9. Stephanie Herseth, U.S.A.



Position: Congresswoman, South Dakota´s At-Large District
Party: Democratic
It can get cold and lonely in the fifth-least populated state in the Union, but keep your chin up South Dakotans, because your one—and only—voice in the House could set the roof on fire. Stephanie has been reppin´ the 605 since 2004, when she won a special election to grab office (and our hearts).

8. Gretchen Whitmer, U.S.A.



Position: Michigan State Senate, 23rd District
Party: Democratic
If the Democrats hope to take Michigan in this year´s November election, they´d do well to enlist the services of the state´s finest legislator. She currently serves in four standing committees—Judiciary, Finance, Education, and Agriculture—and could very well add more as soon as we get our Leering Committee finalized.

7. Mary Bono Mack, U.S.A.



Position: Congresswoman, 45th District of California
Party: Republican
She´s been nothing less than a maverick in the House, voting with her party on economic and education issues and against it on issues of LGBT and stem cell research. Ah hell, we´re even willing to give her a pass for sticking with Sonny Bono despite the knowledge that he´d been in Cher for six years.

6. Belinda Stronach, Canada



Position: Member of the Canadian House of Commons, Newmarket-Aurora
Party: Liberal
There´s a reason why her initials are B.S.: This lady takes none of it. Despite her business background, Belinda temporarily deferred her aspirations as CEO of Magna International to test the turbulent political waters. In 2005, she rocked Canadian politics by switching parties, then was allegedly embroiled in a scandalous affair with former Toronto Maple Leaf Tie Domi. Rawr!

5. Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine



Position: Prime Minister of Ukraine
Party: BYuT (Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc)
Yulia first broke onto the political scene in 1996, squeaking out a parliamentary seat with 92.3 (!) percent of the vote. She then achieved Princess Leia hotness by braiding her hair and becoming prime minister. Rumors of a vacation home on Naboo are so far unsubstantiated.

4. Nicole Parra, U.S.A.



Position: California State Assemblywoman (30th Assembly District)
Party: Democratic
Nicole has the looks to mask her ferocious bite. She recently gave her party the ol´ eff you after refusing to vote for a Democratic budget bill that screwed her hometown out of a better water supply. Her punishment? The assembly speaker has now moved her office out of the Capitol building. (If you need a desk, Nikki, we have one for you!)

3. Ruby Dhalla, Canada



Position: Member of the Canadian House of Commons, Brampton–Springdale
Party: Liberal
Dhalla has been money in Parliament as a twice-elected member of the Liberals. So much so that the opposition tried to woo her to their side in order to court the all-important woman, immigrant, and horny-male vote. Luckily, we qualify for one…maybe two…of those blocs.

2. Sarah Palin, U.S.A.



Position: Governor of Alaska, GOP VP nominee
Party: Republican
After being crowned Miss Wasilla in 1984, Sarah Barracuda snatched up the mayoral seat 12 years later, garnering a groundswell of 616 votes. Looking to shake up his presidential campaign (and [cough, cough] lure away Hillary supporters [cough, cough]), McCain picked as his running mate the only person keeping our 49th state from being annexed by the Russians. (Sorry, Alaska, you can´t hide hotties like her up there without some needling.)

1. Mara Carfagna, Italy



Position: Member of Chamber of Deputies (Campania 2), Minister for Equal Opportunity
Party: Il Popolo della Libertà (The People of Freedom)
Having ditched a career as a show girl on Italian TV, Mara is now what Monica Lewinsky could only dream of becoming: successful, relevant, and hot. With reports that her meteoric political rise was fueled by sexual favors to the prime minister, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi went on national TV and proclaimed that if he weren´t married, he would marry Mara in a heartbeat. Bravo, Silvio!

source

Politically minded women are a hot topic

Maxim, the magazine known for its stellar political reporting, released its list of the “World's 10 Hottest Politicians” on its website this week. The list does a good job of globetrotting, but tends to stay away from the real issues.

