- Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (Namibia, December 2024 – Present) Currently making history as Namibia’s first female president.
- Sahle-Work Zewde (Ethiopia, October 2018 – October 2024) Ethiopia’s first elected female president was unanimously chosen by the National Parliamentary Assembly.
- Ameenah Gurib-Fakim (Mauritius, June 2015 – March 2018) As Mauritius’s first female president, Gurib-Fakim was unanimously elected by the National Assembly following the resignation of President Kailash Purryag.
- Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia, January 2006 – January 2018) A trailblazer as Africa’s first elected female president, Sirleaf served two consecutive terms after winning both the 2005 and 2011 elections.
- Joyce Hilda Banda (Malawi, April 2012 – May 2014) Banda served as Malawi’s fourth president and was recognized by Forbes as the 40th most powerful woman globally and Africa’s most powerful woman in 2014.
- Samia Suluhu Hassan (Tanzania, March 2021 – Present) Hassan assumed the presidency following the death of President John Magufuli.
- Catherine Samba-Panza (Central African Republic, January 2014 – March 2016) Samba-Panza served as Acting Head of State following the resignation of rebel leader Michael Djotodia.
- Agnès Monique Ohsan Bellepeau (Mauritius) Bellepeau served two terms as Acting President: first from March to July 2012, and again from May to June 2015, during transitional periods between presidents.
- Rose Francine Rogombé (Gabon, June 2009 – October 2009) As President of the Senate, Rogombé automatically became interim president following the death of President Omar Bongo, serving until a new president was elected.
- Ivy Matsepe-Cassaburi (South Africa, September 2005) Matsepe-Cassaburi served briefly as acting president for four days when both the president and vice president were out of the country, and again for 14 hours during a transition of power.
- Sylvie Kinigi (Burundi, October 1993 – February 1994) Making history as Africa’s first female head of state, Kinigi served as acting president during a critical period following the assassination of President Melchior Ndadaye.