List of female interior ministers

Worldwide, 178 women have overseen an interior ministry or analogous government agency responsible for overseeing a country's public safety and other domestic affairs. Of that number, 90 women have been in charge of interior ministries or analogous agencies in Europe, 24 women have been in Africa, 21 have been in North America, 15 women have been in Oceania, 15 women have been in South America, and 13 women have been in Asia.

Qian Ying became the first female interior minister worldwide upon becoming China's minister of supervision in 1959. Seven years later, Mabel Moir James became the first female interior minister in North America, serving in this role in Dominica. In 1976, Clara Boscaglia became the first female European interior minister as Minister of the Interior and of Justice of San Marino. Africa would see the first woman serve in such a role when Kebatshabile Disele became Minister of Home Affairs of Botswana in 1979. Ten years later, Margaret Austin became Minister of Internal Affairs of New Zealand, the first such minister in Oceania. Finally, Ana Lucía Armijos became the first minister of the interior in South America in 1998 upon starting her tenure as Ecuador's ministry of the interior.

Norway is the country with the most female interior ministers, with 15 ministers of justice and public security. In contrast, various countries, such as Barbados and Palau, have only had one female interior minister or equivalent political officeholder.

The totals for this list include only female interior ministers or equivalents of sovereign states. Acting interior ministers, as well as administrators of public security and related affairs of dependent territories and subnational entities, are excluded from this list.

List The following list includes all women who have served as national interior ministers or analogous governmental officials. Politicians are listed based on the starting dates of their tenures.

