Claudia Alejandra Ledesma Abdala de Zamora (born 14 September 1974) is an Argentine politician, currently serving as a National Senator for

Santiago del Estero Province Santiago del Estero (), also known simply as Santiago, is a province in the north of Argentina. Neighboring provinces, clockwise from the north, are Salta, Chaco, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Catamarca and Tucumán. History The indigenous inhabitant ...

and as Provisional President of the

Argentine Senate The Honorable Senate of the Argentine Nation ( es, Honorable Senado de la Nación Argentina) is the upper house of the National Congress of Argentina. Overview The National Senate was established by the Argentine Confederation on July 29, 185 ...

since 2019. A member of the local Civic Front for Santiago, Ledesma Abdala was

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of Santiago del Estero from 2013 to 2017, succeeding and preceding her husband, Gerardo Zamora.

Early life and education

Ledesma was born in

La Banda La Banda is a city in the province of Santiago del Estero, Argentina. It has about 95,000 inhabitants as per the , making it the second largest in the province. It is the head town of the Banda Department. La Banda is located only 8 km away ...

. Her father, Oscar Ledesma, was active in local politics as a supporter of Governor Carlos Juárez. She graduated as a lawyer and notary from the

Catholic University of Santiago del Estero The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a p ...

. Her grandfather, Ricardo "Pololo" Abdala, was a physician and a prominent

Radical Civic Union The Radical Civic Union ( es, Unión Cívica Radical, UCR) is a centrist and social-liberal political party in Argentina. It has been ideologically heterogeneous, ranging from social liberalism to social democracy. The UCR is a member of the So ...

leader in the province as well.

Political career

Ledesma entered public service in 2003 when she was elected Citizen

Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

for La Banda on the UCR ticket, and in 2005 she was appointed local infractions judge. Ledesma and her first husband, Jorge Amerio, were divorced, and in 2005 she met her future husband, Governor Gerardo Zamora. She was later appointed by her husband as Director of the Provincial Motor Vehicle Registry. The couple had two sons and a daughter.

Governor of Santiago del Estero

Governor Zamora nominated his wife for the governor's race held in 2013, while he himself ran for

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. Both won their respective races on the Civic Front for Santiago ticket, and Ledesma was elected governor with nearly 65% of the vote. Zamora had presided over an ambitious public works agenda in historically underdeveloped Santiago del Estero, 90% of whose US$1.8 billion budget was financed by the federal government in 2013. Ledesma continued this policy and initiated or inaugurated numerous significant projects as governor. These included among others a new building for the

Provincial Legislature In South Africa, a provincial legislature is the legislative branch of the government of a province.'' Chapter 6: Provinces'', Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. The provincial legislatures are unicameral and vary in size from 30 ...

; the Juan Felipe Ibarra provincial office building (the first

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

certified government building in Argentina); increases in the educational budget for 1,100 new teachers and 10,000 new desks; and improvements in sewer systems and other public services. Some of the most notable health and social care improvements during her tenure include expansion works in 14 hospitals and a new, 150,000 ft² hospital in La Banda; a driver safety education and enforcement program that led to a 40% reduction in motor vehicle accidents; a new child nutrition program that provides

probiotic Probiotics are live microorganisms promoted with claims that they provide health benefits when consumed, generally by improving or restoring the gut microbiota. Probiotics are considered generally safe to consume, but may cause bacteria-host i ...

yogurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in t ...

to over 47,000 poor children; and housing programs that included

public housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

, as well as the promotion of both

cooperative housing A housing cooperative, or housing co-op, is a legal entity, usually a cooperative or a corporation, which owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings; it is one type of housing tenure. Housing cooperatives are a distinc ...

and of self-building programs that financed over 3,000 such homes in 2015. Ledesma Abdala's term ended on 10 December 2017. She was succeeded by Zamora, who ran for a third term and won.

Provisional president of the Senate

Ledesma Abdala ran for a seat in the National Senate at the

2019 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2019. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems has a calendar of upcoming elections around the world, and the National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections in coun ...

on the Civic Front for Santiago ticket. She won with 56.96% of the vote, and took office on 10 December 2019. On that same day, she was sworn in as the provisional president of the Senate, succeeding

Federico Pinedo Federico Pinedo (; born 29 December 1955) is an Argentine politician, provisional president of the Argentine Senate between 2015 and 2019. He was in charge of the executive branch on 10 December 2015 until the assumption of Mauricio Macri on the s ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ledesma Abdala, Claudia 1974 births Living people People from La Banda Argentine people of Syrian descent Argentine notaries Women governors of provinces of Argentina Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Santiago del Estero Governors of Santiago del Estero Province Women members of the Argentine Senate Members of the Argentine Senate for Santiago del Estero 21st-century Argentine politicians 21st-century Argentine women politicians