleanor Roosevelt.

First Lady

via www.readyforhillary.com Bill and Hillary Clinton; via thepunditpress.comHillary Clinton addressing supporters during a South Dakota and Montana primary night event in 2008; via dailymail.co.uk

Eleanor RooseveltAnna Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) was the longest-serving First Lady of the US, holding the post from 1933 to 1945 during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelts four terms in office. As the first lady, Eleanor was the first presidential spouse to hold press conferences, write a syndicated newspaper column, and speak at a national convention. Following her husbands death, Eleanor remained active in politics for the rest of her life. She was one of its first delegates to the UN and served as the first chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights, overseeing the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Eleanor Roosevelt was ranked 9th in the top ten of Gallups List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century.

First Lady

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and President Franklin D. Roosevelt viawww.americanradioworks.org

Eleanor Roosevelt addresses AFL-CIO via www.yesmagazine.orgEleanor Roosevelt with her husband Franklin D. Roosevelt; via

bangordailynews.com

Park Geun-hyePark Geun-hye (b. 1952) is the first child of Park Chung-hee, the infamous dictator of South Korea. She was elected as President in December 2012 with the approval of 51.6% of Korean voters, making her the countrys first female head of state. Parks inauguration ceremony was the largest one in South Korean history with 70,000 participants. In 2013 and 2014, Park was named the worlds 11th most powerful woman and the most powerful woman in East Asia by Forbes magazines list of The Worlds 100 Most Powerful Women.

First Daughter

Park Geun-hye, left, posing with her father, then-President Park Chung-hee, when she became acting first lady at 22 after her

mother was shot to death by a North Korean agent in an attempted assassination of her husband. (1974) via www.wsj.

comvia www.businesskorea.co.kr

Park Geun-hye on TIME Magazine cover, 2012

Dilma Vana RousseffDilma Vana Rousseff (b. 1947) assumed office in 2011 as the first female President of Brazil. She was raised in an upper middle class household, becoming a socialist during her youth and joining various left-wing and Marxist urban guerrilla groups that fought against the military dictatorship. She was eventually captured and jailed between 1970 and 1972, where she was reportedly tortured. She is nicknamed Brazils "Iron Lady" because of her brusque manner and short temper. In 2010 she underwent a complete makeover including plastic surgery and teeth whitening to win public support.

Independent Woman

via glaucialima.comvia www.aguanovanews.com

Christine LagardeChristine Lagarde (b. 1956) is the first woman ever to lead the International Monetary Fund, an institution in which men hold 80 percent of management positions. She assumed the position in 2011. Lagarde was born in Paris, France, into a family of academics. She previously held various ministerial posts in the French government (Minister of Finance 2007-2001, Minister of Agriculture 2007, Minister of Commerce and Industry 2005-2007). For five years she led Baker & McKenzie, one of America's largest law firms, the first woman in that position as well. In 2014, Lagarde was ranked the 5th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine.

Independent Woman

Forbes Magazine 2011via www.theguardian.com

via www.foxbusiness.com

Condoleezza RiceCondoleezza Rice (b. 1954) was the first female African-American secretary of state (the second African American secretary of state after Colin Powell and the second female secretary of state after Madeleine Albright). Rice was President George Bush's National Security Advisor during his first term, making her the first woman to serve in that position. Rice has appeared four times on the Time magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential people and in 2004 and 2005, she was ranked as the most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine. Rice grew up in racially segregated Birmingham, Alabama. She was a Democrat until 1982, when she changed her political affiliation to Republican.

Independent Woman

George Bush and Condoleezza Rice via www.telegraph.co.ukvia www.thenewstribe.com

Condoleeza Rice Sworn In As Secretary Of State; via www.zimbio.com

Madeleine AlbrightMadeleine Albright (b. 1937) born in Czechoslovakia, lived in exile in the UK during WWII, and emigrated to the US in 1948. Her father became the dean of international relations at the University of Denver in Colorado, where he later taught future Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. During the Republican administrations of Reagan and Bush in the 1980s and early 90s, Albright worked for several nonprofit organizations, and her home became a salon for influential Democratic politicians and policy makers. In 1993, Albright became the American ambassador to the United Nations. In 1997, she was nominated by President Bill Clinton to become the first female US Secretary of State, the highest-ranking woman in the history of the US government at the time of her appointment. She stayed in office until 2001.

Independent Woman

via www.themaneater.comTime Magazine 1999

Bill Clinton and Madeleine Albright; via www.zimbio.com

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher (1925-2013), born in a small English town, rose to become the first (and for two decades the only) woman to lead a major Western democracy. She was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the longest-serving UK Prime Minister and the only woman to have held that office. A Soviet journalist once called her the Iron Lady, a nickname that became associated with her firm-hand leadership style. During her term of office she reshaped almost every aspect of British politics. Branded Thatcherism, her policies included an extreme form of laissez-faire brand of free market economics including tax cuts for the wealthy.

Independent Woman

via www.highviewart.com

Daily Mail 2013

via www.mirror.co.uk

Angela MerkelAngela Merkel (b. 1954) grew up in Hamburg, West Germany. She earned a doctorate as a physical chemist from the University of Leipzig. Merkel broke through the ranks of Germany's male-dominated politics to become the first woman to serve as Chancellor, a position she has held since 2005. Merkel has been described as the de facto leader of the European Union. In 2014, she became the longest-serving incumbent head of government in the European Union and was named the most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.

Independent Woman

via www.bundeskanzlerin.deTime Magazine 2012

via gomezjustin.blogspot.com