German Chancellor Angela Merkel was Wednesday named the world's most powerful woman by Forbes Magazine, putting her at the top of the prestigious list for the third year in a row.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice fell from fourth place last year to seventh place. Former US first lady and Democratic presidential contender, Senator Hillary Clinton was ranked 28th by the magazine -- three places lower than last year.
Runner-up in the rankings was the little known Sheila Bair, head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the US agency that "maintains the stability and public confidence in the nation's financial system by insuring deposits, supervising financial institutions, and managing receiverships."
The third-place finisher was Indra Nooyi, chief executive of US softdrink giant, PepsiCo, who was one of 54 business leaders on the list.
Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, one of 23 politicians on the list, is in 13th place.
Other notable women on the list include French Economy, Finance and Employment Minister Christine Lagarde, in 14th place; Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, head of the Indian National Congress Party, ranked 21st; and Queen Rania of Jordan, in 96th place.
Six of the top 10 women are American, with the remaining four from Germany, Australia, Singapore and France.
Four famous Chinese women who made into the list were: Zhang Xin, Chief executive officer and co-founder of Soho China (68), Yang Mian Mian, president of China's home appliance giant Haier(70), Eva Cheng, chief executive of Greater China and Southeast Asia of Amway(88) and Jing Ulrich, chairman and managing director of JPMorgan Chase China Equities(95).
Top ten most powerful women:
Angela Merkel
Sheila C. Bair
Indra K. Nooyi
Angela Braly
Cynthia Carroll
Irene B. Rosenfeld
Condoleezza Rice
Ho Ching
Anne Lauvergeon
Anne Mulcahy
