Rosalía Arteaga Serrano (born 5 December 1956) is an

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

ian politician who served as the country's first female head of state as acting president for a few days in 1997. Arteaga announced her intention to serve as

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

in the 2021 selection, though incumbent

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres ( , ; born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Socia ...

was appointed to a second term in office.

Early life and education

Arteaga was born in

Cuenca, Ecuador Santa Ana de los Cuatro Ríos de Cuenca, commonly referred to as Cuenca (Kichwa language, Kichwa: ''Tumipampa'') is the capital and largest city of the Azuay Province of Ecuador. Cuenca is located in the highland (geography), highlands of Ecuador ...

and attended the

University of Cuenca The University of Cuenca (Spanish: ''Universidad de Cuenca'') is an Ecuadorian university located in Cuenca. University of Cuenca is the principal university of Azuay Province. The university was officially founded in 1867, being the first unive ...

Presidency

She became Vice President in 1996, following the election of

Abdalá Bucaram Abdalá Jaime Bucaram Ortiz ( ; ; born 20 February 1952) is an Ecuadorian politician and lawyer who was President of Ecuador from 10 August 1996, to 6 February 1997. As President, Abdalá Bucaram was nicknamed "El Loco Que Ama" ("The Madman Wh ...

as President. On 6 February 1997, however, President Bucaram was declared unfit to govern by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

. Arteaga and congressional leader Fabián Alarcón became locked in a dispute over who should succeed Bucaram since the constitution was vague on the issue. Initially, Alarcón was sworn in with the support of Congress. On 9 February, however, Arteaga, who had insisted that as vice president she should become president, was sworn in instead as Ecuador's first female president. Two days later, however, on 11 February, with the support of Congress and the army, Alarcón was sworn in again, and Arteaga resigned as president and reverted to her post as vice president. Arteaga continued to clash with Alarcón and resigned from her post as vice president in March 1998. She then ran for president in the

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

that were held in May 1998 but received only 3% of the vote.

Post-presidency

Arteaga was secretary-general of the

Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) is an international organization aimed at the promotion of sustainable development of the Amazon Basin. Its member states are: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and ...

until 2007 and is a member of the editorial board of the

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

.Encyclopædia Britannica – About the Editorial Board
/ref> She continues to receive a lifetime pension from the Ecuadorian government of $48.690 annually. With the support of "Forward", a civil society organization, Arteaga announced her intention to seek the position of

in the 2021 selection. However, incumbent

was successfully appointed to a second consecutive term as Secretary-General.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Arteaga, Rosalia 1956 births Living people Alfarista Radical Front politicians Ecuadorian people of Basque descent Women presidents People from Cuenca, Ecuador Presidents of Ecuador Vice presidents of Ecuador Women government ministers of Ecuador Education ministers of Ecuador Women vice presidents 20th-century Ecuadorian women politicians 21st-century Ecuadorian women politicians 21st-century Ecuadorian politicians 20th-century Ecuadorian politicians