President Roza Otunbayeva

First stepping forward as a central figure in the second effort of her country to shed authoritarian rule after the fall of the Soviet Union, Roza Otunbayeva recently became Central Asia’s first female head of state and head of government in a traditional, majority Muslim country. In the face of a collapsing, corrupt government, strong regional divisions and widespread economic stagnation, President Otunbayeva succeeded in binding together a historically fractious opposition into a provisional government structure able to check the struggles for power from stirring up wider divisions in society. Her courageous leadership was instrumental in keeping Kyrgyzstan whole after the June 2010 clashes, staying the course to hold competitive elections.