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| Angela Merkel world's most powerful woman: Forbes |
| Press Trust of India / New York Aug 20, 2009, 19:41 IST |
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For the fourth straight year, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been ranked as the most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine while the US First Lady Michelle Obama made her debut in the top 100 list.
The league of World's 100 Most Powerful Women compiled by the magazine features US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairperson Sheila Bair at the second place and India-origin Chief Executive of Pepsico Indra Nooyi at the third.
Led by Indian National Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi at the 13th spot, the list has three Indians. While ICICI Bank CEO and Managing Director Chanda Kochhar has made her debut in the list at 20th position, Biocon's Chairman Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is at the 91st place.
"In assembling the list, Forbes looked for women who run countries, big companies or influential nonprofits. Their rankings are a combination of two scores: visibility -- by press mentions and the size of the organisation or country these women lead," the magazine said.
Nooyi retained her third position in the list.
Other prominent names in the ranking include Yahoo!'s CEO Carol Bartz (12th), Co-Chairman of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Melinda Gates (34), Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (35), US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (36), Queen Elizabeth (42) and Jordan's Queen Rania (75).
About Merkel, the publication said that at the first position for the fourth consecutive year, she is up for re-election and is the leader of the world's fourth-largest economy (Germany).
Gandhi improved her ranking from 21 last year to 13 this year, while Mazumdar-Shaw moved to 91 from last year's 99th place.
Writing on Michelle Obama, the magazine said that she is a keen advocate of green initiatives and community service.
"... Michelle has avoided any major policy speeches, instead stating her first priority was to adjust to life in the White House... Michelle has garnered the most publicity for her fashion sense," the publication noted.
According to Forbes, Gandhi is "still the country's dominant force since she reluctantly entered politics in the 1990s".
The landslide victory in the recent general election further strengthened her position as the leader of "India's most powerful political party" -- Indian National Congress.
Kochhar was named as the first woman boss of India's second largest lender ICICI Bank and took charge in May this year. "She now oversees a bank with assets of $100 billion," Forbes said.
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