In a list released by Forbes.com on August 30, there are all 29 most powerful women. German Chancellor Angela Merkel
ranks No. 1, the second time in a row of two years, with China's Vice Premier Wu Yi and Temasek CEO Ho Ching (wife of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Heung Long) ranking at No. 2 and No. 3. About Merkel. Forbes writes:
Angela Merkel, the first woman to become chancellor of Germany, ranks No. 1 on our list. She continued to impress the world with her cool leadership at two back-to-back summits. First, she stuck to her principles, getting G-8 leaders to agree to significant cuts in carbon emissions, among other things. She later corralled European Union countries into an agreement on a treaty to replace the E.U. constitution.
Merkel is growing increasingly comfortable with using her clout. She recently urged China to respect the rules of international trade during a three-day trip to the country, a visit that sought to improve trade ties between the world's third and fourth largest economies. Merkel said she raised the issues of human rights, trade, environmental protection and China's rampant copyright piracy. During her second G-8 summit, Merkel got the disparate parties to stick to the agenda: combating climate change and poverty. As rotating head of the European Union, Merkel lead the way in forging a new European treaty to govern the often-unruly 27-member bloc. Domestically, despite raising taxes (at a time when countries increasingly enact pro-growth flat taxes), Merkel recently captured a 75% approval rating, partly due to a five-year low in unemployment and annual GDP growth at a still healthy 3%. Lately Merkel displayed a bit of protectionist fervor when she backed Germany's plans to block takeovers of German companies by foreign government investors, a bid to stave off cash-rich Russia and China (which says it has at least $200 billion in reserves to invest worldwide). The secret to her success: "I tend not to jump to quick conclusions," she told Evelyn Roll, her biographer. "I prefer to go over things carefully to see where the traps could be lurking."
Link to the full report; Link to the slide show of those powerful women.