List of female speakers of national and territorial lower houses

Last updated December 19, 2024

This list presents female speakers of national and territorial lower houses of their respective countries or territories. The lower house is one of two chambers in a bicameral legislature. The lower house has more power than the upper house. It usually has the power to impeach the executive in presidential republics or remove the prime minister in semi-presidential republics. Its members are elected by popular votes, compared to the upper house members who are usually appointed.

National

Denotes incumbent speaker

Name	Country	Legislative Body	Mandate start	Mandate end	Term length
Ragnhildur Helgadóttir	Iceland	Lower House of the Althing	1961	1962	1 year, 0 days
Ragnhildur Helgadóttir	Iceland	Lower House of the Althing	1974	1978	4 years, 0 days
Marta Andrade del Rosal	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	1 November 1965	30 November 1965	29 days
Marta Andrade del Rosal	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	1 October 1977	31 October 1977	30 days
Luz María Zaleta de Elsner	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	1 September 1966	30 September 1966	29 days
Annemarie Renger	West Germany	Bundestag	13 December 1972	14 December 1976	4 years, 1 day
María Aurelia de la Cruz Espinosa Ortega	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	1 November 1973	30 November 1973	29 days
Concepción Rivera Centeno	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	1 October 1974	31 October 1974	30 days
Elisabeth Blunschy	Switzerland	National Council	2 May 1977	28 November 1977	210 days
Nilde Iotti	Italy	Chamber of Deputies	20 June 1979	22 April 1992	12 years, 307 days
Lidia Gueiler Tejada	Bolivia	Chamber of Deputies	August 1979	November 1979	92 days
Beatriz Paredes Rangel	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	1 September 1979	30 September 1979	29 days
			1 October 1985	31 October 1985	30 days
			1 September 2001	30 September 2001	29 days
Jeanne Sauvé	Canada	House of Commons	14 April 1980	15 January 1984	3 years, 276 days
Hedi Lang	Switzerland	National Council	28 November 1981	28 November 1982	1 year, 0 days
Irma Cué Sarquis	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	1 September 1983	30 September 1983	29 days
Luz Lajous de Madrazo	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	1 December 1983	31 December 1983	30 days
Lindsay Bolden	Barbados	House of Assembly	1984	1986	2 years, 0 days
Elba Esther Gordillo	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	1 September 1983	30 September 1983	29 days
Elba Esther Gordillo	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	1 September 1987	30 September 1987	29 days
Joan Child	Australia	House of Representatives	11 February 1986	28 August 1989	3 years, 198 days
Rita Süssmuth	Germany	Bundestag	25 November 1988	26 October 1998	9 years, 335 days
Socorro Díaz Palacios	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	1 December 1988	31 December 1988	30 days
María Maluenda	Chile	Chamber of Deputies	11 March 1990	11 March 1990	0 days
María Claudia Esqueda Llanes	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	14 May 1991	15 June 1991	32 days
María Claudia Esqueda Llanes	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	14 April 1996	30 July 1996	107 days
Occah Seapaul	Trinidad and Tobago	House of Representatives	13 January 1992	27 November 1995	3 years, 318 days
Betty Boothroyd	United Kingdom	House of Commons	27 April 1992	23 October 2000	8 years, 179 days
María de los Ángeles Moreno	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	1 November 1992	30 November 1992	29 days
Laura Garza Galindo	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	15 April 1993	14 May 1993	29 days
Takako Doi	Japan	House of Representatives	6 August 1993	27 September 1996	3 years, 52 days
Gret Haller	Switzerland	National Council	28 November 1993	28 November 1994	1 year, 0 days
