Posted on November 17, 2018
Many nations have presidents. And many of those nations that have presidential governments have a special day that celebrates their presidents.
Today just happens to be Presidents' Day in the independent nation of Marshall Islands.
(Note: Marshall Islands is an independent republic, but it is in "free association" with the United States, which means in part that the U.S. has promised to defend that nation, and Marshall Islands allows some of its land to be used for U.S. bases.)
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| Hilde Heine |
Anyway, I wanted to point out that, in 2016, a woman named Hilda Heine became Marshall Islands' first female president.
I wondered where we humans are at with electing women to top positions, and I discovered that 76 out of 195 countries have had a female president / prime minister / head of government. The nations that have not include most of the Middle East, much of Africa, a few nations in Europe and in South America, Russia, Mexico, and...glaringly...the United States.
Come on, United States, you can do this!!!
Heine was born in Majuro, which is now the capital of Marshall Islands, in 1951. She attended college in the U.S. (bachelors from University of Oregon, masters from University of Hawaii, and doctorate in education from University of Southern California - USC). She was a classroom teacher and counselor before becoming an elected representative in the government and then Education Minister. And then...
President!
More cool stuff about Heine: She founded the feminist group Women United Together Marshall Islands, and she works to halt climate change.
Climate change is especially important to low-lying island nations like Marshall Islands, because they are already losing land and homes as the sea levels rise. Here is an article from two years ago...
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