Forbes ranks Hasina 29th on the list of most powerful women in world

Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina, around a year after forming the government for an unprecedented fourth term, has been placed 29th on the 2019 Forbes list of 100 most powerful women in the world.

“An ongoing struggle of Hasina has been establishing a firm democracy in Bangladesh,” the magazine wrote about the longest serving prime minister in the history of Bangladesh on Thursday.

“During what she believes will be her final term, Hasina plans to focus on issues such as food security and access to education and healthcare,” it added.

Her position on the list improved to 26th last year from 30th in 2017, 36th in 2016 and 59th in 2015.

Among The Most Powerful Women in Politics, the magazine ranked Hasina sixth. She advanced from the seventh position last year and the ninth position two years ago.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel tops the list for the ninth consecutive year while Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, rose one spot to No. 2.

The “Don’t mess with me.” mantra has earned Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, the third spot.

Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has made it to the list holding the 34th spot.

HCL Corporation CEO and Executive Director Roshni Nadar Malhotra and Biocon Founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw are the two other Indians on the 54th and 65th spots on the list.

Teenaged Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, recently named Time’s Person of the Year, is another new addition to the list, placed on 100th.

“We are seeing more women at the heads of the world’s most influential institutions—the European Commission, the European Central Bank, the US House of Representatives—and more women taking power in c-suites and board rooms across America,” Forbes quoted Maggie McGrath, editor of ForbesWomen, as saying.

“Systemic change takes time, but the women on this year’s Power list are wielding their influence across the world to help make that change,” she added.