Meet The Five Women Who Attended The G20 Summit In Rome

Our of 35 leaders and guests who attended the Group of 20 (G20) meeting in Rome, Italy, only five were women and three represented an official G20 member state.

As Angela Merkel is going to retire as Germany’s Chancellor soon, the G20 is going to lose one female leader in the male-dominated group.

Here are the five women who attended this year’s G20 Summit in Rome this year.

I. Angela Merkel

After leading Germany for more than 15 years, the retiring German Chancellor attended the G20 this year along with her likely successor, the social democrat Olaf Scholz. 

II. Ursula Von Der Leyen

Also originally from Germany, Von Der Leyen was elected President of the European Commission in December 2019. The European Union is a member of the G20. 

III. Naledi Pandor

Naledi Pandor was sent to represent South Africa’s government at this year’s G20 Summit. Pandor has been the foreign minister of South Africa since 2019 but attended the meeting on behalf of South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa who didn’t attend because of local elections taking place back home.

IV. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a Nigerian politician who was the first woman to ever lead the World Trade Organization. She attended the G20 Summit as an invited representative of an international organization. 

V. Kristalina Georgieva

Georgieva, a Bulgarian politician and economist, addended the Summit as a guest on behalf of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She has been at the head of the IMF since 2019.