Best chance of a female leader in the Axis?

[Expat]

Who (if any) are the most likely women to become heads of state or heads of government in the Axis from any country, anywhere?

The only two I could come up with are Wilhelmina getting hit over the head and developing some wild ideas, or an ASBish advancement of Peron's takeover of Argentina followed by the syncretic rise of Eva.

 

[CCA]

An Axis Nationalist China.

Say for example - Chiang Kai-shek is killed during World War II - and his wife takes over to stabilize - she would be acceptable to all the factions as a compromise candidate.

Also - if it's war time - she'll have the family name behind her - which is really valuable.

Not that that's a hint for my own timeline of course

 

[mailinutile2]

Unlikely
Axis view of women was to be devoted to family and without power.
Even women working was actively discouraged in the Reich when manpower shortage was acute.
I think M said in an official speech:
"Women should tend to their children, clean their houses, and bear the infidelties of their own husbands [portare le corna]"

 

[joea64]

Yes, aside from Madame Chiang (OK, Hendryk, Madame Jiang ) and possibly Evita, I can't think of any women who would have been acceptable to the big wheels of Fascist and quasi-Fascist states of the period as national leaders, for the reason that they were quite sexist even by the standards of the day. Hey, Geekhis! Did Italo Balbo ever have anything to say about the status of women in Italy?

 

[Wyragen-TXRG4P]

An Axis Nationalist China.

Say for example - Chiang Kai-shek is killed during World War II - and his wife takes over to stabilize - she would be acceptable to all the factions as a compromise candidate.

Also - if it's war time - she'll have the family name behind her - which is really valuable.

Not that that's a hint for my own timeline of course

Uppdated it lately?

 

[Consumerist]

Maybe if the ussr joined up with nazi germany than we could count Tannu Tuva. Didn't they have the first elected female leader in history?

 

[yourworstnightmare]

Since the Axis culture was all about macho and stuff the short answer is NO!

 

[DireSituation]

(OK, Hendryx, Madame Jiang ) and possibly

Who's this Hendryx I've been hearing about? Sounds like a person who's knowledgeable in the same area of history as me, but he doesn't seem to be part of the member database.

 

[Expat]

Since the Axis culture was all about macho and stuff the short answer is NO!

They were also racist nationalists but there were Poles and other Slavs in the SS, not to mention, you know, Japan.

 

[TNF]

Well, if Mussolini stays in power until his death, there's always the chance that his granddaughter (a well known Fascist politician IOTL) could some day become Il Duce.

 

[zoomar]

Did Italy's royal succession laws allow for queens? If they did, the potential for an Axis power with a female head of state exists. Same for Japan, if their succession laws allowed for female monarchs.

Outside of that, the chance is slim and none for the main powers. What about Finland? Could a woman be elected President of Finland in the 1940's?

 

[seraphim74]

Originally posted by Expat

They were also racist nationalists but there were Poles and other Slavs in the SS, not to mention, you know, Japan.

Former Polish citizens, perhaps, if they proved they were of German origin. If they considered themselves Poles, there was no place for them in SS (not that any Pole volunteered). Germans simply didn't trust them, and rightfully so. There were no Polish units in Waffen SS or Wehrmacht. It is true, though, that many Poles from lands incorporated into the Reich in 1939 (Silesia, Great Poland, Pomeranian Corridor) were forced to serve in German armed forces. Many of them switched sides and joint Free Polish units.

 

[TNF]

Did Italy's royal succession laws allow for queens? If they did, the potential for an Axis power with a female head of state exists. Same for Japan, if their succession laws allowed for female monarchs.

Japan's throne STILL only allows men to become Head of State.

 

[stevep]

Who's this Hendryx I've been hearing about? Sounds like a person who's knowledgeable in the same area of history as me, but he doesn't seem to be part of the member database.

DireSituation

That's a typo. Look up Hendryk and you will find the person. Being asked here as one of the boards biggest China experts.

Steve

https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/member.php?u=487

 

[alphaboi867]

Did Italy's royal succession laws allow for queens? If they did, the potential for an Axis power with a female head of state exists. Same for Japan, if their succession laws allowed for female monarchs...

Nope, the Italians practiced strict Salic-law. The closest thing to a queen-regnant Italy could get is an underage king with his mother serving as regent.

 

[DrakonFin]

What about Finland? Could a woman be elected President of Finland in the 1940's?

Highly unlikely. We only had one female minister before the war, Miina Sillanpää, the Second Minister of Social Affairs in 1926-27. She was highly influential in the biggest party in parliament (elected already in 1907, serving 39 years in total), but it speaks volumes about the comparative position of women she could only land such a lowly cabinet position and that only once. Because we don't really see dynastic succession in Finnish politics, I'd say even having a woman as something like the Minister of Finance at that time would be unlikely.

 

[zoomar]

Japan's throne STILL only allows men to become Head of State.

I know that. That's why I said "if". I didn't know about Italy's though.

 

[zoomar]

How about this? Instead of Eva Braun, Hitler's mistress is Leni Riefenstahl. Also, lets' imagine that the role of the decorated ardent Nazi aviatrix Hanna Reitsch evolves more and she also becomes a close advisor to Hitler. Then, lets imagine Hitler dies in 1943 (assasinated or natural) and these powerful women (probably in league with male allies) become part a group seeking to assume control of Germany in the inevitable power struggle. Although a male Nazi assumes a formal government leadership role, Reitsch becomes dominant in the party and essentially rules behind the scenes.

OK, Silly but fun...and oh so Ilsa-she-devilsh.

 

[Kyronea]

*snip image*




Uppdated it lately?

Oh please, she's about as German as my mother is Nubian.

Anyway, as the others have stated, it's highly unlikely. Despite what certain awesome games such as Return to Castle Wolfenstein might have people believe, the Nazis were firmly in the camp of patriarchtic women oppressors...much like every other dictatorship in history...

 

[Kome]

Nope, the Italians practiced strict Salic-law. The closest thing to a queen-regnant Italy could get is an underage king with his mother serving as regent.

What about Bulgaria, Romania, or Yugoslavia (they could have joined)? What where their laws like? Or maybe Victor Emmanuel has a favorite niece and makes her Queen of Croatia?