Beatriz Argimón Cedeira (born 14 August 1961) is a Uruguayan politician and notary from the
National Party (PN) serving as the 18th
Vice President of Uruguay
The vice president of Uruguay is the person with the second highest position in the executive branch of the Uruguayan government, after the President of Uruguay. The Vice President replaces the elected President in case of his death or absence. The ...
since March 1, 2020, being the first woman elected to that position.
Graduated from the
University of the Republic
The University of the Republic ( es, Universidad de la República, sometimes ''UdelaR'') is Uruguay's oldest public university. It is by far the country's largest university, as well as the second largest public university in South America and t ...
in 1989 with a degree in notarization, she also studied
human rights
Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
,
family law
Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations.
Overview
Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include:
* Marriage ...
, and juvenile law. She served as a
National Representative for
Montevideo Department
Montevideo () is a department (''departamento'') of Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and so ...
between 2000 and 2010,
and has been a member of the National Party Board since 2009. Since November 2020, she has been a member of the Executive Committee of the
Inter-Parliamentary Union. She is an activist for
women's rights
Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
, and was one of the founders of the "Network of Political Women" and of the "Bicameral Female Caucus" of the
General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...
.
Biography
Beatriz Argimón Cedeira was born in Montevideo, on August 14, 1961 to Juan Carlos Argimón, a civil servant, and MarÃa Esther Cedeira, a housewife. The oldest child in a Catholic family, she has a sister, Estela. She attended Primary School No. 8 "República de HaitÃ" in Montevideo, and later the high school at the José Pedro Varela National School.
When Argimón was in high school, her father, who worked as manager of the fishing terminal of ''Industrias Loberas y Pesqueras del Estado'', was dismissed by the
civic-military dictatorship, but was reinstated in the position once the regime ended. In 1989 she graduated from the
University of the Republic
The University of the Republic ( es, Universidad de la República, sometimes ''UdelaR'') is Uruguay's oldest public university. It is by far the country's largest university, as well as the second largest public university in South America and t ...
with the title of Notary Public, and practiced for ten years. She also studied human rights and the family. While she was studying, she began to work as an administrator in the
National Administration of State Sanitary Works, a position to which she agreed after winning a public tender.
From 2008 to 2011 she served as a panelist on the
Teledoce
Teledoce Televisora Color, also known as Canal 12 is a Uruguayan free-to-air television network, located in the capital of Uruguay, Montevideo. It is owned by Grupo Disco. Television transmissions commenced in 1962.
History
It was the third ...
weekday program ''
Esta boca es mÃa
Esta boca es mÃa () is an Uruguayan daytime talk show broadcast by Teledoce. It debuted on October 6, 2008, being one of the channel's longest-running current programs. It is presented by Victoria RodrÃguez and airs Monday through Friday from 2 ...
''.
In addition, from 2015 to 2017 was the president of the Josefa Oribe Study and Training Center. She currently hosts a cable program called ''Diseñarte,'' which aimed to promote nationally manufactured products''.''
Political career
Beatriz Argimón began her political activism at the age of 17 during the dictatorship. Four months after graduating from college, she was a candidate for ''Edila'' ''de Montevideo'' (member of the legislature of the capital) in the
1989 election.
During
Luis Alberto Lacalle
Luis Alberto Lacalle de Herrera, GCMG (; ''Lacalle'' locally or ; born 13 July 1941), is a Uruguayan politician and lawyer who served as President of Uruguay from 1990 to 1995.
Background
His mother, MarÃa Hortensia de Herrera de Lacalle, ...
administration, she served as head of the National Institute of Minors. Together with the then first lady
Julia Pou
MarÃa Julia Pou Brito del Pino (born ), popularly known as Julita, is a Uruguayan politician and member of the National Party (Uruguay) (PN). Pou served in the Senate of Uruguay 2000 to 2005, as well as First Lady of Uruguay from 1990 until 19 ...
, Argimón founded the group "Acción Comunitaria", and was elected
National Representative for Montevideo for the 45th Legislature (2000-2005) in the 1999 election. Later she joined the
Wilsonist Current, being reelected to the position for the 46th Legislature (2005-2010).
She became the first woman reelected consecutively in the history of the National Party.
In the course of 2007, Argimón declared herself independent within the PN.
In the
2009 presidential primaries she presented her own ballot (List 2018) and endorsed
Jorge Larrañaga
Jorge Washington Larrañaga Fraga (8 August 1956 – 22 May 2021) was an Uruguayan politician of the National Party (PN) who was Minister of the Interior from 1 March 2020 until his death. He also previously served as Intendant of Paysandà ...
for president. In the
2014 primaries, she endorsed
Luis Lacalle Pou for president, having served as one of his alternates in the
Senate.
On April 16, 2018, she took office as President of the National Party, being the first woman to hold the position in the 182-year history of the party. She succeeded
Luis Alberto Héber
Luis Alberto Héber Fontana (born 1957) is a Uruguayan political figure of the National Party, serving as Minister of Interior, since May 24, 2021. He previously served as Minister of Transport and Public Works (from March 1, 2020 to May 24, 202 ...
and stated "we must respect the times that each institution and each party have to make decisions of these characteristics." She remained in office until March 2020 because at that time she assumed the vice-presidency of the Republic.
Vice presidency (2020–present)
In the
2019 presidential primaries, Luis Lacalle Pou won by 53% of the votes, and named Argimón as his vice presidential running mate for the
October general election.
Following the election of Lacalle Pou as President of Uruguay in the
2019 election, Argimón assumed office as vice president of the Uruguay on March 1, 2020. She is the Uruguay's first female vice president elected. On Saturday, November 30, in her first speech as vice president-elect, Argimón reaffirmed her commitment to the fight for gender equality. She was sworn in before the General Assembly on March 1, 2020.
Personal life
Argimón married Jorge Fernández Reyes on 14 December 2009.
She has two children from previous marriages, MarÃa Belén and Juan Santiago.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Argimon, Beatriz
1961 births
Living people
Members of the Chamber of Representatives of Uruguay
National Party (Uruguay) politicians
Politicians from Montevideo
University of the Republic (Uruguay) alumni
Uruguayan notaries
Vice presidents of Uruguay
Uruguayan women's rights activists
Women vice presidents
21st-century Uruguayan women politicians
21st-century Uruguayan politicians