Statesman
The term statesman means a person of the State (literally, " man of the State" ), a politician in high government offices, usually state or government who have done according to the public opinion, something that goes beyond everyday politics. For former leaders has come to be the English name elder statesmen in recent years.
In English, and even more so in German it is a respectful name. This does not exclude that it may be very controversial in detail, those who earn the designation. Authoritarian or totalitarian regime leaders like Franco, Pinochet, Hitler or Stalin are not usually named with the positively evaluated designation statesman.
Since women were once rarely found in high government positions, existed as a feminine form of the word stateswoman. Meanwhile, State woman is in use.