List of the first women holders of political offices in North America
This is a list of political offices which have been held by a woman, with details of the first woman holder of each office. It is ordered by the countries in North and Central American and the Caribbean and by dates of appointment. Please observe that this list is meant to contain only the first woman to hold of a political office, and not all the female holders of that office.
Anguilla
- Governor – Christina Scott – 2013
Antigua and Barbuda
- Governor-General – Dame Louise Lake-Tack – 2007
- Member - Gertel Thom - 2001
Aruba
- Minister Plenipotentiary in The Hague – Ella Tromp-Yarzagaray – 1991
- Minister of Finance – Ella Tromp-Yarzagaray – 1993
- President of Parliament – Mervin Wyatt-Ras – 2005
- Prime Minister – Evelyn Wever-Croes – 2017
The Bahamas
- Foreign minister – Janet Bostwick – 1994
- Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs - Janet Bostwick - 1995
- Governor-General – Dame Ivy Dumont – 2001
- Prime Minister – Cynthia Pratt – 2005
Barbados
- Minister of Parliament – Dame Edna Bourne – 1951
- Health minister – Billie Miller – 1976
- Governor-General – Dame Nita Barrow – 1990
- Foreign minister – Dame Billie Miller – 1994
- Attorney-General and Minister of Home Affairs – Mia Mottley – 2001
- Leader of the Opposition – Mia Mottley – 2008
- President of the Senate – Sen. Kerry-Ann Ifill – First woman and blind person – 2012
- Prime Minister – Mia Mottley – 2018
Belize
- Governor-General – Dame Minita Gordon – 1981
- Ambassador of Belize to the U.S. - Lisa Shoman – 2000
- Mayor of Belize City – Zenaida Moya – 2006
- Foreign minister – Lisa Shoman – 2007
- President of Senate – Andrea Gill – 2008
Bermuda
- Premier – Pamela F. Gordon – 1997
British Virgin Islands
- House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands Members – Ethlyn Smith and Eileene L. Parsons – 1995
- Speaker of the House of Assembly – V. Inez Archibald – 2003
- Governor – Dancia Penn – 2006
Canada
- Monarch – Queen Victoria – 1867
- City councillor and first woman elected to any political office in Canada – Hannah Gale – 1917
- Member of a provincial legislature – Louise McKinney – 1917
- Member of Parliament – Agnes Macphail – 1921
- Senator – Cairine Wilson – 1930
- Mayor – Barbara Hanley, Webbwood, Ontario – 1936
- Mayor of a city – Charlotte Whitton, Ottawa, Ontario – 1951
- Leader of a political party at the provincial level – Thérèse Casgrain – 1951
- Cabinet minister – Ellen Fairclough – 1958
- Candidate for the leadership of a federal political party – Mary Walker-Sawka – 1967
- Speaker of the Senate of Canada – Muriel McQueen Fergusson – 1972
- Leader of a political party which won an election – Hilda Watson – 1978
- Secretary of State for External Affairs – Flora MacDonald – 1979
- Speaker of the House – Jeanne Sauvé – 1980
- Leader of a political party with seats in a provincial legislature – Alexa McDonough – 1980
- Governor General – Jeanne Sauvé – 1984
- Leader of a political party at the federal level – Kathryn Cholette – 1988
- Leader of a political party with representation in the House of Commons – Audrey McLaughlin – 1989
- Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada - Kim Campbell - 1990-1993
- Premier of a province – Rita Johnston – 1991
- Premier of a territory – Nellie Cournoyea – 1991
- Prime Minister – Kim Campbell – 1993
- Leader of the Government in the Senate – Joyce Fairbairn – 1993
- Premier of a province in a general election – Catherine Callbeck – 1993
- Deputy Prime Minister of Canada – Sheila Copps – 1993
- Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons – Deborah Grey – 2000
- Leader of the Opposition in the Senate – Céline Hervieux-Payette – 2007
Ontario
- Federal Member of Parliament – Agnes Macphail – 1921
