Michelle Obama named 'most admired' woman in the world in new survey

Former first lady surpasses current US president and first lady

Michelle Obama has been named the “most admired woman” in the world in a major new US survey.

The former first lady, who had consistently higher popularity ratings than her husband while they were in the White House, surpassed the current US president and first lady in Gallup’s annual poll.

It is the second year in a row Ms Obama has earned the accolade of world’s most venerated woman. The 55-year-old took ten per cent of the vote, followed by Melania Trump who gained five per cent of it.

The former first lady had consistently higher popularity ratings than her husband while they were in the White House ( PA )

Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey and Greta Thunberg all took three per cent of the vote each.

Ms Obama was also found to be the most admired woman worldwide in a poll carried out by YouGov in July – coming higher than the Queen.

Barack Obama, former US president, came neck and neck with Donald Trump, the current president, for the title of most admired man in this year’s Gallup poll.

While it is the 12th consecutive year Obama has come in first place, it is the first time Mr Trump has gained even a joint-top ranking. 

Jeffrey Jones, Gallup's senior editor, said: “When the incumbent president is not the (most admired man), it is usually because he is unpopular politically, which was the case for Trump in 2017 (36 per cent approval rating) and 2018 (40 per cent).

“Trump is more popular now than he was in the past two years, with a 45 per cent job approval rating, among his best as president.

“Each year since 1948, Gallup has asked Americans to name, in an open-ended fashion, which man and woman living anywhere in the world they admire most.” 

The political party which Americans support was a decisive factor in determining who they selected to be their most admired man – with 45 per cent of Republicans naming Mr Trump and 41 per cent of Democrats picking Obama.

The ex-president and former first lady have established a foundation which mentors young leaders across the world since departing the White House.

Michelle’s book Becoming became one of the most popular memoirs in history after it came out last year and has sold over 11 million copies. The former president has been penning a presidential memoir which is not expected to come out until this coming year.

(Source: Independent)