Forbes: Vīķe-Freiberga is 48th most powerful

Latvian President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga is No. 48 among the 100 most powerful women in the world, according to a ranking by Forbes Magazine, Forbes.com reports.

The magazine noted that the president “and her tiny country of Latvia made an international splash this year when President George W. Bush stopped by on his way to Moscow to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II.” Forbes mentioned how Vīķe-Freiberga had angered Russia by asking for an apology for the Soviet occupation of Latvia.

The magazine also mentioned the 8 percent growth last year in Latvia’s gross domestic product put it ahead of the rate of Germany, France and Italy.

Last year, Vīķe-Freiberga ranked No. 70.

The ranking is based in part on the size of the economic sphere in which each woman has power, according to Forbes.com, as well as the number of mentions in the media.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice ranked first in this year’s list.

Andris Straumanis is a special correspondent for and a co-founder of Latvians Online. From 2000–2012 he was editor of the website.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *