03.Dec.07
Fighting a brace of corrupt and cynical strongmen, Yulia Tymoshenko is the most glittering figure in Ukraine's struggle for democracy. Her biographer compares her to Lady Diana, dubbing her "Ukraine's very own Princess." Others, paying tribute to her maverick traits, brand her an "Iron Princess" or a "Joan of Arc." Already, at age 42, she has started two factories, two political parties, and one national platform rallying for reform. She offers beauty tips in the international fashion magazine Harper and Queens (her secret for blemish-free skin: soap and boiling water). And she would very much like to become the next president of Ukraine.  She graduated from Dnipropetrovsk State University with a degree in economics in 1984, and went on to gain a candidate degree (the equivalent of a Ph.D.) in economics. She has since written around 50 papers. She was dubbed as one of the most beautiful women to ever enter politics by The Globe and Mail in 2001.

Tymoshenko exemplifies the fusion of substance, symbolism, and style that can be a woman politician's most formidable advantage:  The braid itself is specific to Ukraine and wouldn't translate into American politics at all (though it does translate into American fashion; the article shows a picture of actress Sienna Miller in the same hairstyle).  The strategic use of self, symbol, and style, however, could serve as a kind of Clausewitz for female candidates' study and application to their own field of battle.

Interesting question:  what would be the American equivalent of Tymoshenko's signature braid?  It's not so easy to find a unifying symbol in a multicultural country.  Perhaps Hillary Clinton could take a page out of Ms. Tymoshenko's style book.