Has there ever been a female dictator?

Answer 1

Sure, there have been quite a few. Keep in mind that the term "dictator" means a single ruler who assumes whole and absolute power. Following is a list of a few female dictators:

• Cleopatra (Egyptian Pharaoh)
• Boudica (Queen of the Iceni)
• Elizabeth I (British Monarch)
• Catherine the Great (Russian Czarina)
• Indira Ghandi (Prime Minister of India)
• Amivi Gama (East Timor President for Life)
• Empress Dowager Cixi (ruler of the Qing Dynasty of China from 1861 to 1908)

And then the various Empresses of Japan:

• Empress Suiko (554-628)
• Empress Kōgyoku (594-661)
• Empress Saimei (594-661)
• Empress Jitō (645-702)
• Empress Gemmei (661-721)
• Empress Genshō (680-748)
• Empress Kōken (718-770)
• Empress Shōtoku (718-770)
• Empress Meishō (1624-1696)
• Empress Go-Sakuramachi (1740-1813)

Many believe that female dictators are uncommon, even rare, when in actuality the opposite is the reality. There have been many women who have ruled their nations with absolute power. It is often just necessary to remove one's masculine predisposition to the term dictator.

Answer 2

There's never been one anywhere near the horrific levels of Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Mussolini, etc. But yes, there have been female dictators. There haven't been a lot of female leaders, so it's not too surprising that there aren't a lot of female dictators either.

Notably, in the mid-1970s, Indira Gandhi was briefly the dictator ruling India. She suspended civil liberties, arrested political opponents, and did some other not-so-nice stuff. However, she ended her Dictatorship after about two years, held elections, and actually left power when she lost those elections.

There are other examples of women who were the wives of dictators, and they wound up acting a lot like dictators themselves. Some of these were Imelda Marcos (wife of Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos), Eva "Evita" Peron (wife of Juan Peron of Argentina), Jiang Qing (wife of Mao Zedong of China), and Elena Ceausescu (wife of Nicolai Ceausescu of Romania).

Answer 3

Catherine the Great of Russia is one example.