- Member of Provincial Parliament – Agnes Macphail and Rae Luckock – 1943
- Deputy Premier – Bette Stephenson – 1985
- Mayor of Toronto – June Rowlands – 1991
- Leader of a political party – Lyn McLeod – 1992
- Leader of the Opposition – Lyn McLeod – 1992
- Premier – Kathleen Wynne – 2013
Manitoba
- Member of the Legislative Assembly – Edith Rogers – 1920
- Winnipeg City Councillor – Jessie Kirk – 1920
- Federal Member of Parliament – Margaret Konantz – 1963
- Speaker of the Legislative Assembly – Thelma Forbes – 1963
- Member of the Executive Council – Thelma Forbes – 1966
- First Nations band chief – Jean Folster – 1971
- Deputy Premier – Muriel Smith – 1971
- Lieutenant Governor – Pearl McGonigal – 1981
- Leader of a political party – Sharon Carstairs – 1984
- Leader of the Opposition – Sharon Carstairs – 1988
- Mayor of Winnipeg – Susan Thompson – 1992
Saskatchewan
- Member of the Legislative Assembly – Sarah Ramsland – 1919
- Federal Member of Parliament – Dorise Nielsen – 1940
- Leader of a political party – Lynda Haverstock – 1989
New Brunswick
- Federal Member of Parliament – Margaret Rideout – 1964
- Member of the Legislative Assembly – Brenda Robertson – 1967
- Cabinet minister – Brenda Robertson – 1970
- Leader of a political party – Elizabeth Weir and Barbara Baird – 1989
Quebec
- Leader of a political party – Thérèse Casgrain – 1951
- Member of the National Assembly – Marie-Claire Kirkland – 1961
- Federal Member of Parliament – Monique Bégin, Albanie Morin and Jeanne Sauvé – 1972
- Leader of the Opposition – Monique Gagnon-Tremblay – 1998
- Speaker of the National Assembly – Louise Harel – 2002
- Mayor of Quebec City – Andrée Boucher – 2005
- Leader of a political party with representation in the legislature – Pauline Marois – 2007
- Premier – Pauline Marois – 2012
Alberta
- Member of the Legislative Assembly – Louise McKinney and Roberta MacAdams – 1917
- Federal Member of Parliament – Cora Taylor Casselman – 1941
- Mayor of Edmonton – Janice Rhea Reimer – 1989
- Leader of a political party – Pam Barrett – 1996
- Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly – Nancy MacBeth – 1998
- Premier of Alberta – Allison Redford – 2011
Nova Scotia
- Member of the Legislative Assembly – Gladys Porter – 1960
- Federal Member of Parliament – Coline Campbell – 1974
- Leader of a political party – Alexa McDonough – 1980
British Columbia
- Member of the Legislative Assembly – Mary Ellen Smith – 1918
- Cabinet minister – Mary Ellen Smith – 1921
- Speaker of the Legislative Assembly – Mary Ellen Smith – 1928
- Federal Member of Parliament – Pauline Jewett – 1963
- Leader of a political party – Rita Johnston – 1991
- Premier – Rita Johnston – 1991
- Leader of the Opposition – Joy MacPhail – 2001
Prince Edward Island
- Candidate for the Legislative Assembly – Hilda Ramsay – 1951
- Federal Member of Parliament – Margaret Mary Macdonald – 1961
- Member of the Legislative Assembly – Jean Canfield – 1970
- Cabinet minister – Jean Canfield – 1972
- Leader of a political party – Pat Mella – 1990
- Premier – Catherine Callbeck – 1993
Newfoundland and Labrador
- Member of the House of Assembly of Newfoundland – Helena Squires – 1930
- Member of the House of Assembly – Hazel McIsaac – 1975
- Cabinet ministers – Lynn Verge and Hazel Newhook – 1979
- Federal Member of Parliament – Jean Payne and Bonnie Hickey – 1993
- Leader of a political party – Lynn Verge – 1995
- Premier – Kathy Dunderdale – 2010
Yukon
- Federal Member of Parliament – Martha Black – 1935
- Member of the Legislative Assembly – G. Jean Gordon – 1967
- Leader of a political party – Hilda Watson – 1978
- Premier – Pat Duncan – 2000
Northwest Territories
- Member of the Legislative Assembly – Lena Pedersen – 1970
- Federal Member of Parliament – Ethel Blondin-Andrew – 1988
