Isabel Arrúa Vallejo or Vallejos (1913/1914-2006) was a Paraguayan teacher, diplomat and feminist. She was Paraguay's first woman with diplomatic rank, as attaché of the Embassy of Paraguay to Brazil from 1945 to 1948.

Life

Isabel Arrua Vallejos was born in

Villeta Villeta is a city of Paraguay in the Central Department, on the banks of Paraguay River. It is an important industrial center and port. Toponymy The city was founded on March 5, 1714, by Juan Gregorio Bazán de Pedraza, with the original name ...

. (Some sources give her year of birth as 1913, and others give it as 1914.) She became a teacher, and also worked as a nurse on the front line in the 1932-35

Chaco War The Chaco War ( es, link=no, Guerra del Chaco, gn, Cháko ÑorairõMinistry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

. She also worked at the Embassy of Paraguay in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, from 1949 to 1950. An associate of

Federico Chávez Federico Chávez Careaga (February 15, 1882 – April 24, 1978) was a Paraguayan politician and soldier who served as President of Paraguay from September 10, 1949, to May 4, 1954. He was a member of the Colorado Party. Early life Chávez wa ...

, Vallejo was a founder-member of the Paraguayan League for Women's Rights, established in 1951, and edited the League's newspaper, ''El Feminista''. She was a national deputy and delegate to the

Inter-American Commission of Women The Inter-American Commission of Women ( es, Comisión Interamericana de Mujeres, pt, Comissão Interamericana de Mulheres, french: Commission interaméricaine des femmes), abbreviated CIM, is an organization that falls within the Organization of ...

. She died in

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...

in 2006. In 2012 her life was celebrated in the Paseo de Ilustres, a public space in Villeta dedicated to the memory of ten people from the city.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arrua Vallejos, Isabel 1910s births 2006 deaths Year of birth uncertain Paraguayan schoolteachers Paraguayan women educators Paraguayan diplomats Paraguayan feminists