Minerva Josefina Tavárez Mirabal (born 31 August 1956), known as Minou, is a

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

, professor and politician from the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. Tavárez served as deputy for the National District in the

lower House A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

for three terms from 2002 until 2016; she served as deputy minister of foreign affairs from 1996 to 2000. She was the presidential

nominee A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group or election to an office, in which case a ...

of both the Alliance for Democracy and Democratic Choice parties for the

2016 Dominican Republic general election General elections were held in Dominican Republic on 15 May 2016 to elect a president, vice-president and the National Congress of the Dominican Republic, Congress, as well as 20 deputies to the Central American Parliament, municipal councils, ...

. From 2002 until 2016 she held several directive positions at

Parliamentarians for Global Action Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) is a non-profit, non-partisan international network of committed legislators, that informs and mobilizes parliamentarians in all regions of the world to advocate for human rights and the rule of law, de ...

. She presided the International Council from 2012 until 2014, and until 2016 she was President of the Executive Board. Since 2019, she is the vice president of the Party Alianza País. She is the co-founder and director of the Memory Museum Mirabal Sisters. She is a member of the Leaders Network of Michelle Bachelet's Foundation Horizonte Ciudadano. In June 2020, Tavarez was elected by the Assembly of States Parties to the International Criminal Court as the Latin American and Caribbean seat holder at the Board of Direction of the

Trust Fund for Victims Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust (law), a legal relationship in which one person holds property for another's benefit * Trust ( ...

of the crimes under the jurisdiction of the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

. In December 2021, she was re-elected by the Assembly for a second term of 3 years in the GRULAC seat of the Board, and was elected by the Board of Directors as its Chairperson for the period 2021-2024.

Early life and family

Minou is the daughter of Dominican lawyers and activists Manuel Aurelio Tavárez Justo and María Argentina Minerva Mirabal, both founders in 1960 of the clandestine movement 14 June that sought the overthrow of dictator

Rafael Trujillo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( ; ; 24 October 1891 – 30 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (; "the boss"), was a Dominican military officer and dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from August 1930 until Rafael Trujillo#Assassination, ...

. Her mother and two aunts were assassinated by the dictatorship in 1960, and her father was murdered by the

Triumvirate A triumvirate () or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs (). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are notionally equal, the actual distr ...

(three-member junta) that overthrew Juan Bosch’s legitimate government in 1963, becoming an orphan at the age of 7 years. Her parents are considered as martyrs and national heroes. She was raised by her aunt Dedé Mirabal, who raised the children of her assassinated sisters. Tavárez is cousin and foster sister of

Jaime David Fernández Mirabal Dr. Jaime David Fernandez Mirabal (born 15 October 1956) is a Dominican psychiatrist, agronomist, and politician. He was Vice President of the Dominican Republic, having served in the first Government of the Dominican Liberation Party from 199 ...

, a former vice-president of the Dominican Republic.

Parliamentary career

She was elected Representative to the National Congress for the period 2002-2006, and re-elected in subsequent periods 2006-2010 and 2010-2016. She was President (or Chair) of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the House of Representatives, and member of several other committees.

Government positions

She was Vice-Chancellor of the

for the period 1996-2000. In that capacity she coordinated numerous international summits held at the Dominican Republic, including as National Coordinator of the I Summit of Heads of State and Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community in 1998, and General Coordinator of the II Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African, Caribbean and the Pacific Countries in 1999. From 1996 until 1998, she also served as National Coordinator of the Mixed-Bilateral Commission Dominican Republic-Haiti. Previous to her position as Vice-chancellor, she serves as Coordinator and Rapporteur on Foreign Policy during the National Dialogue held in 1997-1998, and she was the National Coordinator of the Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Heads of Government of Central America, held in 1997.

Opposition party

Tavarez was a member of the Central Committee of the Party of Dominican Liberation from 1997 until 2014. In 2015 she founded the Democratic Choice, which she presided since 2015. She was the presidential

of both the Alliance for Democracy and Democratic Choice parties for the

. Since 2019, she is the vice president of the Party Alianza País.

Family tree

References

External links