- Premier – Nellie Cournoyea – 1991
Nunavut
- Federal Member of Parliament – Nancy Karetak-Lindell – 1999
- Member of the Legislative Assembly – Manitok Thompson – 1999
- Premier – Eva Aariak – 2008
Cayman Islands
- Premier – Julianna O'Connor-Connolly – 2012
- Governor – Helen Kilpatrick – 2013
Costa Rica
- Interior minister – Janina del Vecchio Ugalde – 2008
- President – Laura Chinchilla – 2010
- Minister of Justice - Cecilia Sánchez Romero - 2017
Curaçao
- Governor – Adèle van der Pluijm-Vrede – 2012
- Governor – Lucille George-Wout – 2013
Dominica
- Minister of Communications & Works – Mabel Moir James – 1966
- Minister of Home Affairs – Mabel Moir James – 1970
- Prime Minister – Dame Eugenia Charles – 1980
- Foreign minister – Dame Eugenia Charles – 1980
- Defence minister – Dame Eugenia Charles – 1985
- Minister for Health and Social Security – Doreen Paul – 1995
- Minister for Community Development, Women's Affairs and Culture – Gertrude Roberts – 1995
- Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism with responsibility for festivals/ Minister for Community Development, Gender Affairs, Information and Culture – Loreen Bannis-Roberts – 2005
- Minister for Education, Youth Affairs, Human Resource Development and Sports – Sonia Williams – 2008
- Minister for Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports – Justina Charles – 2010
- Minister for Social Services, Community Development and Gender Affairs – Gloria Shillingford – 2010
- Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations in Dominica - Patricia Scotland - 2016
El Salvador
- Minister of Foreign Affairs – María Eugenia Brizuela de Ávila – 1999
- Vice President – Ana Vilma de Escobar – 2004
- Mayor of San Salvador – Violeta Menjívar – 2005
- Minister of Health – María Isabel Rodríguez - 2009
Grenada
- Governor – Dame Hilda Bynoe – 1968
- Governor-General – Dame Cécile La Grenade – 2013
- President of the Senate – Margaret Neckles – 1990
- Speaker of the House of Representatives – Marcelle Peters – 1992
- Foreign minister – Clarice Modeste-Curwen – 2014
Guadeloupe
- National Assembly - Eugénie Éboué-Tell - 1945
Guatemala
- Minister of Foreign Affairs – Maritza Ruiz de Vielman – 1994
- Interior minister – Adela de Torrebiarte – 2007
- Vice President – Roxana Baldetti – 2012
Haiti
- President – Ertha Pascal-Trouillot – 1990
- Foreign minister- Claudette Werleigh – 1993
- Prime Minister – Claudette Werleigh – 1995
Honduras
- Foreign Minister – Patricia Rodas – 2009
- Vice President – María Antonieta de Bográn – 2010
Jamaica
- Prime Minister – Portia Simpson-Miller – 2006
- Minister of Justice and Attorney General - Dorothy Lightbourne - 2007-2011
- Foreign minister – Kamina Johnson Smith – 2016
Martinique
- Member of Parliament - Josette Manin - 2017
- Senator - Catherine Conconne - 2017
Mexico
National offices
- Member of the Chamber of Deputies – Elvia Carrillo Puerto – 1922
- Secretary of Tourism and first female Secretary of state – Rosa Luz Alegría – 1980
- Secretary of Foreign Affairs – Rosario Green – 1998
- Secretary of Social Development – Josefina Vázquez Mota – 2000
- Secretary of Education – Josefina Vázquez Mota – 2006
- Secretary of Energy – Georgina Kessel – 2006
Local and municipal elected offices
- Mayor – Norma Villarreal de Zambrano – 1967
State elected offices
Colima
- State governor – Griselda Álvarez, Colima – 1979
Tlaxcala
- Governor of Tlaxcala – Beatriz Paredes – 1987
Yucatán
- Governor of Yucatán – Dulce María Sauri Riancho – 1991
- Governor of Yucatán – Ivonne Ortega – 2007
Zacatecas
- Governor of Zacatecas – Amalia García – 2004
Federal District
- Head of Government of the Federal District – Rosario Robles – 1999
Montserrat
- Governor – Deborah Barnes-Jones – 2004
Netherlands Antilles
