Women in Politics

Research a modern-day female political leader that you think has had great influence
in making and changing laws. Provide a mini-biography and explain why you chose her.
(approximately 250 words or 2 paragraphs).

The woman that I decided to research is Dilma Rouseff, who is the current president of Brazil. Mrs. Rouseff was born in 1947, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Her father was a Bulgarian immigrant, and she was raised in a middle class household. When she was in her twenties, Mrs. Rouseff became socialist, and she fought against military dictatorship. That is the reason she was arrested in 1970, and was supposedly severely tortured. Once she was released from prison, Dilma Rouseff found the Democratic Labour Party or the PDT. Before becoming president of Brazil, Mrs. Rouseff also served as the Minister of Energy, in 2002. She was invited to be in this position by the former president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. In 2005, a huge political scandal took place, when the Chief of Staff of Brazil, José Dirceu, got involved in a corruption scandal. After this, Mrs. Rouseff decided to run for president. She won the election on 31^st October 2010, and became the 36^th President of Brazil, as well as the first woman to be in that position.

I chose to research this woman for a variety of reasons. First of all, she is leading one of the most powerful economies and one of the biggest countries in the world, and is quite successful. Dilma Rouseff is also in the third position on the Forbes “Most Powerful Women in Politics” list. However, what I find really fascinating about this woman is the fact that she kept on fighting for what she believed in, and nothing stopped her in her dreams and ambitions, not even going to jail. This shows that she is very brave, determined, and intelligent, much like the Byzantine Empress Theodora was.