Florence Chenoweth
Minister of Agriculture, Liberia
In the 1970s, Dr. Florence Chenoweth became Liberia’s, and by extension Africa's, first female Minister of Agriculture. After escaping a violent coup in Liberia, Dr. Chenoweth joined the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as its representative in Gambia, West Africa in 1995. She went on to open FAO's first office in South Africa following the end of apartheid. In 2001, Dr. Chenoweth was named FAO liaison with the UN in New York City, serving as the link between the agency and the UN General Assembly until 2007. Most recently, Dr. Chenoweth implemented a Back to the Soil campaign in her native Liberia to empower rural female farmers.