Zuzana Caputova

Zuzana is the newly elected and first female president of Slovakia at age 45 as well as the youngest president to ever hold this post. She gained popularity by bringing attention to the opening of a toxic landfill in her hometown of Pezinok, a decade-long struggle which was finally deemed illegal in 2013.

She was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for her activism to protect the environment. Besides being an activist for environmental protection, Zuzana is also a lawyer who has worked with Greenpeace on campaign planning.