Bridgett Harris	Antigua and Barbuda	House of Representatives	1994	29 March 2004	10 years, 88 days
Irene Pivetti	Italy	Chamber of Deputies	16 April 1994	8 May 1996	2 years, 22 days
Frene Ginwala	South Africa	National Assembly	9 May 1994	23 April 2004	9 years, 350 days
Judith Stamm	Switzerland	National Council	1996	1997	1 year, 0 days
Violet Neilson	Jamaica	House of Representatives	1997	2003	6 years, 0 days
Rome Italia Johnson	Bahamas	House of Assembly	9 April 1997	22 May 2002	5 years, 43 days
Carlota Vargas Garza	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	1 December 1994	17 January 1995	47 days
Sofía Valencia Abundis	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	14 April 1995	17 May 1995	33 days
Rosario Guerra Díaz	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	1 September 1995	30 September 1995	29 days
Sara Muza Simón	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	1 December 1996	15 March 1997	104 days
Sylvia Flores	Belize	House of Representatives	1998	2001	3 years, 0 days
Trix Heberlein	Switzerland	National Council	1998	1999	1 year, 0 days
Jeltje van Nieuwenhoven	Netherlands	Tweede Kamer	20 May 1998	16 May 2002	3 years, 361 days
Gloria Lavara	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	1 December 1998	15 December 1998	14 days
Ntlhoi Motsamai	Lesotho	National Assembly	1999	2012	13 years, 0 days
Ntlhoi Motsamai	Lesotho	National Assembly	10 March 2015	12 June 2017	2 years, 94 days
Nancy Patricia Gutiérrez	Colombia	Chamber of Representatives	20 July 1999	20 July 2000	1 year, 0 days
Rafaela Alburquerque	Dominican Republic	Chamber of Deputies	16 August 1999	16 August 2003	4 years, 0 days
Luisa Fernanda Rudi	Spain	Congress of Deputies	5 April 2000	8 April 2004	4 years, 3 days
Elizabeth Zabaneh	Belize	House of Representatives	2001	2008	7 years, 0 days
Liliane Maury Pasquier	Switzerland	National Council	28 November 2001	28 November 2002	1 year, 0 days
Adriana Muñoz D'Albora	Chile	Chamber of Deputies	17 March 2002	17 March 2003	1 year, 0 days
Isabel Allende	Chile	Chamber of Deputies	11 March 2003	11 March 2004	1 year, 0 days
Giselle Isaac-Arrindell	Antigua and Barbuda	House of Representatives	29 March 2004	June 2014	10 years, 64 days
Baleka Mbete	South Africa	National Assembly	23 April 2004	25 September 2008	4 years, 155 days
Baleka Mbete	South Africa	National Assembly	21 May 2014	22 May 2019	5 years, 1 day
Zulema Jattin Corrales	Colombia	Chamber of Representatives	20 July 2004	20 July 2005	1 year, 0 days
Nora Castro	Uruguay	Chamber of Deputies	1 March 2005	1 March 2006	1 year, 0 days
Thérèse Meyer	Switzerland	National Council	8 March 2005	28 November 2005	265 days
Marcela González Salas	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	1 February 2006	16 May 2006	104 days
Barbara Prammer	Austria	National Council	30 October 2006	2 August 2014	7 years, 276 days
Christine Egerszegi	Switzerland	National Council	28 November 2006	28 November 2007	1 year, 0 days
Gerdi Verbeet	Netherlands	Tweede Kamer	6 December 2006	20 September 2012	5 years, 289 days
Nancy Pelosi	United States	House of Representatives	4 January 2007	3 January 2011	3 years, 364 days
Nancy Pelosi	United States	House of Representatives	3 January 2019	3 January 2023	4 years, 0 days
Sarah Flood-Beaubrun	Saint Lucia	House of Assembly	9 January 2007	September 2008	1 year, 236 days
Patricia Etteh	Nigeria	House of Representatives	6 June 2007	30 October 2007	146 days
María Elena Álvarez Bernal	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	27 June 2007	31 August 2007	65 days
Ruth Zavaleta	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	1 September 2007	31 August 2008	365 days
Diloram Tashmukhamedova	Uzbekistan	Legislative Chamber	23 January 2008	12 January 2015	6 years, 354 days
Fahmida Mirza	Pakistan	National Assembly	19 March 2008	3 June 2013	5 years, 76 days
Rosemary Husbands-Mathurin	Saint Lucia	House of Assembly	September 2008	6 January 2012	3 years, 127 days
Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde	South Africa	National Assembly	25 September 2008	6 May 2009	223 days
Rose Mukantabana	Rwanda	Chamber of Deputies	6 October 2008	3 October 2013	4 years, 362 days
Chiara Simoneschi-Cortesi	Switzerland	National Council	28 November 2008	28 November 2009	1 year, 0 days
Roberta Anastase	Romania	Chamber of Deputies	19 December 2008	3 July 2012	3 years, 197 days
Meira Kumar	India	Lok Sabha	4 June 2009	4 June 2014	5 years, 0 days
Ivonne Passada	Uruguay	Chamber of Deputies	1 March 2010	1 March 2011	1 year, 0 days
Alejandra Sepúlveda	Chile	Chamber of Deputies	11 March 2010	15 March 2011	1 year, 4 days
Miroslava Němcová	Czechia	Chamber of Deputies	1 May 2010	28 August 2013	3 years, 119 days
Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert	Jamaica	House of Representatives	13 July 2011	12 December 2011	152 days
Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert	Jamaica	House of Representatives	15 September 2020	26 September 2023	3 years, 11 days
Ewa Kopacz	Poland	Sejm	8 November 2011	22 September 2014	2 years, 318 days
Betty Tejada	Bolivia	Chamber of Deputies	24 July 2012	25 January 2015	2 years, 185 days
Anouchka van Miltenburg	Netherlands	Tweede Kamer	25 September 2012	12 December 2015	3 years, 78 days
Anna Burke	Australia	House of Representatives	9 October 2012	12 November 2013	1 year, 34 days
Maya Graf	Switzerland	National Council	28 November 2012	28 November 2013	1 year, 0 days
Laura Boldrini	Italy	Chamber of Deputies	16 March 2013	22 March 2018	5 years, 6 days
Donatille Mukabalisa	Rwanda	Chamber of Deputies	5 October 2013	14 August 2024	10 years, 314 days
Bronwyn Bishop	Australia	House of Representatives	12 November 2013	2 August 2015	1 year, 263 days
Christine Razanamahasoa	Madagascar	National Assembly	18 February 2014	3 May 2014	74 days
Christine Razanamahasoa	Madagascar	National Assembly	16 July 2019	12 July 2024	4 years, 362 days
Sumitra Mahajan	India	Lok Sabha	5 June 2014	17 June 2019	5 years, 12 days
Doris Bures	Austria	National Council	2 September 2014	9 November 2017	3 years, 68 days
Gabriela Montaño	Bolivia	Chamber of Deputies	25 January 2015	24 January 2019	3 years, 364 days
Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska	Poland	Sejm	25 June 2015	11 November 2015	139 days
Borjana Krišto	Bosnia and Herzegovina	House of Representatives	9 August 2015	8 April 2016	243 days
			9 August 2017	8 April 2018	242 days
			6 December 2018	5 August 2019	242 days
			6 December 2020	5 August 2021	242 days
Bridgid Annisette-George	Trinidad and Tobago	House of Representatives	23 September 2015	Incumbent	9 years, 86 days
Christa Markwalder	Switzerland	National Council	28 November 2015	28 November 2016	1 year, 0 days
Khadija Arib	Netherlands	Tweede Kamer	13 December 2015	7 April 2021	5 years, 115 days
Leonne Theodore-John	Saint Lucia	House of Assembly	12 July 2016	20 March 2018	1 year, 251 days
Ana Pastor Julián	Spain	Congress of Deputies	19 July 2016	21 May 2019	2 years, 306 days
Lucía Medina	Dominican Republic	Chamber of Deputies	16 August 2016	16 August 2017	1 year, 0 days
Laura Tucker-Longsworth	Belize	House of Representatives	13 January 2017	6 October 2020	3 years, 267 days
Guadalupe Murguía Gutiérrez	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	1 March 2017	7 September 2017	190 days
Elisabeth Köstinger	Austria	National Council	9 November 2017	18 December 2017	39 days
Muferiat Kamil	Ethiopia	House of Peoples' Representatives	19 April 2018	18 October 2018	182 days
Maya Fernández Allende	Chile	Chamber of Deputies	11 March 2018	19 March 2019	1 year, 8 days
Gülşat Mämmedowa	Turkmenistan	Assembly ^{[a 1]}	30 March 2018	6 April 2023	5 years, 7 days
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo	Philippines	House of Representatives	23 July 2018	30 June 2019	342 days
Marina Carobbio Guscetti	Switzerland	National Council	26 November 2018	2 December 2019	1 year, 6 days
