The head of the Burmese Army, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, has reportedly banned the mention of her name in his presence, and she is considered such a threat that his government has detained her for more than a decade.

But in the latest “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” survey by Forbes magazine, Aung San Suu Kyi has slipped from 15th to 37th place. The Burmese democracy icon’s drop by 25 places in the annual survey now puts her directly behind Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and four places behind the US First Lady Laura Bush.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sees her meteoric rise to power checked by the emergence of Germany’s first female Chancellor, Andrea Merkel, who takes the top spot. At number two, Rice remains ahead of Asia’s highest placed woman, China’s Vice Premier Wu Yi, who slipped to third.

The survey-which is decided on press citations and economic impact-is once again dominated by women from the US, but Forbes notes that Indian businesswomen are likely to make a big impact in the future.