Chicks Rule

President Bush proved again last week that he's not afraid to surround himself with powerful women, choosing Harriet Miers as his chief counsel, Margaret Spellings as head of the Education Department and Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State. Rice leads the eye-popping list of ladies at the top as the first African-American woman to hold that title. But some of the surprising examples of the glass ceiling cracking can be found in faraway places, miles from Washington.

SHERIFF-ELECT OF DALLAS COUNTY Deep in the heart of Bush-Cheney country, Lupe Valdez bested a heavily funded Republican to become not only the county's first female sheriff but also the first Hispanic lesbian Democrat to hold the office

PRESIDENT OF THE OGLALA SIOUX TRIBE The first woman to head South Dakota's Pine Ridge Reservation, Cecilia Fire Thunder says she expects Oglala tribal leaders to swear off all drugs and alcohol

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES' MINISTER OF FINANCE Sheikha Lubna al-Qasimi is ditching her job as CEO of a Middle Eastern tech firm to be the first woman to hold a Cabinet position since the U.A.E. was formed in 1971

MAYOR OF PITCAIRN ISLAND The sole police officer on this 2-sq.-mi. island (pop. 47), Brenda Christian became its first woman mayor after nearly half of Pitcairn's adult males were convicted of rape last month