Fawzia Zainal	Bahrain	House of Representatives	12 December 2018	12 December 2022	4 years, 0 days
Cecilia Bottino	Uruguay	Chamber of Representatives	1 March 2019	14 February 2020	350 days
Jeannine Mabunda	DR Congo	National Assembly	24 April 2019	Incumbent	5 years, 238 days
Meritxell Batet	Spain	Congress of Deputies	21 May 2019	16 August 2023	4 years, 87 days
Thandi Modise	South Africa	National Assembly	22 May 2019	5 August 2021	2 years, 75 days
Elżbieta Witek	Poland	Sejm	9 August 2019	12 November 2023	4 years, 95 days
Laura Rojas Hernández	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	5 September 2019	2 September 2020	363 days
Puan Maharani	Indonesia	House of Representatives	1 October 2019	Incumbent	5 years, 78 days
Isabelle Moret	Switzerland	National Council	2 December 2019	30 November 2020	364 days
Dulce María Sauri Riancho	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	2 September 2020	31 August 2021	364 days
Eliane Tillieux	Belgium	Chamber of Representatives	13 October 2020	10 July 2024	3 years, 271 days
Valerie Woods	Belize	House of Representatives	11 December 2020	Incumbent	4 years, 7 days
Vera Bergkamp	Netherlands	Tweede Kamer	7 April 2021	5 December 2023	2 years, 242 days
Jennifer Arias	Colombia	Chamber of Representatives	20 July 2021	20 July 2022	1 year, 0 days
Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula	South Africa	National Assembly	19 August 2021	3 April 2024	3 years, 121 days
Patricia Deveaux	Bahamas	House of Assembly	6 October 2021	Incumbent	3 years, 73 days
Bärbel Bas	Germany	Bundestag	26 October 2021	Incumbent	3 years, 53 days
Markéta Pekarová Adamová	Czechia	Chamber of Deputies	10 November 2021	Incumbent	3 years, 38 days
Irène Kälin	Switzerland	National Council	29 November 2021	28 November 2022	364 days
Urška Klakočar Zupančič	Slovenia	National Assembly	13 May 2022	Incumbent	2 years, 219 days
Yaël Braun-Pivet	France	National Assembly	28 June 2022	Incumbent	2 years, 173 days
Cecilia Moreau	Argentina	Chamber of Deputies	2 August 2022	7 December 2023	1 year, 127 days
Noemí Luna Ayala	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	14 August 2023	31 August 2023	17 days
Francina Armengol	Spain	Congress of Deputies	17 August 2023	Incumbent	1 year, 123 days
Khuon Sudary	Cambodia	National Assembly	22 August 2023	Incumbent	1 year, 118 days
Marcela Guerra Castillo	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	1 September 2023	31 August 2024	365 days
Juliet Holness	Jamaica	House of Representatives	26 September 2023	Incumbent	1 year, 83 days
Roelien Kamminga	Netherlands	House of Representatives	6 December 2023	14 December 2023	8 days
Ana Olivera	Uruguay	Chamber of Deputies	1 March 2024	Incumbent	292 days
Karol Cariola	Chile	Chamber of Deputies	15 April 2024	Incumbent	247 days
Thoko Didiza	South Africa	National Assembly	14 June 2024	Incumbent	187 days
Gertrude Kazarwa	Rwanda	Chamber of Deputies	14 August 2024	Incumbent	126 days
Ifigenia Martínez y Hernández	Mexico	Chamber of Deputies	1 September 2024	5 October 2024	34 days
Maja Riniker	Switzerland	National Council	2 December 2024	Incumbent	16 days
Verona Murphy	Ireland	Dáil Éireann	18 December 2024	Incumbent	0 days

↑ In 2021–2023, the Parliament of Turkmenistan was bicameral.

Territorial

Name	Territory	Legislative Body	Mandate start	Mandate end	Term length
María L. Gómez Garriga	Puerto Rico	House of Representatives	1945	1945	?
Zaida Cucusa Hernández	Puerto Rico	House of Representatives	11 January 1993	12 December 1996	3 years, 355 days
Jenniffer González	Puerto Rico	House of Representatives	12 January 2009	1 January 2013	3 years, 355 days

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[Turkmenistan-1] In 2021–2023, the Parliament of Turkmenistan was bicameral.

[a 1]

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List of female speakers of national and territorial lower houses

Contents

National

Territorial

See also

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