List of female defence ministers
A Ministry of Defence or Defense, also known as a Department of Defence or Defense, is the common name for a part of the government found in states where the government is divided into ministries or departments, responsible for matters of defence. The title Defence Minister, Minister for Defence, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State for Defence, Secretary of National Defense or some other titles, is assigned to the person in a cabinet position in charge of this particular ministry, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of Minister of Defence serves an integral part in a country's military purposes. This role has traditionally been given to men because of the gender-biased nature of the military office. However, recent years have seen the appointment of female Defence Ministers. The following list shows group of women that are/were entitled with the title of Minister of Defence in charge in regulating the armed forces in their respective countries. The first woman ever entitled to this job was the then-Prime Minister of Ceylon, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, back in 1960s.
List
- Italics denotes an acting defence minister and minister of non-sovereign state
| Name | Image | Country | Continent | Mandate start | Mandate end | Term length |
| Sirimavo Bandaranaike | Asia | |||||
| Sirimavo Bandaranaike | / | Asia | ||||
| Indira Gandhi | Asia | |||||
| Indira Gandhi | Asia | |||||
| Dame Eugenia Charles | North America | |||||
| Benazir Bhutto | Asia | |||||
| Violeta Chamorro | North America | |||||
| Elisabeth Rehn | Europe | |||||
| Khaleda Zia | Asia | |||||
| Kim Campbell | North America | |||||
| Chandrika Kumaratunga | Asia | |||||
| Anneli Taina | Europe | |||||
| Sheikh Hasina | Asia | |||||
| Regina Ip | ' | Asia | ' | ' | ' | |
| Eldbjørg Løwer | Europe | |||||
| Joice Mujuru | Africa | |||||
| Khaleda Zia | Asia | |||||
| Kristin Krohn Devold | Europe | |||||
| Michelle Bachelet | South America | |||||
| Cynthia Pratt | North America | |||||
| Michèle Alliot-Marie | Europe | |||||
| Željka Antunović | Europe | |||||
| Marta Lucía Ramírez | South America | |||||
| Lena Hjelm-Wallén | Europe | |||||
| Mame Madior Boye | Africa | |||||
| Leni Björklund | Europe | |||||
| Sylvia Flores | North America | |||||
| Filomenha Mascarenhas Tipote | Africa | |||||
| Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo | Asia | |||||
| Azucena Berrutti | South America | |||||
| Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen | Europe | |||||
| Nilda Garré | South America | |||||
| Solvita Āboltiņa | Europe | |||||
| Linda Abu Meri | Europe | |||||
| Cristina Fontes Lima | Africa | |||||
| Vivianne Blanlot | South America | |||||
| Portia Simpson-Miller | North America | |||||
| Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo | Asia | |||||
| Vlasta Parkanová | Europe | |||||
| Guadalupe Larriva | South America | |||||
| Lorena Escudero | South America | |||||
| Ruth Tapia Roa | North America | |||||
| Yuriko Koike | Asia | |||||
| Cécile Manorohanta | Africa | |||||
| Carme Chacón | Europe | |||||
| Elsa Teixeira Pinto | Africa | |||||
| Carme Chacón | Europe | |||||
| Ljubica Jelušič | Europe | |||||
| Rasa Juknevičienė | Europe | |||||
| Sheikh Hasina | Asia | Incumbent | ||||
| Lindiwe Sisulu | Africa | |||||
| Bidhya Devi Bhandari | Asia | |||||
| Angélique Ngoma | Africa | |||||
| Grete Faremo | Europe | |||||
| Gitte Lillelund Bech | Europe | |||||
| Lesego Motsumi | Africa | |||||
| María Cecilia Chacón | South America | |||||
| Iveta Radičová | Europe | |||||
| Portia Simpson-Miller | North America | |||||
| Milica Pejanović-Đurišić | Europe | |||||
| Catharina Elmsäter-Svärd | Europe | |||||
| Karin Enström | Europe | |||||
| Maritza Pastora Membreño Morales | North America | |||||
| Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula | Africa | Incumbent | ||||
| María Liz García de Arnold | South America | |||||
| Olusola Obada | Africa | |||||
| Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen | Europe | |||||
| Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert | Europe | |||||
| María Fernanda Espinosa | South America | |||||
| Karolína Peake | Europe | |||||
| Martha Elena Ruiz Sevilla | North America | Incumbent | ||||
| Raychelle Omamo | Africa | Incumbent | ||||
| Yingluck Shinawatra | Asia | |||||
| Carmen Meléndez | South America | |||||
| Mimi Kodheli | Europe | |||||
| Anna Soubry | Europe | 7 October 2013 | 11 May 2015 | |||
| Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide | Europe | |||||
| Ursula von der Leyen | Europe | |||||
| Roberta Pinotti | Europe | |||||
| Cadi Mané | Africa | |||||
| Marie-Noëlle Koyara | Africa | |||||
| Marina Pendeš | Europe | |||||
| Tina Khidasheli | Asia | |||||
| Andreja Katič | Europe | |||||
| Marise Payne | Oceania | |||||
| Adiato Djaló Nandigna | Africa | |||||
| Tomomi Inada | Asia | |||||
| María Dolores de Cospedal | Europe | |||||
| Sylvie Goulard | Europe | |||||
| Radmila Šekerinska | Europe | Incumbent | ||||
| Florence Parly | Europe | Incumbent | ||||
| Nirmala Sitharaman | Asia | |||||
| Olta Xhaçka | Europe | Incumbent | ||||
| Marie-Noëlle Koyara | Africa | Incumbent | ||||
| Ank Bijleveld | Europe | Incumbent | ||||
| Karla Šlechtová | Europe | |||||
| Elisabetta Trenta | Europe | |||||
| Margarita Robles | Europe | Incumbent | ||||
| Oppah Muchinguri | Africa | Incumbent | ||||
| Aisha Mohammed Mussa | Africa | |||||
| Mariya Ahmed Didi | Asia | Incumbent | ||||
| Viola Amherd | Europe | Incumbent | ||||
| Rose Christiane Raponda | Africa | Incumbent | ||||
| Lanelle Tanangada | Oceania | Incumbent | ||||
| Penny Mordaunt | Europe | |||||
| Linda Reynolds | Oceania | Incumbent | ||||
| Trine Bramsen | Europe | Incumbent | ||||
| Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer | Europe | Incumbent | ||||
| Klaudia Tanner | Europe | Incumbent | ||||
| Zeina Akar | Asia | Incumbent | ||||
| Angelina Teny | Africa | Incumbent |