Namibia's Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is set to take over as head of state on Friday, joining a still relatively small circle of women in Africa to have held the top job.
Liberia: Pioneer Sirleaf Dubbed "Africa's Iron Lady", Liberia's Ellen Johnson Sirleaf made history when she became the continent's first elected woman president in 2005.
The economist, a former international civil servant and finance minister, won a second term in 2011 and the Nobel Peace Prize the same year.
She stood down in 2018 at the end of her second mandate.
