Popular First Ladies

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We present here famous wives of past and present heads of state who besides providing ample support to their husbands have carved a place for themselves in history for more reasons than one. Popular First Ladies

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Jacqueline Kennedy The wife of John F Kennedy, the US President from 1961 to 1963, Jacqueline Kennedy is as famous as her husband. Beautiful, charismatic and a style icon extraordinaire she was an epitome of grace and dignity and not to forget courage. She put up a brave face following her husband's assassination in 1963. The picture above was taken in 1962 where she is seen playing with her son John Kennedy Jr.

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A cult figure in Argentina, Eva Perón, the wife of former Argentinean President Juan Perón, was one of the most influential first ladies. She played a huge role in Argentinean politics during her husband's first and second tenures as President. A philanthropist and champion of labour rights, she founded the Female Perónist Party. She was tipped to be the Vice-President of Argentina in 1952 but withdrew owing to her failing health. She was only 33 when she died of cancer. In the picture above Eva Perón (left) is seen with Argentine actress and singer Libertad Lamarque in a still from the 1944 picture "La Cabalgata del Circo." Eva Perón started her career as an actress. The life of Eva Perón was the inspiration for an Andrew Lloyd Weber-Tim Rice musical in 1978 and the 1996 movie 'Evita' starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas. Eva Perón

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The first lady of the Philippines from December 1965 to February 1986 when her husband Ferdinand Marcos Jr was in power, Imelda Marcos led a lavish life during this time and is famous for her amazing collection of footwear (she owned around 3000 pairs). She also possessed more than 1000 handbags, 500 gowns and quite a number of mink coats. Imelda Marcos

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Carla Bruni The Italy-born glamorous First Lady of France is a celebrity in her own right. A former supermodel now turned singer, Bruni has worked for the biggest names in the fashion business like Christian Dior, Givenchy, Karl Lagerfield, Yves Saint-Laurent among others. Two scheduled album launches in 2011 are all set to give her singing career a big boost. In the meanwhile she has also signed a film 'Midnight in Paris" with Woody Allen.

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Michelle Obama Like Jacqueline Kennedy, the current US First Lady is as famous as her husband President Obama. She is known for her great fashion sense and her fabulous figure. Calvin Klein creations are one of her favourites. She features in this year's People's list of Best-dressed women. An alumni of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, Michelle Obama (seen with daughter Malia above) is a powerful speaker and endorses campaigns for eradicating poverty and other noble causes.

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Cherie Blair The ever-smiling London School of Economics alumni, a barrister by profession and a philanthropist, was the First Lady of the United Kingdom from May 1997 to June 1997 when her husband Tony Blair was the Prime Minister of UK.

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Hillary Clinton One of the most remarkable ladies of this generation, Hillary Clinton, now the US Secretary of State, is always remembered for her silence in the wake of the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky affair in 1998. The First Lady of the United States during the two tenures of her husband from January 1993 to January 2001, Hillary featured in the list of 100 most influential lawyers in the United States two times. Her dream career graph will remain an inspiration to many generations of women.

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Queen Rania Al Abdullah A graduate in Business Administration, the lovely Queen of Jordan has espoused many causes like the upliftment of the underprivileged in the country, mproving the quality of education, prevention of child abuse, promotion of vocational education and the like. Most recently she was associated with the UNICEF Global Leadership Initiative and the 1GOAL: Education for All campaign. In 2009, she featured in the Forbes' List of Most Powerful Women.

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Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein Princess Haya Bin Al Hussein is the consort of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE. Daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan, the Princess was a champion equestrian having won the Jordanian Showjumping championship for 5 years in the late 80s and early 90s and also represented Jordan in umpteen international competitions. After her marriage in 2004, the princess continues her association with equestrian and is the President of the International Equestrian Federation.

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Aguas Santas Ocaña Navarro A Spaniard by birth, Aguas Santas Ocaña Navarro became the first lady of Honduras in October 2002 when she married Honduran President Ricardo Maduro (the two are now divorced). During her husband's rule, Aguas worked a lot towards bettering the life of Honduran street children through a programme called Cero Niños en las Calles. She has taken 13 children under her care and legally adopted five of them.

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Eleanor Roosevelt The wife of Franklin D Roosevelt, the President of the US from 1933 to 1945, Eleanor transformed herself from being shy and reticent to a strong speaker, politician and activist. Women's empowerment was an issue that was close to her heart. When President Roosevelt was stricken with polio and confined to the wheelchair, Eleanor provided him the much needed moral support and egged him to carry on with his official duties. All this in spite of her husband's affair with Lucy Mercer that almost ended their marriage. In the picture above first lady Eleanor Roosevelt is seen with over 400 soldiers at the South Lawn of the White House in Washington.

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Nancy Reagan Actress turned First Lady, Nancy Reagan was at the White House from January 1981 to 1989, when President Ronald Reagan was in office. Both met and married when they were Hollywood actors. During her term at White House she had to battle breast cancer and undergo a mastectomy. While at the White House she promoted the Just Say No program to tackle substance abuse. Ronald Reagan's battle with Alzheimer's post-Presidency and his subsequent death after a 10-year struggle prompted her to campaign for stem cell research as a hope to battle Alzheimer's.

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Laura Bush A Master's in Library Science from the University of Texas at Austin, Laura Bush, the wife of US President George W. Bush (Prez from January 2001 to 2009), pushed for a lot of reforms in education, child development and women's health both in the US and across the world and is credited with having started the National Book Festival in 2001.

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Barbara Bush The wife of President George H. W. Bush, Barbara Bush as the capacity of First Lady (from January 1989 to January 1993) started the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy and continues to support the cause.

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Rosalynn Carter The First Lady of the United States from January 1977 to January 1981, during the tenure of her husband President Jimmy Carter, Rosalynn Carter was involved in the President's work and also promoting awareness and research of mental health and even today plays an active role towards this cause.

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Nusrat Bhutto The First Lady of Pakistan from August 1973 to July 1977, when her husband Zulfikar Ali Khan Bhutto was the Prime Minister, Nusrat Bhutto gave her husband ample support during his tenure. After his execution she took over the reins of the Pakistan People's Party and was at the helm of party affairs till she was diagnosed with cancer. She is the mother of the late Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto.

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Usha Narayanan A Burmese national, former Indian First Lady Usha Narayanan, was born Ma Tint Tint, and graduated in arts from Rangoon University and followed it up with post-graduation in social work from the Delhi School of Social Work. She was an advocate of women's rights and translated many Burmese stories into English.

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Raisa Gorbachev The cherubic First Lady of the erstwhile USSR, President Mikhail Gorbachev's wife Raisa strove towards preserving Russia's heritage and was also involved with creating awareness of juvenile blood cancer. Ironically she died of blood cancer in 1999. The picture above was taken during an official visit to France in a 15 September 1995 file photo.

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The Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's gorgeous wife Pimpen Sakuntabhai is a trained dentist turned Mathematics lecturer at Chulalongkorn University. Pimpen Sakuntabhai