Tsai Ing-Wen

Tsai Ing-wen, a lawyer and the first female president of Taiwan, is committed to the causes of democratic freedom and social justice, supporting the LGBTQ+ community, and improving the lives of Taiwan’s youth. Tsai set up a reconciliation commission to investigate the human rights abuses that occurred in Taiwan over 40 years of military rule. In her inaugural speech, Tsai vowed to make her country “a staunch guardian of peace.”

Tsai was named one of Time’s “Most Influential People” of 2020 and ranked ninth on Forbes’s list of the “World’s Most Powerful Women” in 2021. Internationally, Tsai has been praised for her response to the COVID-19 pandemic and for standing up to pressure from the People’s Republic of China. Tsai resigned as head of the Democratic People’s Party in November 2022.