Meet the world’s trans political leaders

the trans community she is one of the most vulnerable not only in Latin America, where her life expectancy is 35 years, but in the entire world. So far, there are more than 266 anti-LGBTQ bills under consideration in US state legislatures.

However, despite the constant discrimination faced by this population, there are leaders within this community who are part of political life in their respective countries, which is new. According NPR, the political representation of the trans community is relatively recent.

Only in recent years has it become easier for this population to get elected to public office, in the more left-leaning areas of Republican states. In fact, the first transgender person to serve in the state legislature was elected until 2017.

Their gains have been hard earned and the fight for their rights is far from over. Nonetheless, the success of so many trans candidates is an inspiration to the trans and LGBTQ communities and the world as a whole.

For this reason, we bring you the stories of five people in world politics, who from their positions not only help their community, but the entire world.

Rachel Levine: the first transgender official in the US approved by the Senate

Rachel Levine made history last year by becoming the first transgender person to be confirmed by the Senate for a high office in the United States. Levine won a vote of 52-48, by which she was approved as the deputy secretary of health for the Government of Joe Biden, the president of this country.

Levine also worked as a professor of pediatric psychiatry at Penn State University. Additionally, she was the one who led Pennsylvania’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She in turn, she is also the head of the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, one of the eight uniformed services.

After graduating from Harvard University and Tulane University School of Medicine, Levine completed his training in Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City.

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Tamara Adrián: the first trans deputy in Latin America

In 2015, Tamara Adrián made history in the political life of Venezuela and also in that of Latin America, by being the first elected transsexual deputy, by winning the elections, as a substitute on the list of politician Tomás Guanipa.

Adrian is a lawyer, academic, researcher, doctor in Commercial Law from the University of Paris and specialized in Comparative Law. She, in turn, teaches classes at the Central University of Venezuela and, at the same time, defends her seat in the National Assembly.

In 2002, before being elected deputy, Adrián changed his gender abroad and in 2004 he filed a legal action before the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela so that his documents reflected his true identity, according to the Venezuelan media Lexlatin.

However, despite the fact that his file accumulates more than two thousand pages, it has not yet been resolved. In Venezuela, since 2010, there is a law that recognizes the change of name for any person. Since he has not received a response, Adrián took his case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

Petra de Sutter: the deputy prime minister of Belgium

De Sutter is 57 years old and does activism to include the trans population. In 2020, this woman was appointed one of the seven deputy prime ministers of the new government in Belgium. She belongs to the European Parliament and, since 2019, De Sutter has chaired the European Parliament’s group on LGBTQ+ rights and co-chaired the MEPs’ group against cancer.

De Sutter also works as minister of public services and public companies. For human rights groups in the LGBTQ community, her appointment was an important step towards the inclusion of trans politicians in Europe.

Audrey Tang: Minister of Technology in Taiwan

Tang is 39 years old and became the minister of technology in 2016. She is, so far, the youngest person to hold a ministerial position in Taiwan. As part of her work as minister, she has managed to include companies with a social sense in government contracts.

Tang is an open source software developer at the age of 19 and founded her own company. In 2014 she became a digital advisor to Apple, where she participated in artificial intelligence projects such as the development of the company’s virtual personal assistant, Siri.

Tang retired from the tech world at age 33, stating that he would spend the rest of his life doing what he enjoyed. This extends to her current role as Taiwan’s technology minister, which she took on at the invitation of President Tsai Ing-wen, according to the tech outlet called Nippon.

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Jamie Wallis: the UK’s first transgender MP

Jamie Wallis is the first MP to come out as trans in the UK. Wallis revealed that he was diagnosed with gender dysphoria at a very young age. However, he wants to show his country “how important it is to be yourself.”

Through a statement that was published hours after the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, joked about the trans population, the parliamentarian affirmed that he had never lived their reality, but would try to start by telling everyone about his true identity, according to what he affirms. The Guardian.

His statement was praised for its bravery, by Johnson and his fellow deputies. According to this quoted media, the deputy stated that he had felt “overwhelmed by the kindness and support” that he received in response to his announcement. In addition, he added that For the time being, I will continue to present as I always have and will use the pronouns he / he / his of him ”.

On the other hand, as indicated The Guardian“the presence of a Conservative MP with an openly trans identity could cloud the prospects for a culture war that some Conservative figures believe should be waged for political ends.”

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