Women rulers and the male price of war

The phrase “men ruled the world” collapses two different groups into one: the small elite that held sovereign power and men as a sex. A man in a trench did not become a ruler because another man signed the order. A woman on a throne or at the head of a cabinet did not turn mobilised men into holders of female power.

History contains queens, empresses, regents, presidents, and prime ministers whose states started wars, continued inherited conflicts, suppressed rebellions, and deployed forces abroad. The military burden still fell mainly on men.

What this catalogue establishes

This article does not claim that women are more warlike than men, or that every ruler personally began every conflict listed below. It establishes narrower points:

a woman could personally command forces or authorise an operation;
an executive government could continue a war inherited from its predecessor;
a constitutional queen could be the formal head of a belligerent state while policy was made by ministers and parliament;
under all three arrangements, armies remained predominantly male and compulsory mobilisation was overwhelmingly imposed on men.

“War continued under her government” is therefore broader than “she started the war.” An inherited conflict still requires replacements, budgets, orders, mobilisation, and a decision to continue fighting.

Rulers with direct or substantial military authority

Ruler	Period in power	Wars and armed conflicts	Role
Artemisia I of Caria	around 480 BCE	Xerxes’ invasion of Greece and the Battle of Salamis	Personally commanded the Carian squadron in the Persian fleet.
Zenobia	267–272	Conquest of Egypt and the Roman East; war with Aurelian	Expanded the Palmyrene realm by force and led resistance to Rome.
Olga of Kyiv	about 945–960, regency	Campaigns against the Drevlians	Directed a punitive campaign and reorganised the conquered territory.
Wu Zetian	690–705 as emperor	Wars with the Tibetan Empire, Turkic powers, and campaigns in Central Asia	Held sole sovereign authority over the imperial army.
Irene of Athens	797–802 as sole ruler	Wars with the Abbasid Caliphate and Bulgaria	Directed Byzantine policy as the sole monarch.
Matilda of Tuscany	1052–1115	Investiture Controversy, wars against Henry IV, and sieges in northern Italy	Maintained armies, fortified strongholds, and led the papal coalition in her lands.
Urraca I	1109–1126	Civil wars in León and Castile; war with Alfonso I of Aragon	Was the sovereign queen and one of the principal belligerents.
Empress Matilda	1139–1153, contest for the throne	The English civil war known as the Anarchy	Led one side and controlled territory, although she was never crowned.
Tamar of Georgia	1184–1213	Wars with Seljuk states, capture of Kars, and creation of the dependent Empire of Trebizond	Georgia conducted major offensive campaigns and reached its greatest extent.
Razia Sultan	1236–1240	Campaigns and provincial revolts in the Delhi Sultanate	Took part in military struggle and died after attempting to regain power.
Rudrama Devi	about 1262–1289	Seuna-Yadava invasion and Ambadeva’s rebellion	Directed the defence of the Kakatiya state.
Margaret I of Denmark	1387–1412	Wars for control of Scandinavia and struggles with German princes	Consolidated Denmark, Norway, and Sweden and created the Kalmar Union.
Margaret of Anjou	1455–1471, military leadership	Wars of the Roses	Became the political and military leader of the Lancastrian cause.
Isabella I of Castile	1474–1504	War of the Castilian Succession, Granada War, and Italian Wars	Governed campaigns, finance, and logistics together with Ferdinand.
Rani Durgavati	1550–1564	Wars with Malwa and defence of Gondwana against the Mughal Empire	Commanded forces and died during the final campaign.
Chand Bibi	1580–1590 and 1595–1599, regencies	Wars between the Deccan sultanates and the Mughal Empire	Organised the defence of Ahmadnagar and negotiated for the state.
Abbakka Chowta	mid-sixteenth century	Repeated wars between Ullal and Portugal	Led resistance to Portuguese attacks by sea and land.
Elizabeth I	1558–1603	Anglo-Spanish War, wars in Ireland, and intervention in the Netherlands	Approved expeditions, financed armies, and sent the English Armada to Iberia.
Catherine de’ Medici	regent 1560–1563, influence to 1589	French Wars of Religion	Shaped crown policy during civil war and coercive campaigns against opponents.
Christina of Sweden	1632–1654	Thirty Years’ War	Inherited the war, maintained Swedish participation, and approved the peace that secured territorial gains.
Anne of Austria	regent 1643–1651	Franco-Spanish War and the Fronde	Headed the French crown during foreign and civil war.
Queen Anne	1702–1714	War of the Spanish Succession	British governments and armies fought a major European war in the name of the Crown.
Anna of Russia	1730–1740	War of the Polish Succession and Russo-Turkish War of 1735–1739	Held autocratic authority over the state and army.
Elizabeth of Russia	1741–1762	Russo-Swedish War and Seven Years’ War	Russia invaded Prussia and briefly occupied Berlin.
Maria Theresa	1740–1780	War of the Austrian Succession and Seven Years’ War	Mobilised the Habsburg lands and fought for decades to preserve and recover territory.
Catherine II	1762–1796	Russo-Turkish wars, interventions and partitions of Poland, and suppression of Pugachev’s Rebellion	Her empire fought offensive wars and annexed extensive territories.
Ranavalona I	1828–1861	Campaigns to subordinate regions of Madagascar and wars against external pressure	Maintained territorial expansion and extensive military labour obligations.
Empress Dowager Cixi	de facto power 1861–1908	Final phases of major rebellions, Sino-French and Sino-Japanese wars, and Boxer Uprising	Determined imperial policy under several emperors and approved key regime decisions.
Indira Gandhi	1966–1977, 1980–1984	Bangladesh Liberation War and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971; Punjab conflict	Her government supported Bengali forces and then sent the Indian army into East Pakistan; she later authorised Operation Blue Star.
Golda Meir	1969–1974	War of Attrition and Yom Kippur War	Led the government, mobilisation, and wartime decisions after the Egyptian-Syrian attack.
Sirimavo Bandaranaike	1960–1965, 1970–1977, 1994–2000	1971 JVP insurrection and later the Sri Lankan civil war	Her government used the army against the uprising; the civil war continued during her third term.
Margaret Thatcher	1979–1990	Falklands War	Chaired the War Cabinet and dispatched the task force that retook the islands.
Isabel Perón	1974–1976	Conflict with the ERP and Montoneros; Operation Independence	Granted the armed forces expanded powers in the internal war against insurgents.
Benazir Bhutto	1988–1990, 1993–1996	Afghan war, Kashmir, and internal Pakistani conflicts	Headed the civilian government while the military and intelligence services retained substantial autonomy.
Corazon Aquino	1986–1992	Communist and Islamist insurgencies; military coup attempts	Continued counterinsurgency operations and used the armed forces to defend the government.
Tansu Çiller	1993–1996	Kurdish-Turkish conflict and operation in northern Iraq	Her government sharply expanded military and security operations against the PKK.
Sylvie Kinigi	1993–1994	Coup and opening stage of the Burundian civil war	Headed the government and briefly the state during the first months of mass violence.
Chandrika Kumaratunga	1994–2005	Sri Lankan civil war	Combined presidential authority with major military offensives and negotiations.
Megawati Sukarnoputri	2001–2004	Aceh conflict	Imposed martial law in 2003 and authorised a large offensive.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo	2001–2010	Conflicts with Islamist groups and the New People’s Army	Continued domestic operations and Philippine participation in the US-led “war on terror.”
Angela Merkel	2005–2021	Afghanistan, Kosovo, Mali, and operations against Islamic State	Her cabinets repeatedly renewed and altered Bundeswehr deployments abroad.
Julia Gillard	2010–2013	War in Afghanistan	Continued Australian participation and publicly defended the mission.
Roza Otunbayeva	2010–2011	April uprising and ethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan	The interim government deployed security forces and authorised the use of weapons.
Catherine Samba-Panza	2014–2016	Central African Republic civil war	Led a transitional state whose forces operated alongside foreign missions.
Theresa May	2016–2019	Afghanistan, operations against Islamic State, and 2018 strikes on Syria	Ordered British participation in missile strikes on Syria without a prior parliamentary vote.
Sheikh Hasina	1996–2001, 2009–2024	Chittagong conflict during her first term and later operations against armed and terrorist groups	Headed Bangladesh’s executive government and security apparatus.
Aung San Suu Kyi	2016–2021, state counsellor	Myanmar army wars with ethnic armed groups and operations against the Rohingya	Was the civilian leader but did not control the autonomous military command; her authority was not equivalent to that of a commander-in-chief.

