Monday, Apr. 04, 2011
Anna Bligh
Age: 50
Occupation: Premier of Queensland, Australia
Previous TIME 100 appearances: 0
Bligh was the first woman to be elected premier of any Australian state. Since the beginning of 2011, her home state of Queensland has been hit by floods and a cyclone stronger than Katrina, plus the bill for all the cleanup. But there were few casualties during the crises and her handling of public duties, keeping people informed and calm while rallying the rest of Australia to help out, was widely admired.