María Juliana Ruiz Sandoval (born 25 May 1978) is a
Colombian politician who served as
First Lady of Colombia
The First Lady of Colombia (First Lady of the Nation) is the title held by the hostess of the House of Nariño, usually the wife of the President of Colombia, president of Colombia, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the fi ...
from 2018 to 2022. She is married to
Iván Duque
Iván Duque Márquez (; born 1 August 1976) is a Colombian politician and lawyer who served as the president of Colombia from 2018 to 2022. He was elected as the candidate from the Democratic Centre Party in the 2018 Colombian presidential ...
, who became former president of the country on 7 August 2018 to 2022, succeeding
Juan Manuel Santos.
Biography
Early years
Ruiz was born in
Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
in 1978, to Luis Fernando Ruiz and Gloria Sandoval. She did her basic studies at the Marymount School and later entered the
Pontifical Xavierian University, where she studied law.
[ After finishing her undergraduate studies, she moved to Paris to study at the Institut Catholique. She later moved to Washington, D.C., where she obtained a Master of Laws with an emphasis on ]International Business
International business refers to the trade of goods, services, technology, capital and/or knowledge across national borders and at a global or transnational scale.
It involves cross-border transactions of goods and services between two or more ...
at the Washington College of Law of American University
The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...
.[
]
Career
Living in Washington, Ruiz managed to become professionally involved with the Organization of American States
The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...
, where she worked for more than a decade initially in various capacities and later under the guidance of the Secretary General and the Assistant Secretary General, leading projects and commissions of the organization.Iván Duque Márquez
Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...
was elected President of Colombia, succeeding Juan Manuel Santos. From her position, Ruiz has led various social projects, most notably the Great Alliance for Nutrition, an initiative that seeks to mitigate the impact of child malnutrition in the country.
Personal life
Ruiz met Iván Duque Márquez in his youth[ and years later began a relationship with him while living in Washington, D.C. The couple married on 15 February 2003 and returned to Colombia when Duque decided to run for the Senate of the Republic. Their three children were born in Washington: Luciana, Eloísa and Matías.][
During the COVID-19 pandemic, on 25 November 2020 she tested positive for COVID-19 but was asymptomatic. President Duque tested negative.]
References
External links
Presidency of Colombia Official Site
{{authority control
1978 births
Living people
First ladies of Colombia
People from Bogotá
21st-century Colombian lawyers
Washington College of Law alumni
Pontifical Xavierian University alumni
Institut Catholique de Paris alumni
21st-century women lawyers