Khaleda Zia

Khaleda Zia was the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996, and was the first woman in the country's history to hold that position. She later regained the position from 2001 to 2006. She is the widow of the assassinated president, and leads his old party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. After 35 years of independence of Bangladesh she has ruled the country for about 10 years, the longest period by any one person. She has been elected to five separate parliamentary constituencies in the general elections of 1991, 1996, and 2001, a feat unachieved by any other politician in Bangladeshi history. In 2006, Forbes ranked Khaleda as #33 in 100 Most Powerful Women in the world.
Her devotion to her country, and her hard work and unrelenting attitude are inspiring to me, and thousands of other women around the world.