denotes an incumbent interior minister or equivalent officeholder NameImage Country Continent Mandate start Mandate end Term lengthQian YingAsiaMabel Moir JamesNorth AmericaIndira GandhiAsiaClara BoscagliaEuropeInger Louise ValleEuropeKebatshabile DiseleAfricaHarriet AndreassenEuropeBritta Schall HolbergEuropeKaisa RaatikainenEuropeRita SinonAfricaMargaret AustinOceaniaIen DalesEuropeLagle ParekEuropeBirte WeissEuropeRuth DreifussEuropeDieuwke de Graaff-NautaEuropeMeral AkşenerAsiaLaura ChinchillaNorth AmericaYeh Chin-fongAsiaFrancisca PereiraAfricaRagnhild Queseth HaarstadEuropeAna Lucía ArmijosSouth AmericaRosa Russo IervolinoEuropeVasso PapandreouEuropeDosta DimovskaEuropeFrancesca MichelottiEuropeKaren JespersenEuropeSylvia BrustadEuropeChang Po-yaAsiaUrmila Joella-SewnundunNorth AmericaVera Sofía RubiNorth AmericaMia MottleyNorth AmericaErna SolbergEuropeSarah Flood-BeaubrunNorth AmericaMónika LamperthEuropeEmma RossiEuropeCristina Fontes LimaAfricaNosiviwe Mapisa-NqakulaAfricaLiese ProkopEuropeRosalia NghidinwaAfricaAnne McLellanNorth AmericaGail TeixeiraSouth AmericaAnna KachikhoAfricaÅslaug HagaEuropeAlicia MuñozSouth AmericaOlga GólcherNorth AmericaValeria CiavattaEuropePilar MazzettiSouth AmericaGordana JankuloskaEuropeAna Isabel MoralesNorth AmericaGuusje ter HorstEuropeDaisy TournéSouth AmericaAdela de TorrebiarteNorth AmericaAnne HolmlundEuropeMichèle Alliot-MarieEuropeJacqui SmithEuropeMa WenAsiaMagnhild Meltveit KleppaEuropeJanina del Vecchio UgaldeNorth AmericaMaria FekterEuropeKatarina KresalEuropeSahara KhatunAsiaJanet NapolitanoNorth AmericaSandra PierantozziOceaniaMercedes CabanillasSouth AmericaLinda Abu MeriEuropeKaren EllemannEuropeNkosazana Dlamini-ZumaAfricaAnnemie TurtelboomEuropeCécile ManorohantaAfricaLiv Signe NavarseteEuropeAdja Satú CamaráAfricaRoxana MéndezNorth AmericaTheresa MayEuropeTheresa MakoniAfricaMarisa MoraisAfricaJohanna Mikl-LeitnerEuropePäivi RäsänenEuropePelenike IsaiaOceaniaMargrethe VestagerEuropeAnnamaria CancellieriEuropeJoëlle MilquetEuropeAmy AdamsOceaniaLiesbeth SpiesEuropeEleni MavrouEuropeNaledi PandorAfricaPendukeni Iivula-IthanaAfricaGülsün YücelEuropePetya ParvanovaEuropeHanna Birna KristjánsdóttirEuropeCharmaine ScottyOceaniaTsandzile DlaminiAfricaSheikh HasinaAsiaSanae TakaichiAsiaVesna Györkös ŽnidarEuropeTeresa PiotrowskaEuropeAnabela RodriguesEuropeÓlöf NordalEuropeRumyana BachvarovaEuropeRose AkolAfricaIncumbentConstança Urbano de SousaEuropeDaisy Alik-MomotaroOceaniaAmenta MatthewOceaniaPaula RisikkoEuropeAmber RuddEuropeGrace ChiumiaAfricaMitcy LarueAfricaCarmen DanEuropeMaría Amelia CoronelNorth AmericaIncumbentDominique HaslerEuropeHlengiwe MkhizeAfricaSeiko NodaAsiaAyanda DlodloAfricaCecilia ChazamaAfricaKajsa OllongrenEuropeTracey MartinOceania6 November 2020Kirstjen NielsenNorth AmericaElona GjebreaEurope201720203 yearsʻAkosita LavulavuOceaniaDenisa SakováEuropeLosaline Ma'asiOceaniaNancy Patricia GutiérrezSouth AmericaMaría Paula RomoSouth AmericaMuferiat KamilAfricaLindiwe DlaminiAfricaIncumbentKatri RaikEuropeOlga Sánchez CorderoNorth AmericaTaina BofferdingEuropeIngvil Smines Tybring-GjeddeEuropeRaya Haffar El HassanAsiaElżbieta WitekEuropeMaria OhisaloEuropeAstrid KragEuropePriti PatelEuropeRita TamašunienėEuropeLuciana LamorgeseEuropeAlicia ArangoSouth AmericaJanaina TewaneyNorth AmericaAnnelies VerlindenEuropeJan TinettiOceaniaAgnė BilotaitėEuropeSabine MonauniEuropeKaren Andrews OceaniaAyelet ShakedAsiaAlexandra VelaSouth AmericaAna RevencoEuropeArsénia MassingueAfricaKrista MikkonenEuropeNancy FaeserEuropeHanke Bruins SlotEuropeIzkia SichesAmericaTatjana BobnarEurope14 December 2022Clare O'NeilOceaniaSuella BravermanEuropeCarolina ToháAmericaSanja Ajanovič HovnikMinister pro temporeEuropeSophie LøhdeEuropeBarbara EdmondsOceaniaEster Molné SoldevilaEuropeIncumbentLuisa María Alcalde LujánNorth AmericaMari RantanenEuropeIncumbentNiki KerameusEuropeBrooke van VeldenOceaniaIncumbentÉlisabeth Baume-SchneiderEuropeIncumbentMargarida BlascoEuropeLiu Shyh-fangAsiaIncumbentJudith UitermarkEuropeYvette CooperEuropeRosa Icela RodríguezNorth AmericaIncumbentDaniella Misail-NichitinEurope19 November 2024IncumbentArpine SargsyanAsia20 November 2024IncumbentKristi NoemNorth AmericaMaria Lúcia AmaralEurope5 June 202510 February 2026Shabana MahmoodEuropeIncumbentPia Olsen DyhrEuropeIncumbent

List of female interior ministers

Bron en licentie