Regents, co-rulers, and dynastic leaders

These figures cannot be treated mechanically as modern presidents or prime ministers. They shared power with a monarch, council, spouse, heir, or military aristocracy, but took part in maintaining war and political coercion.

Ruler	Period	Conflict and degree of authority
Anne of Kyiv	queen of France from 1051, role in government after 1060	Signed royal acts during Philip I’s minority, but her status as a full regent is disputed; she is a weak case for a personalised slogan.
Blanche of Castile	regent 1226–1234 and 1248–1252	Defeated baronial revolts, supplied royal forces, and governed France during Louis IX’s absence.
Eleanor of Aquitaine	intermittent regency in the twelfth century	Governed Plantagenet territories, supported her sons’ revolt, and participated in dynastic military politics.
Isabella of France	de facto power 1326–1330	Organised the invasion of England, deposition of Edward II, and government during Edward III’s minority.
Catherine of Navarre	1483–1517	Ruled with John III during internal conflicts and the Castilian conquest of Navarre.
Mary I of England	1553–1558	Entered the Franco-Spanish war on Philip II’s side; England lost Calais.
Mary, Queen of Scots	1542–1567	Armed rebellion and civil struggle in Scotland ended in her deposition.
Marie de’ Medici	regent 1610–1614, later influence	Governed France during internal armed crises and European rivalry.
Sophia Alekseyevna	regent 1682–1689	Two Crimean campaigns were launched during her regency.
Maria Luisa of Parma	queen consort of Spain 1788–1808	Exercised major political influence under Charles IV and Godoy but was not an independent sovereign; personal attribution of wars is disputed.
Isabella II of Spain	1833–1868	Her reign opened with the First Carlist War and included further rebellions, colonial wars, and foreign campaigns.

