LGBT World Leaders
Openly Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Leaders Around the World
Madrid is set to welcome members of the LGBT community to celebrate this year's WorldPride event with a clear message: "Whoever you love, Madrid loves you."
WorldPride 2017 runs from June 23 to July 2 and coincides with worldwide celebrations of June as Pride Month. Cities around the globe host their own festivities, which often feature parades and performances.
But while the issue of LGBT rights continues to gain attention as a highly politicized matter around the globe, few openly LGBT people have held leadership positions as heads of state.
Here's a look at those who have made history.
Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir
Country: Iceland
Position: Prime Minister
Years Served: 2009 - 2013
About: Sigurdardóttir made history on February 1, 2009, when she became Iceland's first female prime minister and the world's first openly gay head of government. She was named one of Forbes' 100 Most Powerful Women in 2009 for her work in leading the world's oldest parliament. Sigurdardóttir married her partner, Jonina Ledsdottir, in 2002.
Elio Di Rupo
Country: Belgium
Position: Prime Minister
Years Served: 2011 - 2014
About: Di Rupo publicly came out in 1996 when he was falsely accused of having had sex with underage males.
While speaking to the author of a biography on him, Di Rupo detailed being followed and questioned by members of the press on whether he was gay. He explained: "I turned around and shot back: 'Yes. So what?' I will never forget that moment... For several seconds there was silence... People were so surprised by my reply they stopped jostling each other. It was a sincere, truthful reply."
Xavier Bettel
Country: Luxembourg
Position: Prime Minister
Years Served: 2013 - Present
About: Bettel is Luxembourg's first openly gay prime minister, and has described the country as a place where "people do not consider the fact of whether someone is gay or not." He married his partner, Gauthier Destenay, in May 2015 – one year after parliament in the largely Roman Catholic nation passed a law allowing same-sex marriage.
Leo Varadkar
Country: Ireland
Position: Prime Minister
Years Served: June 2017 - Present
About: Varadkar is not only Ireland's first gay prime minister, but, as a son of an Indian immigrant, he is also the first from an ethnic minority background and the country's youngest leader. He came out publicly as gay in the months before the country's 2015 same-sex marriage referendum. BBC News said Varadkar has "come to personify the liberalization of a country which was once regarded as one of Europe's most socially conservative nations - homosexuality was illegal until 1993."
Ana Brnabic
Country: Serbia
Position: Prime Minister
Years Served: June 2017 - Present
About: If confirmed as prime minister, Brnabic will become the first female head of state, as well as first openly lesbian prime minister in the highly conservative country's history. At the time of her 2016 appointment to the government, Brnabic told the Associated Press, "Hopefully this will blow over in three or four days, and then I won't be known as the gay minister."