1. Angela Merkel / 58
Chancellor
Germany
The world’s No. 1 Most Powerful Woman for the second year in a row, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is the “Iron Lady” of the European Union and the lead player in the euro zone economic drama that continues to threaten global markets. As Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal have teetered on the brink of economic collapse, she has vowed to do everything in her power to preserve the 17-country EU. Merkel also called on international leaders to renew the Kyoto Agreement, a commitment to reduce greenhouse gases that she helped ratify as Germany’s environmental minister in the 1990s. She has been chancellor since 2005, and her recent public approval ratings soared to near 70%—a good sign leading into the general election in the autumn of 2013. Merkel is embracing the internet and last autumn launched a YouTube channel, Die Bundesregierung, where the chancellor directly answers citizens’ questions.
2. Hillary Clinton / 64
Secretary of State
US
In keeping with her reputation as a no-nonsense diplomat, Hillary Clinton is spending her final months as Secretary of State far from the campaign trail. Much of that time has been on the go: This year alone, she’s travelled to 51 countries. The former presidential candidate has had a formidable past 12 months: She’s navigated treacherous territory when WikiLeaks released sensitive diplomatic cables in November, urged Syrian President Bashar Assad to hand over his power and leave his country, and recently warned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to chart a different course from his militant father’s. And she went viral: The Tumblr blog “Texts From Hillary” became a popular meme in April. Clinton has steadfastly said that she plans to leave her post as diplomat-in-chief at the end of the year.
3. Dilma Rousseff / 64
President
Brazil
The president of the world’s eighth-largest economy is ambitious at the midpoint of her first term, launching two aggressive programmes meant to reverse the still strong but shrinking national GDP. Brazil Without Misery is a Great Society-style programme aimed at eradicating poverty and increasing access to education, medical care and public services, by 2014. A second initiative focuses on business growth and innovation, including incentives for micro- and small businesses. She tells Forbes, “What I want my legacy to be is this country to be increasingly middle class, to be highly competitive and highly educated.” A June poll put Rousseff’s approval rating at 77%, and she is predicted to win a second four-year term in 2014.
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