Isabel María Josefina Robalino Bolle (14 October 1917 – 31 January 2022) was a Spanish-born Ecuadorian lawyer and politician.

Biography

Isabel Robalino was born in Barcelona, Spain, where her family was residing while her father worked as a consul in Geneva. She completed her secondary education at the

Instituto Nacional Mejía Instituto Nacional Mejía is a public secondary educational institution of Quito. It was founded on June 1, 1897 by Eloy Alfaro, Eloy Alfaro Delgado, then president of Ecuador. Mission According to its authorities, the mission of the institutio ...

and higher education at the

Central University of Ecuador , image = Escudo de la Universidad Central del Ecuador.png , caption = , alt = , motto = ''Omnium Potentior est Sapientia'' , established = , type = National university , president = , ...

, where former president Camilo Ponce Enríquez worked as an educator. In 1944, she graduated from the Central University as a lawyer, becoming the first woman to graduate the University with a degree in Law. Following her graduation, Robalino was appointed a member of the Criminal Court of Ecuador. In 1946, she briefly held the position of , becoming the first woman to hold that office. Between 1959 and 1961, she was President of the National Court for Minors. As a trade unionist, she was led to participate in the , called "La Gloriosa." In September 1947, she personally directed the seizure of the Carondelet Palace from the military dictatorship of

Carlos Mancheno Cajas Carlos Mancheno Cajas (9 October 1902 – 11 October 1996) was President of Ecuador from 23 August 1947 to 2 September 1947. Mancheno assumed control after a coup d'état he led deposed President José María Velasco. Velasco left the country, ...

. She also took several businessmen to trial, including future Ecuadorian president

León Febres Cordero León Esteban Febres-Cordero Ribadeneyra (9 March 1931 – 15 December 2008), known in the Ecuadorian media as LFC or more simply by his composed surname (Febres-Cordero), was the 35th President of Ecuador, serving a four-year term from 10 Augu ...

, to secure workers' rights. Because of her work, Robalino was selected by workers' organizations to represent them in the Constituent Assembly of 1966 and as a senator in 1968, becoming the first female senator in Ecuador. She would as a lawmaker introduce new legislation in favor of workers' rights. Among the organizations Robalino founded are the Confederation of Catholic Workers, the Ecuadorian Institute for Social Development, the University Women's Youth, and the Mariana de Jesus Social Work School, among others. She turned 100 in October 2017, and died on 31 January 2022, at the age of 104.

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References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robalino, Isabel 1917 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Ecuadorian politicians 20th-century Ecuadorian women politicians 21st-century Ecuadorian women politicians 21st-century Ecuadorian politicians Women centenarians Ecuadorian centenarians Ecuadorian women lawyers Members of the National Congress (Ecuador) Central University of Ecuador alumni Politicians from Barcelona Spanish emigrants to Ecuador