Emmanuel Macron appointed Elisabeth Borne Prime Minister on Monday to replace Jean Castex.

At 61, the one who was until now Minister of Labor becomes the second woman to enter Matignon after Edith Cresson, who remained in this position for eleven months from May 1991 to April 1992, during François Mitterrand's second seven-year term.

Overview of the women who are currently Prime Ministers or Heads of State (excluding monarchs) in Europe, after the appointment of the polytechnician to the post of French Prime Minister.


Directed by:

Olivier JUSZCZAK

  • The German Ursula von der Leyen becomes in December 2019 the first woman president of the European Commission.

  • Elisabeth Borne is the second woman to join Matignon after Edith Cresson, who remained in this position for eleven months from May 1991 to April 1992, during François Mitterrand's second seven-year term.

  • Magistrate Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou, elected president in January 2020, is the first woman to hold this essentially honorary position in Greece.

  • In Sweden, Social Democrat Magdalena Andersson becomes the first female Prime Minister in November 2021.

  • After winning the legislative elections, the leader of the Social Democrats Mette Frederiksen formed her government in June 2019, becoming at 41 the youngest Prime Minister in the history of Denmark.

  • Estonia's first female head of government, Kaja Kallas, has ruled the country since January 2021.

  • In Finland, the social democrat Sanna Marin becomes on December 10, 2019, at the age of 34, the youngest head of government then in office on the planet.

  • In Iceland (outside the European Union), Katrin Jakobsdottir, 46, has led the government since November 2017.

  • Here, the Prime Minister of Norway, Katrin Jakobsdottir, is the only man in a meeting between five heads of state.

    It's rare enough to point it out!

  • Katalin Novak becomes in March 2022 the first woman elected to the presidency of Hungary, an essentially ceremonial position.

  • The independent Ingrida Simonyte has been Prime Minister of Lithuania since December 2020, appointed by the conservative party after the legislative elections.

  • Liberal lawyer and anti-corruption activist Zuzana Caputova, sworn in on June 15, 2019, is the first woman to win the Slovak presidency.

  • Outside the EU, Nicola Sturgeon has been in charge of Scotland since November 2014. 

  • In Moldova, the two heads of the executive are female.

    President Maia Sandu has been in office since December 2020. 

  • And Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita has been in office since August 2021. There are also female presidents in Kosovo, Serbia and Georgia.

  • Slideshow

  • Elisabeth Borne

  • Women

  • Policy

  • Able

  • European Union (EU)

  • Ursula von der Leyen