First Minister

French media are revisiting the career path of Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the former education minister under François Hollande. Gala traces her journey from law studies and a prestigious degree to repeated failures at the ENA entrance exam, before she rose through Socialist politics to become the first woman to hold the national education portfolio. The profile highlights her unusual route to high office.

Sanae Takaichi, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, was elected Japan's first female prime minister by the Diet, succeeding Shigeru Ishiba. A conservative close ally of the late Shinzo Abe, she has promised aggressive fiscal spending, looser monetary policy and stronger defence. Her rise is drawing attention at home and abroad, with debate over her right-wing positions and how she will manage relations with the United States, China and South Korea.