Random Famous Transgender Politicians From Around the World (22 items)

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  (#1) Georgina Beyer

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  Georgina Beyer is the first openly transgender person in the world to hold a national office, serving as a member of the New Zealand Parliament. In 1984, she had gender reassignment surgery to transition from male to female. She worked tirelessly as a champion for LGBTQ rights until she retired in 2006.
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  (#2) Aya Kamikawa

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  Aya Kamikawa is Japan's only openly transgender politician. "My goal is to send a message to others, to educate them about people like me. Listen, transgender people are never going to be 100 percent accepted in society, but people need to understand that we exist, and I intend to do that by getting to know people in my local community," she said.
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  (#3) Amanda Simpson

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  Amanda Simpson is the highest-ranking openly transgender appointee in American history. She has served as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Operational Energy since 2015.
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  (#4) Shabnam Mausi

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  Shabnam Mausi is the first transgender person in India to be elected to public office. She is also a trained classical dancer.
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  (#5) Jenny Bailey

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  Cambridge mayor Jenny Bailey and her partner, Jennifer Liddle, are both transgender women. "I'm proud that I managed to get through something which was quite difficult and managed to come out of it a better person. I certainly do not want it to eclipse being mayor," she said.
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  (#6) Jamie Lee Hamilton

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  Jamie Lee Hamilton is the first trans person to ever run for office in Canada. She also sits on the board of directors for the Greater Vancouver Native Cultural Society.
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  (#7) Kim Coco Iwamoto

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  Hawaiian Civil Rights Commissioner Kim Coco Iwamoto previously served on the Board of Education. "I wanted to be on the Board of Education because I wanted to advocate for students," she said. "This was never about me as an individual. It's always been about me and how I can serve the community."
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  (#8) Jennifer Gale

  • Dec. at 48 (1960-2008)

  Jennifer Gale ran for public office in Austin on several occasions. Sadly, she was found dead of a heart attack outside a Salvation Army in 2008. She wasn't allowed inside the facility because she was a transgender woman with male genitalia. EMTs on the scene believe that the freezing temperatures outside may have provoked her heart attack.
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  (#9) Althea Garrison

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  Althea Garrison has run for several public offices as both a Republican and a Democratic. She has never publicly talked about her trans status, but public records show that she officially changed her name to be "consistent with [her] appearance and medical condition" in 1976.
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  (#10) Micheline Montreuil

  As a politician and activist, Micheline Montreuil has fought for transgender rights in Canada and beyond. She said, "For a transgender, it is a long path that may never end; she is not in such hurry because she is discovering herself step by step. So, like me, a transgender may change slowly, year after year, as long as she wishes it. I still have not ended my path."
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  (#11) Nikki Sinclaire

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  Nikki Sinclaire is Britain's first transgender MEP. She accused the UK Independence Party of sexual discrimination after she was accused of laundering money in 2012.
   
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  (#12) Carla Antonelli

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  Trans actress and politician Carla Antonelli serves in the Madrid Assembly. She is the first openly transgender person to serve in a Spanish legislature.
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  (#13) Sarah Brown

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  Cambridge City Council Ward Sarah Brown has made several appearances on the Independent on Sunday's Pink List.
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  (#14) Anna Grodzka

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  Polish politician Anna Grodzka is the first transgender MP to be elected in Europe. "A lot of people, even those close to you, do not understand the change, and this is therefore the most difficult part. I would say that about half my friends – my fair-weather friends – have been lost," she said of transitioning to living her life as a woman in 2007.
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  (#15) Stu Rasmussen

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  In 2008, Stu Rasmussen became the United States' first openly transgender mayor. "It’s a rural community considered more conservative,” Rasmussen said of the town of Silverton, Oregon. “They judge people on talent and ability rather than their shape."
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  (#16) Lauren Scott

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  Transgender Republican politician Lauren Scott ran for the Nevada assembly in 2014. "During my transition in 1999, I thought this was my problem, that there is something wrong with me and that I should kowtow to society and hope society accepts it. But I read a lot about the basis for gender and sexual development, and I realized all the stories I’ve been reading in the media and popular culture about gender identity and sexuality have been wrong," she said.
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  (#17) Geraldine Roman

  Geraldine Roman is the first openly transgender woman to be elected to Congress in the Philippines. "Gender is not an important issue really," she said. "The capacity of a person to serve his or her country does not depend on our gender. It depends on what you have in your heart and your desire to serve others."
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  (#18) Joanne Conte

  Arvada City Council member Joanne Conte was first elected in 1991. Born Joseph Baione, she had a sex change operation in 1973.
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  (#19) Michelle Suárez

  Michelle Suárez is the first openly transgender woman to be elected to office in Uruguay.
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  (#20) Stacie Laughton

  Stacie Laughton served as a representative in Ward 4 of Nashua, New Hampshire, but she became ineligible after serving a sentence for credit card fraud in 2008.
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  (#21) Tamara Adrián

  Tamara Adrián is the first openly transgender person to be elected to office in Venezuela.
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  (#22) Luisa Revilla Urcia

  Luisa Revilla Urcia is the first openly transgender person to be elected to public office in Peru.

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