Who are the most inspiring women politicians of all time? We cannot overlook Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto, India’s Indira Gandhi, Israel’s Golda Meir or Britain’s Margaret Thatcher. Nor can we ignore Americans Margaret Chase Smith, Jeannette Rankin or Victoria Woodhull.

 Bhutto and Gandhi both served as prime ministers and were assassinated, giving their lives for the homelands they loved. Meir and Thatcher led their nations through periods of deadly conflict, impossible challenge … and astonishing victory.

Smith, a U.S. Senator from Maine, repeatedly sought the nomination for the presidency on a road paved by Rankin, the first woman to serve in the U.S. Senate, and Woodhull, pictured at left, the first woman to make a serious bid for the U.S. presidency.