Constitutional queens and formal heads of state

These names support only the institutional argument. Troops served the Crown and state, but decisions to begin and continue war were made by cabinets, parliaments, and military commands.

Head of state	Years	Wars during the reign or presidency
Victoria	1837–1901	Opium Wars, Crimean War, Anglo-Afghan wars, Anglo-Zulu War, Boer wars, and other imperial conflicts.
Wilhelmina of the Netherlands	1890–1948	Second World War and the opening of the Indonesian War of Independence; in exile she became an active symbol of resistance.
Juliana of the Netherlands	1948–1980	End of the Indonesian war, Dutch participation in the Korean War, and NATO missions.
Elizabeth II	1952–2022	Korea, Malaya, Kenya, Suez, Northern Ireland, Falklands, Gulf War, Afghanistan, Iraq, and other operations.
Beatrix of the Netherlands	1980–2013	Gulf War, Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
Margrethe II	1972–2024	Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya.
Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga	president of Latvia, 1999–2007	Latvia deployed troops to Iraq and Afghanistan; the president did not command them unilaterally.
Dalia Grybauskaitė	president of Lithuania, 2009–2019	Lithuanian forces served in Afghanistan and international missions.
Kersti Kaljulaid	president of Estonia, 2016–2021	Estonian forces continued NATO deployments under a constitutionally limited presidency.
Halimah Yacob	president of Singapore, 2017–2023	Singapore took part in international military missions, but the presidency was primarily ceremonial.

Death tolls: what can be stated honestly

A death toll belongs to a conflict, not automatically to a ruler’s personal “account.” A long war may include years before and after her term. Reliable totals usually do not exist for ancient and medieval campaigns.

Conflict	Rulers in this article	Defensible figure
Falklands War, 1982	Margaret Thatcher; formally Elizabeth II	907 deaths: 649 Argentines, 255 British personnel, and three islanders.
Yom Kippur War, 1973	Golda Meir	The Israeli Ministry of Defence archive records 2,297 Israeli soldiers killed by the end of the main fighting; the official number rose when later combat was included. Total deaths on all sides were higher.
Bangladesh war, 1971	Indira Gandhi	Estimates of mass killing vary enormously. Bangladesh’s official figure is three million, while contemporary US documents explicitly stated that the real number was probably much lower. A precise number without a range and qualification is not defensible.
Seven Years’ War	Elizabeth of Russia and Maria Theresa	Current academic overviews place total deaths at roughly one million or more.
Sri Lankan civil war	Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Chandrika Kumaratunga	The United Nations gives an estimate of 80,000–100,000 deaths for 1983–2009.
Post-9/11 wars	Elizabeth II, Beatrix, Margrethe II, Angela Merkel, Julia Gillard, Theresa May, and others	Brown University’s Costs of War project estimates more than 940,000 direct deaths and at least 4.5–4.7 million deaths including indirect effects. These figures cover the entire group of wars and all belligerents, not one country or leader.

A card should call the number an estimated conflict death toll. “She killed X people” replaces historical analysis with a personal accusation, erases other belligerents, and turns disputed statistics into propaganda.

Cases that should not be forced into the slogan

Ursula von der Leyen heads the European Commission, but she is not the sovereign head of an EU state and does not command member-state armies. She has a major role in funding, procurement, and military assistance, but “sent men to war” requires evidence tied to a specific decision.

Tsai Ing-wen strengthened Taiwan’s defences under military pressure from the People’s Republic of China, but no full-scale war occurred during her presidency. Salome Zourabichvili took office a decade after Georgia’s 2008 war. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became president after Liberia’s second civil war had ended. They may belong in articles on militarisation, deterrence, or postwar government, not in a direct catalogue of wartime rulers.

The catalogue should also remove duplicate entries for Corazon Aquino and Benazir Bhutto and should not preserve an unverified name merely to reach a round number of cards.

What this changes in the argument about patriarchy

The historical predominance of male rulers does not make all men members of a ruling class. Catherine II’s power did not belong to Russian peasant women, Victoria’s authority did not belong to British women workers, and Indira Gandhi’s office did not belong to Indian women as a single political group.

The state could still require a man to serve regardless of who occupied the throne or cabinet. The ruler held the powers of office. The soldier held the duty to obey.