Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia – 51, Gillard was born in Barry, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966. When Julia Gillard was elected Australia’s first female prime minister, it was, in many ways, an enormous coup. She exploded the mold: she was unmarried; had no children; sported flaming red hair; and spoke in a broad, unaffected accent. She was also a canny, self-deprecating pragmatist who was smart and unpretentious. The fact that she was a woman seemed to be irrelevant. She wielded power the way men have, negotiating, dealing, and kicking heads when necessary.