Yodit Gudit (10th cendtury A.D.) was a warrior queen from the Jewish Kingdom of Semien. Her deeds are recorded in the oral tradition and mentioned incidentally in various historical accounts. She is said to have killed the emperor, ascended the throne herself, and reigned for 40 years. Accounts of her violent misdeeds are still related among peasants in the north Ethiopian countryside.
Taytu Betul (1851 – 11 February 1918) was the Empress of the Ethiopian Empire, ruling from 1889 to 1913. She was the third wife of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia and she founded Ethiopia's capital city, Addis Ababa. Taytu is acknowledged to have wielded considerable political power. She led the conservative faction at court that resisted the modernists and progressives who wanted to develop Ethiopia along western lines and bring modernity to the country. Empress Taytu was a key player in the conflict over the Treaty of Wuchale with Italy, which she tore up. Empress Taytu was the first to agitate the hesitant Emperor and other men to stand up for liberty, dignity, and against Italian aggression. Menelik, who often prevaricated and postponed unpleasant decisions by answering "Yes, tomorrow" (Ishi, nege), found it useful to have his wife be in a powerful enough position to say "Absolutely not" (Imbi) to people and issues he just did not want to personally offend or refuse to this day in the memories as the Empress who won liberty against the colonizers.
Senedu Gebru (13 January 1916 – 20 April 2009) was an Ethiopian educator, writer and politician. In 1957, she became the first Ethiopian woman elected to Parliament. She was a writer in the Amharic language, and in 1956 published a collection of short stories, songs and poems entitled YaLebbe Meshaf (Book of My Heart).The following year, she was elected to the Parliament of Ethiopia, the first woman to do so. She was named vice president of the Chamber of Deputies. She advocated complete parity between men and women and institution of the Civil Code. Gebru served in a number of important positions, such as the leader of the Ethiopian Red Cross and secretary-general of the Ministry of Social Affairs.