Jolie out, Sturgeon in: Forbes World’s Most Powerful Women list revealed

THE Queen and Nicola Sturgeon are the sole representatives from the UK on the latest edition of the Forbes 100 most powerful women, with the leader of the Scottish Nationalists debuting at No 50.

It was the sixth year running that the US magazine, famous for its rich lists and annual top 100’s, has selected Angela Merkel as No 1, likely due to the German Chancellor being one of the only top names officially wielding power at present.

She came in ahead of Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who will likely be a shoe-in for first place should she beat Donald Trump to the White House; Melinda Gates, husband to billionaire Bill; and Ana Patricia Botin, the executive chairman of Spanish bank Santander.

The bulk of the top ten was dominated by ladies of finance and technology with the IMF’s Christine Lagarde, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, Youtube’s Susan Wojcicki, and Janet Yellen of the Federal Reserve. Nestled away at No 29 was Queen Elizabeth II who seems to accrue power by simply not dying.

Politics was the biggest winner with female leaders across the world representing the strongest new contingent to the list, which had a more modest approach to celebrity this year, banishing the likes of Angelina Jolie and Taylor Swift.

Holding office seemed to be the chief requisite for political inclusion, with Sturgeon featuring due to her focus on independence and popularity, and Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi surprisingly only being included for the first time, having won elections in Myanmar last year.

South America didn’t fare too well with Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff being dropped after losing the presidency last month, and Argentina’s former president and noted waxwork model, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, excluded as her career goes into meltdown.