Chile, Liberia, and Germany don't seem to have much in common. The three countries lie on different continents. They do not have a shared language, currency, culture, or history.
But on closer examination, those different nations are more similar than they appear. In the past few months, all three nations have elected women leaders. Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, and Angela Merkel of Germany join a small but growing group of female heads of state.
Here is a look into the lives of these three powerful women and the challenges currently facing their countries.
Michelle Bachelet Chile
When Michelle Bachelet was 23 years old, she and her mother were jailed and beaten. They had opposed a 1973 coup1, or government overthrow, that brought Augusto Pinochet Ugarte to power. Pinochet was a brutal2 dictator who terrorized3 those who disagreed with him. He jailed more than 27,000 Chileans and executed4 more than 3,000.
Bachelet and her mother were released and exiled5 to Australia and Germany. In 1979, Bachelet returned to Chile and graduated from medical school. After democracy was restored6 in Chile in 1990, she entered public service. Bachelet served as minister of health and as defense minister. She was praised for helping heal lingering7 distrust between Chilean citizens and the military. On January 15, 2006, the 54-year-old was elected president.
Now as Chile's first female head of state, Bachelet's priority8 is to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. Chile is a wealthy nation, but the richest 20 percent of its population controls 61 percent of the country's wealth, according to the World Bank.
“Chile needs to create more equal opportunities so that everyone can benefit from what the country has to offer,” Bachelet told reporters after her election.
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Liberia
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is known as “Iron Lady” and “Ma Ellen.” Both sides of her personality9 will help her in the daunting10 task she faces: reuniting and rebuilding Liberia following 14 years of war. Although the bloody civil war ended more than two years ago, scars still mark the African nation. Fighting left more than 200,000 people dead. Millions more were forced to flee their homes. Liberia still has no regular electricity or running water. The nation's unemployment rate is 80 percent.
Johnson-Sirleaf, a 67-year-old Harvard-educated economist and grandmother, has vowed to make a “fundamental break” with her country's past. “We must take bold and decisive steps to address the problems that for decades have stunted12 our progress,” Johnson-Sirleaf said in her inaugural13 address on January 16, 2006.
Johnson-Sirleaf is Africa's first elected female head of state, but she is not new to politics. She served as Liberia's finance minister until 1980 and made an unsuccessful run for the presidency14 in 1997.
“I am excited by the potential of what I represent: the aspirations and expectations of women in Liberia, African women, and women all over the world,” Johnson-Sirleaf says.
Angela Merkel Germany
Angela Merkel, 51, is not only the first woman to serve as the chancellor15 of Germany but also the first chancellor to have grown up in East Germany.
After World War Ⅱ(1939-1945), the United States, France, and Britain divided Germany into two parts—East Germany and West Germany. East and West Germany were reunited in 1989.
Experts say Merkel's humble16 upbringing17 as a minister's daughter will help her understand Germany's economic problems. The European country's economy hasn't grown for more than five years, and 12.6 percent of the population was unemployed in March 2005. That unemployment rate was the highest Germany had seen since the 1930s.
When Merkel was sworn in as chancellor on Nov. 22, 2005, she promised to reduce unemployment.“Our aim is to stop this downward trend and reverse18 it,” Merkel told reporters. “We want to give people hope of having jobs.”
