Matilde Pérez Palacio Carranza (8 September 1913 – 16 August 1992) was a

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 ...

vian educator, journalist and politician. In 1956 she was among the first group of women elected to

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 ...

, serving until 1962, and again between 1963 and 1968.

Biography

Pérez was born in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

in 1913, the daughter of Matilde Carranza Valdez and Enrique Pérez Palacio, and a granddaughter of , a Congressman from the 1860s to 1890s. She attended the Colegio Sagrados Corazones Belén and earned a commercial accountancy diploma. She later attended the

Catholic University Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical univers ...

, graduating in 1934 with a bachelor's degree in philosophy, history and letters. She subsequently studied for a doctorate in history and geography, graduating in 1936, after which she worked as a professor of History and Geography at the Colegio de Belén. In 1939 she earned a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

and qualified as a lawyer in 1941. The following year she became a doctor of pedagogy. From 1941 until 1970 she served as director of the Women's Institute of Higher Studies of the Catholic University, and in 1945 founded the university's School of Journalism, serving as its director until 1972, and was a correspondent for several national and overseas newspapers. In 1956 Pérez was among the founders of Popular Action. She was a candidate in the 1956 Chamber of Deputies elections for the party and was one of first group of nine women elected to Congress.Primeras Mujeres Parlamentarias 1956-1962
Congress of Peru After entering parliament, she sat on the Press and Publications commission, the Social Assistance commission and the Women and Minors commission. She was elected to the Senate in the annulled 1962 elections, but returned to Congress as a deputy following the

1963 elections The following elections occurred in 1963. Africa * 1963 Algerian presidential election * 1963 Chadian parliamentary election * 1963 Moroccan parliamentary election * 1963 Republic of the Congo parliamentary election * 1963 Senegalese general ele ...

, serving until the 1968 coup. During her second term she chaired the Women and Minors Legislation Commission. After leaving Congress she became a director of the Association of Journalists of Peru, the Human Rights Commission of the Lima Bar Association and a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

representative, and was awarded the

Order of the Sun of Peru The Order of the Sun of Peru (Spanish: ''Orden El Sol del Perú''), formerly known as the Order of the Sun, is the highest award bestowed by the nation of Peru to commend notable civil and military merit. The award is the oldest civilian award in ...

. She died in 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pérez Palacio, Matilde 1913 births Politicians from Lima Pontifical Catholic University of Peru alumni Academic staff of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru Peruvian women journalists 20th-century Peruvian women politicians 20th-century Peruvian politicians Popular Action (Peru) politicians Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Peru Recipients of the Order of the Sun of Peru 1992 deaths