- Prime Minister – Maria Liberia Peters – 1984
Nicaragua
- President – Violeta Chamorro – 1990
- Interior minister – Ana Isabel Morales Mazún – 2007
Panama
- President – Mireya Moscoso – 1999
- Interior minister – Mariela Sagel – 1998
- Housing minister – Balbina Herrera – 2004
- Foreign minister – Isabel Saint Malo – 2014
Puerto Rico
- Governor – Sila María Calderón – 2000
Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Speaker of the National Assembly - Marcella Liburd - 2004
Saint Lucia
- Minister of Legal Affairs - Lorraine Williams - 1992
- Governor-General – Dame Pearlette Louisy – 1997
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Attorney General - Judith Jones-Morgan - 2001
- Governor-General – Monica Dacon – 2002
Sint Maarten
- Minister of Justice - Magali Jacoba - 2009
- Prime Minister – Sarah Wescot-Williams – 2010
- President of the Parliament – Gracita Arrindell – 2010
- Minister of Education, Culture, Youth, and Sports – Rhoda Arrindell – 2010
- Minister of Healthcare, Social Development, and Labor – Maria Buncamper-Molanus – 2010
- Minister Plenipotentiary – Josianne Fleming-Artsen – 2014
- Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications – Irania Arrindell – 2015
Trinidad and Tobago
- City Councillor – Port of Spain – Audrey Jeffers – 1936–1946
- Mayor – San Fernando – Beryl Archibald Crichlow – 1949
- Member of Parliament – Isabel Ursula Teshea – 1961–1970
- Minister of Government – Isabel Ursula Teshea – 1963–1970
- Speaker of the House of Representatives – Occah Seapaul – 1991–1995
- Attorney General – Kamla Persad-Bissessar – 1995–1996
- Acting Prime Minister – Kamla Persad-Bissessar – 2000
- President of the Senate – Linda Baboolal – 2002–2007
- Vice President of the Senate – Christine Kangaloo - 2002
- Acting President – Linda Baboolal – 2002–2007
- Ombudsman – Lynette Anthea Stephenson – 2006
- Leader of the Opposition – Kamla Persad-Bissessar – 2006–2007 & 2010
- Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives – Pennelope Beckles – 2007–2010
- Minister of Foreign Affairs – Paula Gopee-Scoon – 2007–2010
- Mayor – Chaguanas – Natasha Navas – 2009–2010
- Prime Minister – Kamla Persad-Bissessar – 2010 – 2015
- Opposition Chief Whip – Marlene McDonald – 2010 – 2015
- Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate – Pennelope Beckles – 2010 – 2013
- President – Paula-Mae Weekes – 2018–Incumbent
Turks and Caicos Islands
- Governor – Cynthia Astwood – 2002
- Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands - Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson - 2016
United States
First Female Governors by State
- Alabama – Lurleen Wallace - 1967
- Alaska – Sarah Palin - 2006
- Arizona – Rose Mofford - 1988
- Connecticut – Ella T. Grasso - 1975
- Delaware – Ruth Ann Minner - 2001
- Hawaii – Linda Lingle - 2002
- Iowa – Kim Reynolds - 2017
- Kansas – Joan Finney - 1991
- Kentucky – Martha Collins - 1983
- Louisiana – Kathleen Blanco - 2004
- Maine – Janet Mills - 2019
- Massachusetts – Jane Swift - 2001
- Michigan – Jennifer Granholm - 2003
- Montana – Judy Martz - 2001
- Nebraska – Kay A. Orr -1987
- New Hampshire – Vesta M. Roy - 1982
- New Jersey – Christine Todd Whitman - 1994
- New Mexico – Susana Martinez - 2011
- North Carolina – Bev Perdue - 2009
- Ohio – Nancy Hollister - 1998
- Oklahoma – Mary Fallin - 2011
- Oregon – Barbara Roberts - 1991
- Rhode Island – Gina Raimondo - 2015
- South Carolina – Nikki Haley - 2011
- South Dakota – Kristi Noem - 2019
- Texas – Miriam A. Ferguson - 1925
- Utah – Olene Walker - 2003
- Vermont – Madeleine Kunin - 1985
- Washington – Dixy Lee Ray - 1977
- Wyoming – Nellie Tayloe Ross - 1925
First Female Senators by State
- Alabama – Dixie Graves - 1937
- Alaska – Lisa Murkowski - 2002
- Arkansas – Hattie Caraway - 1931
