Rosa Markmann Reijer (July 30, 1907 – June 12, 2009) was the Chilean First Lady from 1946 to 1952, during the presidency of her husband, Gabriel González Videla.

Biography

Known by her nickname "Mitty", Markmann was born in Taltal,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, from

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

descent, and her parents were the banker Ladislao Markmann and Ana Reijer.Rosa Genealog.cl - "Familia Markmann"
(Spanish) Her maternal grandfather was ambassador in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Rosa's great-grandfather is German. She was married to González Videla until his death in 1980. During the presidency of her husband, she played a key role in the

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

movement. In 1947, Rosa Markmann announced the creation of the National Association of Housewives, whose chief purpose was to prevent

speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, good (economics), goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable shortly. (It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline i ...

in basic subsistence goods among producers, distributors and retailers. Markmann then began to patronize a number of women's organizations and to express her support for female suffrage. In September 1948, she appeared at one of the events of FECHIF's (Chilean Federation of Feminine Institutions) "Pro-Women's Suffrage Week", assuring its participants that the President too favored women's suffrage. During her husband's presidency, Rosa became a

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

symbol for women all over the country, nicknamed "The Chilean Eva Perón". She was a passionate supporter of the

military government A military government is generally any form of government that is administered by military forces, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue, and whether this government is formed by natives or by an occup ...

of General Augusto Pinochet. Markmann died, 101 years old, on June 12, 2009, in her mansion in

Las Condes Las Condes is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. The area is inhabited primarily by upper-mid- to high income families, and known in the Chilean collective consciousness as home to the country's economi ...

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

Notes

References

1907 births 2009 deaths First ladies of Chile Chilean anti-communists Chilean suffragists Chilean centenarians Chilean people of German descent People from Antofagasta Region Women centenarians {{Chile-bio-stub