Hasina 26th most powerful woman

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been ranked 26th in this year's Forbes list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women.

The US-based business magazine published its 15th annual list, available on the website of its Asia edition, on Tuesday.

Last year, Hasina was ranked 30th.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who became the first female Chancellor of Germany in 2005 and is serving her fourth term, retained the top spot for eight consecutive years.

British Prime Minister Theresa May, who inherited the Brexit turmoil from former prime minister David Cameron and has tirelessly spent the past two years negotiating the exit, has been ranked second.

The rest of the top five are International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde, General Motors Chief Executive Officer Mary T Barra, and Fidelity Investments Chairman and CEO Abigail Johnson.

In the list, 20 personalities were named in the category of “politics” and Hasina was sixth among them.

“In 2017, [Sheikh Hasina] Wajed provided aid to Rohingya Muslim refugees fleeing Myanmar, allotting 2,000 acres of land in Bangladesh for the refugees.

“Now she is working on the safe repatriation of Rohingya to Myanmar, saying that Bangladesh can't bear the burden of permanent shelter,” the Forbes said.

Queen Elizabeth II was ranked 23rd and US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump ranked 24th.

This year, 20 new faces made the list.