Who was the world's first female president of a country (by virtue of succession)?

Isabel Martínez de Perón is an Argentine politician who served as President of Argentina from 1974 till 1976. She served as Vice President to her husband and succeeded him upon his death.

She was the first female president in the world, by virtue of succession although women had served as republican heads of states (e.g. Soong Ching-ling having served as "chairman" of China).

During her husband's third term as president from 1973 to 1974, she served as both Vice President and First Lady of Argentina. Following her husband's death in office in 1974, she served as President for almost two years before the military took over the government.

• Sirimavo Bandaranaike was the world's first female prime minister.

• Margaret Thatcher was prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990.

• Benazir Bhutto was a Pakistani politician who served as Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1996. She was the first woman to head a democratic government in a Muslim majority country.