They say that you'll find a strong woman behind every successful man. And yet, we know very little about the women whose partners shaped post-independence African politics. All most all their partners started out as heroes – a handful remained so like Mandela but the majority quickly became tyrants, despots, and dictators. I seek to understand what if any influence the women had on the politics of their head of state husbands and the evolution of their own political agendas. I draw on a close study of the first ladies from Southern Africa for a start in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Botswana, South Africa and Angola. While the majority of first ladies had no formal portfolios almost all were engaged in political matters often in the social welfare sectors.