While there were plenty of accomplished, attractive women in the bunch, we at AfterEllen.com tend to look past the tailored pantsuits to the issues at hand. It takes more than winning a beauty pageant to win our hearts.

The ladies in Maxim’s top spots left something to be desired; namely, a general interest in human equality.
 

Maxim’s #1: Mara Carfagna, Italy



Sure, she is a gorgeous Italian socialist and former actress, but Carfagna, the Italian minister for equal opportunity, apparently doesn't understand what "equal" actually means. As a former showgirl, you would think she would give some credit to women working in the sex industry, but this month she criminalized street prostitution, calling it a ”a shameful phenomenon.”

Carfagna also claimed that gays in Italy shouldn't need a gay pride march, because gay rights were ”no longer a problem.” Obviously, this woman doesn't get out much. She also opposes gay marriage.

Maxim’s #2: Sarah Palin, U.S. (R-Alaska)



I don’t have to explain too much about Ms. Palin. The beauty queen turned vice-presidential nominee is a staunch opponent of reproductive rights, sex education and gay rights. She belongs to a church that works to “help gays and lesbians ‘journey out’ of same-sex attraction.” She also reportedly tried to ban a book by an out Christian pastor in Alaska.

While Ms. Palin claims to represent the American “everywoman,” I find it difficult to believe most of our nation’s hockey moms would force their daughters to give birth to a child even if they were raped by a relative.

Maxim’s #4: Nicole Parra, U.S. (D-California)



Nicole Parra is a mixed bag. Beautiful? Yes. Tough? Very. Parra, a California state assemblywoman, was forced to move out of her office last month after refusing to vote on a bill that would damage the water supply of working farmers in her district. As a lady who supports working-class and immigrant rights, she’s a gem. Unfortunately, Parra recently considered switching parties, due to her tendency to be the most conservative Democrat in the room — last year, she was one of two Democrats on the floor of the California Assembly who voted “no” on legalizing marriage for same-sex couples.

Maxim did get it right in some cases.

Maxim’s #3: Ruby Dhalla, Canada



I must admit, when I saw Canadian House of Commons Member Ruby Dhalla, I figured Maxim just picked her because she had big boobs and a pretty face (with their record, who could blame me?). While both of those things are true, Dhalla is actually an amazing politician who at the age of 34 is a doctor, a twice-elected member of the Liberal Party and an unwavering supporter of gay rights. Dhalla’s family comes from India, making her a crucial proponent for immigrant rights in Canada as well.

Maxim’s # 10: Ségolène Royal, France



French socialist Ségolène Royal ran for president in 2007, but lost in a runoff race to Carla Bruni’s beau, Nicolas Sarkozy. She was widely popular with young voters, and as President of the Poitou-Charentes Regional Council, has taken tough stands for women’s and gay rights.

"There is a strong correlation between the status of a woman and the state of justice or injustice in a country,” she told Ms. Magazine last year, about women making just 80 percent of what men make doing the same work in France.

She also promised that, if elected, her party would legalize same-sex marriage . "Opening up marriage to same-sex couples is needed in the name of equality, visibility and respect," she said.

Royal is slated to run for president again against Sarkozy in 2012, giving the French people not only a gorgeous president, but one who would bring civil rights and equality to the foreground.

Other Maxim winners: South Dakota’s U.S. Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth, Michigan’s U.S. Senator Gretchen Whitmer, California Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack Sonny Bono’s widow and a real political “maverick” for the Republican party; she is for gay rights and is pro-choice), Canadian House of Commons Member Belinda Stronach and Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

Politically charged women are hot, but an out lady in politics is even hotter.

These lesbian lawmakers have our vote:

Anette Trettebergstuen is not only the sole out lesbian politician in the Norwegian Parliament, she is beautiful, has great style and was named one of Norway’s most powerful lesbian women.



Deb Mell is an Illinois State Representative from the northwest side of Chicago. She is an out lesbian who was arrested in 2004 when she protested her inability to get a marriage license from the county clerk’s office to marry longtime partner Christin Baker. While arrests usually mar political campaigns, people know better than to run against her — she always wins.