Women of famous politicians who have become more successful than their husbands and lovers

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

“Behind a great man there is a great woman” is a popular phrase that is confirmed by a huge number of historical examples. At a time when women could not make a political career on their own, but felt a penchant for politics, they stood near men and ruled with them or for them. History knows many examples when a woman near a politician showed herself to be a more successful politician.

Napoleon's main opponent: Louise, Queen of Prussia

When Napoleon began to seize foreign lands or power in foreign lands, which remained nominally under the previous owners, lands, it quickly became clear that his greed and ambition had no boundaries. Although the interests of Prussia were already directly affected, her king did not dare to begin to defend them with arms. Then his wife, the young Queen Louise, actually declared war - she used all her political influence to put pressure on the king by the court. The war has begun. It would have started anyway - Napoleon would inevitably have invaded Prussia, but starting a war earlier than he planned was a real chance that Prussia would be able to defend.

Napoleon, alas, advanced across Prussia with the mighty troops he had already assembled, like a heated knife moving through butter. Louise inspired the Prussians to resist, and Napoleon used every opportunity of propaganda to shatter her influence. When it came to peace negotiations, Napoleon invited not the king of Prussia, but the queen.

Prussia actually fell under the rule of Napoleon, and Louise and her family were exiled. Nevertheless, under pressure from public opinion, Napoleon allowed the royal couple to return to Berlin after a couple of years. On the day the Queen entered her capital, Berlin exploded with shouts of joy, seethed and boiled. On the spot, Louise first of all achieved the restoration of one of the prominent Prussian diplomats, whom Napoleon hated and deprived him of his post.

Alas, she died shortly thereafter of a tumor in her heart and lung. But her death seemed to only strengthen the patriotism of the Prussians. Ultimately, the Prussians joined Russia and participated in the deposition of Napoleon from the French throne. After that, the Prussian kings managed to regain most of their lands.

The girl from the slave market: al-Khaizuran

Many fairy-tale characters had real prototypes, or even several. So, the mother of the Baghdad Caliph, Harun al-Rashid (known in Russia more as Garuna al-Rashid), is considered the prototype of Scheherazade. She was born in Yemen, in a simple family, and was kidnapped during her youth by the Bedouins. They sold it in the slave market. As luck would have it for the kidnapped, the Baghdad prince, returning from the Hajj, saw her and wished to buy it.

Al-Khaizuran spent some time as the prince's concubine and managed to charm him with clever speeches. She also did not get tired of studying and self-education. When the prince became caliph and could do whatever he wanted, he gave al-Khaizuran free will and married her. Apparently, he often consulted with his wife, but her political star rose after his death, during the reign of her son Harun.

Harun al-Rashid was not too politically talented, but he trusted his mother in everything, who had no talent for her. She deftly ruled the Iranian noble families, turning them into her allies in all endeavors. During her reign, a library and a university appeared in Baghdad, irrigation canals were built outside Baghdad, merchants, poets, architects, and scientists came to the very capital of the Caliphate. Thus, the first half of the official reign of Harun ar-Rashid was marked by an extraordinary flourishing.

After the death of his mother, al-Rashid decided that the aristocratic advisers thought too much of themselves and that the caliph was not obliged to listen to advice and reproaches. He quarreled with those noble families whom his mother so skillfully united for the good of Baghdad, and reached a bloody massacre, which resulted in endless uprisings. The second stage of the reign of Harun ar-Rashid, independent, led to the decline and actual disintegration of the caliphate.

Time of queens on Russian soil: Irina Godunova

After the death of Ivan the Terrible, the throne passed to his son, twenty-seven-year-old Tsarevich Fyodor. Even when Ivan Vasilyevich was still alive, he considered Fyodor's son the heir as a last resort - this, they say, was born for the cell, and not for the throne … a silent man. Until 1581, there was no big problem with this - the eldest son Ivan should have inherited, but he died from what is now believed to be the treatment of syphilis with mercury. For the next two or three years, the king hoped to conceive a replacement for the only surviving of his sons, but it did not work out. It was Fyodor who became the tsar, and Irina Godunova, the sister of Boris Godunov, who had known Fyodor since childhood, became the queen, which was unusual for tsarist married couples.

Under Irina, the morals in the royal chambers have noticeably changed. At this time in Europe, the Time of Queens was just in full swing - many women burst into politics at once, including the officially reigning Queen Elizabeth I. Elizabeth Irina held an idol. I was in correspondence with her. She also corresponded with great enthusiasm with the Queen of Kakheti Tinatin - the communication of these queens contributed to the strengthening of Russian-Kakhetian ties, which worried Turkey a lot. Irina also corresponded with other European monarchs, as well as with prominent church figures.

But the correspondence (which, by the way, strongly influenced the foreign policy image of Russia) was not limited to the new behavior of the Russian tsarina. On state documents, next to the signature of the king was now her signature. Irina put a lot of effort into creating a separate Moscow patriarchy, which was very important politically in those days, and achieved her goal. Together with her husband, she met the foreign ambassadors hand in hand instead of sitting in the mansion, and told him during the royal receptions, standing behind the throne, what to answer …

Boyars approached Fyodor several times, demanding that his wife be shortened or even sent to a monastery. But the always meek, good-natured, blissfully smiling king unexpectedly showed obstinacy and will when it came to his beloved wife. It was not possible to depose Irina until the death of the king.

After the death of her husband, under the threat of a revolt of the Moscow mob, Irina retired to a monastery. She never gave birth to an heir, so the election of a tsar was announced. Already being a tonsured nun, Irina used all her political influence and diplomatic skills in order to elevate her brother Boris to the throne. Perhaps she hoped to influence the policy of the state through him (as was the case, for example, in England, where King Edward the Elder was actually ruled by his sister thelfleda of Mercia), but a completely different story happened.

First for America: Eleanor Roosevelt

The niece of one American president and wife of another, Eleanor proved to be almost a more talented politician than both of them taken together. And she certainly achieved greater popularity than her husband, with her social activism. When a large survey was conducted in the United States, which was supposed to reveal the rating of the Roosevelt couple, it turned out that Americans evaluate her activities positively more often than her husband's.

During the Great Depression, when a woman in the United States could not yet be an independent politician, nevertheless, Eleanor, as Roosevelt's wife, constantly initiated public discussions in which she persuaded Americans to believe that individual success, of course, is good, but in the case disaster society must support the people of which it is composed. During the war years, she became Deputy Secretary of Defense and encouraged the United States to open a second front in Europe, for which, among other things, she facilitated the arrival of Soviet heroes of the front, including Lyudmila Pavlichenko, to communicate with the Americans. She also worked hard to found the United Nations, becoming one of its founders. That is why the UN headquarters is located in New York.

In the fifties, she promoted many progressive agendas such as the rights of women and blacks. Under Kennedy, she was chair of the Presidential Committee on the Status of Women, and has consistently enjoyed great influence in the US Democratic Party. She survived her husband for seventeen years, and many believe that she did more for her country.

Nowadays, women can make an independent political career, from the very beginning: 10 most successful and influential women politicians to make history.