智利、利比里亚和德国三个国家似乎没有什么共同之处。它们分处不同的大陆，语言、货币、文化和历史各不相同。
但是，仔细观察一下，这三个国家似乎要比看上去更相像。在过去的几个月里，它们分别选出了女性领导人。智利的米切尔·巴切莱特、利比里亚的艾伦·约翰逊-瑟利夫和德国的安吉拉·默克尔加入了规模尚小但却日益增长的女性国家首脑的行列。
这里将分别考察这三位女强人的生活以及她们的国家目前所面临的挑战。
智利：米切尔·巴切莱特
23岁的时候，米切尔·巴切莱特就与母亲一起被关进了监狱，受尽鞭挞。她们反对1973年一次试图推翻政府的政变，而正是这一事变使得奥古斯托·皮诺切特·伊利亚特独揽大权。皮诺切特是一位残忍的独裁者，他恐吓那些与他政见相左的人。他27，000多智利人关进监狱，并处死3000多人。
获释后，巴切莱特与她的母亲先后流亡到了澳大利亚和德国。1979年，巴切莱特回到智利，读完了医学院。1990年，智利恢复民主体制，她进入了公务员队伍。巴切莱特曾任卫生部长和国防部长。由于致力于消除智利民众与军队之间挥之不去的不信任感，巴切莱特深受好评。2006年1月15日，54岁的巴切莱特当选为智利总统。
作为智利第一位女性国家元首，巴切莱特的首要任务是缩小贫富差距。根据世界银行的报告，智利是一个富裕国家，但是20％的最富阶层却控制着61％的国家财富。
当选后，巴切莱特告诉记者：“智利需要创造更多平等机会，这样每个人可以从国家所提供的机会中受益。”
利比里亚：
艾伦·约翰逊-瑟利夫
艾伦·约翰逊-瑟利夫素有“铁娘子”和“艾伦大妈”之称。她性格的这两个方面将有助于她解决所面临的艰巨任务：重新融合和重建历经14年战争磨难的利比里亚。
虽然在两年多以前血腥的内战已经结束，但是这个非洲国家依然是满目疮痍。连年的战争造成20多万民众死亡。数百万人被迫背井离乡。利比里亚至今仍然不能正常供电、供水。失业率高达80％。
67岁的约翰逊-瑟利夫是位毕业于哈佛大学的经济学家，也是一位祖母。她发誓要让自己的国家与过去“彻底决裂”。2006年1月16日，约翰逊-瑟利夫在其就职典礼上说：“我们必须采取大胆而切实的步骤来处理几十年来妨碍国家进步的问题。”
约翰逊-瑟利夫是非洲历史上第一位民选的女性国家首脑，但是她对政治却并不陌生。1980年以前，她一直任利比里亚财政部长，并于1997年首次参加总统竞选，但没有成功。
“我对自己所体现的潜能兴奋不已：它就是利比里亚妇女、非洲妇女乃至全世界妇女的渴望与期待。”约翰逊-瑟利夫说。
德国：安吉拉·默克尔
51岁的安吉拉·默克尔不仅是德国历史上第一位女总理，而且是第一位在东德长大的德国总理。
第二次世界大战（1939－1945）以后，美国、法国和英国把德国一分为二：东德与西德。1989年，东德与西德重新统一。
有专家指出：作为一位牧师的女儿，默克尔的卑微出身将有助于她认识德国的经济问题。这个欧洲国家的经济五年多来一直停滞不前。2005年3月，德国失业人口达12.6％。这样的失业率是德国20世纪30年代以来最高的。
2005年11月22日，默克尔在就职仪式上承诺降低失业率。“我们的目标是阻止这种衰退趋势，增加就业机会，”默克尔告诉记者，“我们要给人民获得工作的希望。”
1. coup n. 政变
2. brutal adj. 残忍的，冷酷的
3. terrorize v. 恐吓，威胁
4. execute v. 将…处死
5. exile v. 流放，放逐
6. restore v. 恢复
7. lingering adj. 延迟的，逗留不去的
8. priority n. 优先考虑的事
9. personality n. 个性，人格
10. daunting adj. 使人畏缩的
11. flee v. 逃离
12. stunt v. 阻碍，妨碍
13. inaugural adj. 就职的，开始的Inaugural Address: 就职演说
14. presidency n. 总统职务
15. chancellor n. 长官，大臣，总理（德国）
16. humble adj. 卑贱的，不显要的
17. upbringing n. 抚养，教育
18. reverse v. 彻底转变