Here are some interesting facts about 14 of the most influential women leaders in global development.

1. 14 women leaders in
global development
Photo by: Albert González Farran / UN

2. Paugam is the 10th — and first
female — CEO of the French
Development Agency, the
country’s main development
financing institution.
Anne Paugam
CEO
Agence Française de Developpement
Photo by: AFD

3. The Costa Rican-born Figueres
has the challenging task of
bringing together nearly 200
negotiators to agree on a global
accord governing emissions and
climate change mitigation and
adaptation.
Christiana Figueres
Executive secretary
U.N. Framework Convention
on Climate Change
Photo by: UNFCCC

4. The former U.S. ambassador to
U.N. food agencies in Rome
now leads the world’s largest
humanitarian agency combating
hunger. WFP serves about 90
million people per year in more
than 70 countries, including
nations that host Syrians
displaced by the ongoing civil
conflict.
Ertharin Cousin
Executive director
World Food Program
Photo by: J.M. Ferre / UNHCR

5. As UNDP chief, the former New
Zealand prime minister is the
third-highest-ranking U.N.
official, co-chairs the U.N. System
Task Team on the Post-2015 U.N.
Development Agenda and chairs
the U.N. Development Group,
which seeks to boost the
effectiveness of U.N. development
activities at the country level.
Helen Clark
Administrator
United Nations Development Program
Photo by: Erick-Christian Ahounou S. / UNDP

6. Under Rodin, The Rockefeller
Foundation, one of the oldest
charities focused on global
development, has undergone a
reinvention, supporting
innovative financing tools such as
development impact bonds.
Judith Rodin
President
The Rockefeller Foundation
Photo by: Ami Torfason / PopTech

7. Bishop is the first female
Australian foreign minister. She
also oversees the country’s
foreign aid program, following
AusAID’s reintegration into the
Department of Foreign Affairs
and Trade in November 2013.
Julie Bishop
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Australia
Photo by: Australian DFAT

8. The trained accountant was
named by BBC Radio 4 as one of
the 100 most powerful women in
the United Kingdom in 2013.
She’s advancing the Cameron
administration’s goals to increase
private sector engagement in
global development and get
better value for money from
foreign aid spending.
Justine Greening
Secretary of state
for international development
United Kingdom
Photo by: Russell Watkins / DfID

9. For her quick and effective
response to the Haiti and
Pakistan humanitarian disasters
in 2010, the Bulgarian politician
and former World Bank vice
president was named the EU
Commissioner of the Year and
European of the Year by the
European Voice newspaper.
Kristalina
Georgieva
European commissioner for
international cooperation,
humanitarian aid and crisis response
Photo by: European Unon

10. Initially trained as a home
economics teacher, the former
Hong Kong director of health
earned praise for bringing the
1997 avian influenza and 2003
SARS outbreak under control.
Margaret Chan
Director-general
World Health Organization
Photo by: Presidencia Peru

11. Melinda Gates has helped bring
global attention to family
planning and stunting. Together
with her husband, she sets the
strategic direction of one of the
most influential charities in
international development.
Melinda Gates
Co-chair and trustee
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Photo by: Gates Foundation

12. Mlambo-Ngcuka is a former
member of the South African
parliament and was the first
woman to hold the position of
the country’s deputy president.
Phumzile
Mlambo-Ngcuka
Executive director
U.N. Women
Photo by: Julie Lunde Lillesaeter / PRIO

13. Queen Rania is a known advocate
of education, cross-cultural
dialogue and microfinance.
Rania Al Abdullah
Queen consort
Jordan
Photo by: John Gillespie / Africa Renewal

14. The English baroness was the
first black female member of the
U.K. Cabinet: She served as U.K.
secretary of state for
international development in
2003, though only for less than
six months.
Valerie Amos
Undersecretary-general
for humanitarian affairs
and emergency relief coordinator
United Nations
Photo by: Nicole Lawrence / UN OCHA

15. Uganda’s first female
aeronautical engineer was a
member of the body that drafted
the country’s 1995 constitution.
She assumed her role as Oxfam
International chief in April 2013.
Winnie Byanyima
Executive director
Oxfam International
Photo by: European Union

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Photo by: Albert González Farran / UN