Maribel Carmen Díaz Cabello (; born March 27, 1970) is a Peruvian educator, teacher, and

academic administrator Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities. Some ...

. Díaz Cabello, the wife of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Martín Vizcarra Martín Alberto Vizcarra Cornejo (; born 22 March 1963) is a Peruvian engineer and politician who served as President of Peru from 2018 to 2020. Vizcarra Martín Vizcarra's governorship of Moquegua, previously served as List of regional governor ...

, served as the First Lady of Peru from 23 March 2018 until her husband's impeachment and office removal on 10 November 2020.

Life and career

She was born on March 27, 1970, in

Moquegua Moquegua (, founded by the Spanish colonists as Villa de Santa Catalina de Guadalcázar del Valle de Moquegua) is a city in southern Peru, located in the Department of Moquegua, of which it is the capital. It is also capital of Mariscal Nieto Prov ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. Her parents, Rafael Díaz Dueñas and Carmen Cabello Oviedo, were both teachers. Her uncle, Antonio Cabello Oviedo, had served as Mayor of Moquegua from 1987 until 1990. She is related to the late Peruvian writer, Mercedes Cabello de Carbonera, on the maternal side of her family. Díaz initially studied

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

at the

National University of Tucumán The National University of Tucumán (; UNT) is an Education in Argentina, Argentine national university located in Tucumán Province and the largest in Argentina's northwest region. Founded on 25 May 1914 in San Miguel de Tucumán, access to the ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, but left the school at the end of the academic year to pursue teaching instead. She returned to Peru, where she enrolled in

elementary education Primary education is the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle schools, de ...

at the Instituto pedagógico Mercedes Cabello. She later completed her

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

from the

campus of Cesar Vallejo University. She developed her career through a variety of in-classroom and administrative positions at

state school A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

s in

Moquegua Region Moquegua () is a department and Regional Government of Moquegua, region in southern Peru that extends from the coast to the highlands. Its capital is the city of Moquegua, which is among the main Peruvian cities for its high rates of GDP and nat ...

, including the director of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

until 2017. She left her position as head of Sacred Heart of Jesus school in 2017 when her husband was appointed Ambassador to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. She met

when she was still a student. The couple now have four children - three daughters and a son - Diana, Daniela, Diamela, and Martino. They also have one grandchild, Mateo, who was born in 2017. Vizcarra has publicly praised his wife's role in their personal and professional lives. On July 6, 2016, he posted "That teacher who is by my side and gives my strength to keep going. That teacher is my wife, Maribel" to social media on

Teacher's Day Teachers' Day is a special day for the appreciation of teachers. It may include celebrations to honor them for their special contributions in a particular field area, or the community tone in education. This is the primary reason why countries c ...

. Díaz Cabello largely kept a low profile during the 2016 presidential campaign, when presidential candidate Pedro Pablo Kuczynski chose Martín Vizcarra as his

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pre ...

for

Vice President of Peru The Republic of Peru has two vice presidents, the first vice president and the second vice president, who are elected along with the president in democratic elections. Their only constitutional mission is to replace the president in case of dea ...

. In an interview with ''

América Televisión América Televisión is a Peruvian television network, founded in 1958. The network is owned by Plural TV, which is a joint venture of the '' El Comercio'' and '' La República'' daily newspapers. It was the second television channel to be f ...

'', Díaz explained that although she would prefer to stay away from politics, she supported her husband and his political future, telling the network, "I never liked it very much, because politics is politics, right? But if he wanted it and he wanted to do it, I have to support him..."

First Lady of Peru

On March 23, 2018, upon the resignation of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski and the appointment of her husband as

President of Peru The president of Peru (), officially the constitutional president of the Republic of Peru (), is the head of state and head of government of Peru. The president is the head of the executive branch and is the supreme head of the Peruvian Armed ...

, she became the First Lady of Peru, succeeding

Nancy Lange Nancy Ann Lange Kuczynski (born January 20, 1954) is an American investment and marketing professional and Peruvian resident. She served as the First Lady of Peru from 2016 to 2018 as the wife of President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. Life and work L ...

. She announced that she would again leave the classroom to assume her duties as the country's new First Lady, which includes

protocol Protocol may refer to: Sociology and politics * Protocol (politics) Protocol originally (in Late Middle English, c. 15th century) meant the minutes or logbook taken at a meeting, upon which an agreement was based. The term now commonly refers to ...

events and the supervision of an official office with an annual budget of approximately 600 thousand sols.

Honours

Foreign honours

*: Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

(25 February 2019) *: Dame Grand Cross of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

(22 February 2019)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Díaz Cabello, Maribel Living people 1970 births First ladies of Peru Dames Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Heads of schools in Peru People from Moquegua 21st-century women educators César Vallejo University alumni