French Woman Becomes First Female Chief of Interpol

Interpol has elected a French police commissioner Mireille Ballestrazzi as its first female president ever.

Mireille Ballestrazzi is known for her drive against organized crime in Bordeaux and Corsica; she was elected president at Interpol's general assembly in Rome.

"Mireille Ballestrazzi of France becomes first woman to be elected president of Interpol," the global police association said on Twitter.

58-year-old Ballestrazzi became a police commissioner in France in 1975 and was already vice-president for Europe on Interpol's executive committee.

She is known for her time as director of judicial police in Corsica in the 1990s at a time of fierce turf wars on the island, international media point out.

French Interior Minister Manuel Valls, who attended the Interpol assembly earlier this week, said Ballestrazzi was "a great police woman".

Valls said her experience with organized crime would serve her well in fighting drug trafficking, mafias from southern and eastern Europe as well as growing political violence that requires a coordinated international response.