List of top 10 World's most powerful women 2011

World's most powerful women
German Chancellor Angela Merkel topped the list of the world's most powerful women, which is dominated by politicians, businesswomen and leaders in media and entertainment
1. Angela Merkel is the first female Chancellor of Germany. In 2007, she became the second woman to chair the G8, after Margaret Thatcher. She played a central role in the negotiation of the Treaty of Lisbon and the Berlin Declaration. In domestic policy, health care reform and problems concerning future energy development have thus far been major issues of her tenure.
2. Hillary Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001.
3. Dilma Vana Rousseff is the president of Brazil. She is the first woman to hold the office. Prior to that, in 2005, she was also the first woman to become Chief of Staff of Brazil, appointed by then President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. In 2005, a political crisis triggered by a corruption scandal led to the resignation of Chief of Staff José Dirceu. Rousseff took over the post, remaining in office until March 31, 2010, when she left in order to ... more
4. Indra Nooyi is the chairman and chief executive officer of PepsiCo. Nooyi joined PepsiCo in 1994 and was named president and CFO in 2001. Nooyi has directed the company's global strategy for more than a decade and led PepsiCo's restructuring. In 2007 she became the fifth CEO in PepsiCo's 44-year history.
5. Sheryl Sandberg is the chief operating officer of Facebook. Prior to Facebook, Sheryl was Vice President of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google.
6. Melinda Gates, an American philanthropist and wife of Bill Gates. She is the co-founder and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a former unit manager for several Microsoft products such as Publisher, Microsoft Bob, Encarta, and Expedia.
7. Sonia Gandhi is the Chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance and the president of the Congress National party. Her foreign birth has been a subject of much debate and controversy. Although Sonia is actually the fifth foreign-born person to be leader of the Congress Party, she is the first since independence in 1947.
8. Michelle Obama is the first lady of the United States. Throughout 2007 and 2008, she helped campaign for her husband's presidential bid and delivered a keynote address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She has become a fashion icon and role model for women, and an advocate for poverty awareness and healthy eating.
9. Christine Lagarde is the managing director of the International Monetary Fund. Previously, she held various ministerial posts in the French government. Lagarde was the first woman ever to become minister of Economic Affairs of a G8 economy, and is the first woman to ever head the IMF.
10. Irene Blecker Rosenfeld is the Chairman and CEO of Kraft Foods. She has worked for 25 years in the food and beverage industry.