- California – Dianne Feinstein - 1992
- Florida – Paula Hawkins - 1981
- Georgia – Rebecca Felton - 1922
- Hawaii – Mazie Hirono - 2013
- Illinois – Carol Moseley-Braun - 1993
- Iowa – Joni Ernst - 2015
- Kansas – Nancy Kassebaum - 1978
- Louisiana – Rose Long - 1936
- Maine – Margaret C. Smith - 1949
- Maryland – Barbara Mikulski - 1987
- Massachusetts - Elizabeth Warren - 2013
- Michigan – Debbie Stabenow - 2001
- Minnesota – Muriel Humphrey - 1978
- Mississippi - Cindy Hyde-Smith - 2018
- Missouri – Jean Carnahan - 2001
- Nebraska – Eva Bowring - 1954
- Nevada – Catherine Cortez Masto - 2017
- New Hampshire – Jeanne Shaheen - 2009
- New York – Hillary Clinton - 2001
- North Carolina – Elizabeth Dole - 2003
- North Dakota – Jocelyn Burdick - 1992
- Oregon – Maurine Neuberger - 1960
- South Dakota – Vera C. Bushfield - 1948
- Tennessee – Marsha Blackburn - 2019
- Texas – Kay Hutchison - 1993
- Washington – Patty Murray - 1993
- West Virginia – Shelley Moore Capito - 2015
- Wisconsin – Tammy Baldwin - 2013
Congressional Firsts
- First woman to be elected to the United States Congress - Jeannette Rankin - 1916
- First woman to run for a Senate seat - Jeannette Rankin - 1918
- First female senator - Rebecca Latimer Felton - 1922
- First female to preside over the Senate – Arkansas Senator Hattie Caraway - 1943
- First female to serve in both houses of Congress – Margaret Chase Smith - 1948
- First female pages appointed in Senate – Paulette Desell, Ellen McConnell, and Julie Price - 1971
Local and municipal elected offices
- Board of Education - Lydia Sayer Hasbrouck - 1880
- Mayor - Susanna M. Salter - 1887
- Chief of the Cherokee Nation - Wilma Mankiller - 1985
- Chairwoman of the Tohono O'odham Nation - Vivian Juan-Saunders - 2003
State elected offices
- State House of Representatives - Carrie C. Holly, Clara Cressingham, and Frances S. Klock - 1894
- State Senator - Martha Hughes Cannon - 1896
- Governor - Nellie Tayloe Ross - 1925
- Speaker of a state house of representatives - Minnie Davenport Craig -1933
- Lieutenant governor - Consuelo Northrop Bailey - 1955
- State Senate Majority Leader - Sandra Day O'Connor - 1972
- Vermont House of Representatives - Edna Beard - 1921
- Vermont Senate - Edna Beard - 1923
National offices
Elected
- United States House of Representatives - Jeannette Rankin - 1917
- United States Senator - Hattie Wyatt Caraway - 1931
- Speaker of the House of Representatives - Nancy Pelosi - 2007
National caucus or political party
- Senate Conference Chair - Margaret Chase Smith - 1967
- Chairperson of the Democratic Party National Committee - Jean Westwood - 1972
- Chairperson of the Republican Party National Committee - Mary Louise Smith - 1974
- House of Representatives Party Whip - Nancy Pelosi - 2002
- Party Leader of the House of Representatives - Nancy Pelosi - 2002
- Chief Deputy Whip of the United States Senate - Barbara Boxer - 2007
Appointed
- U.S. Senator- Rebecca Latimer Felton - 1922
- Cabinet & Secretary of Labor - Frances Perkins - 1933
- Treasurer of the United States - Georgia Neese Clark - 1949
- Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare - Oveta Culp Hobby - 1953
- Secretary of Housing and Urban Development - Carla Anderson Hills - 1975
- Secretary of Commerce - Juanita M. Kreps - 1977
- Secretary of Health and Human Services - Patricia Roberts Harris - 1979
- Secretary of Education - Shirley Hufstedler - 1979
- Secretary of Transportation - Elizabeth Dole - 1983
- Attorney General - Janet Reno - 1993
- Secretary of the Air Force - Sheila Widnall - 1993
- Secretary of State - Madeleine Albright - 1997
- Secretary of Agriculture - Ann Veneman - 2001
- Secretary of the Interior - Gale Norton - 2001
- Secretary of the Navy - Susan Livingstone - 2003