Rosalía Arteaga

Rosalía Arteaga (born December 5, 1956, Cuenca, Ecuador) is an Ecuadoran politician who served as the first female president of Ecuador (1997), though she was in office for only two days. She had previously served as the country’s vice president (1996–97) and acceded to the presidency after Pres. Abdala Bucaram was removed from office.

Arteaga studied journalism at the University of Cuenca. She went on to become a lawyer and educator, entering politics in 1986 as a councilwoman in Cuenca (1986–87). Later, at the national level, Arteaga held various appointments in the Ministry of Education and Culture, heading the National Council of Development and serving as minister of education, culture, and sports.

In 1996 she became vice president in the administration of Abdala Bucaram. In February 1997 the National Congress, which had accused Bucaram of widespread corruption and nepotism, declared him mentally unfit to govern. The president of the Congress, Fabián Alarcón, was chosen by that body to serve as interim president. This move, however, was challenged by Arteaga, who claimed that the Ecuadoran constitution granted her the right to assume the presidency. After street protests and provincial declarations of independence, Bucaram accepted his loss of the presidency. Alarcón, having been assured that the constitutional barrier to his assuming office would be removed, then renounced his claim, leaving Arteaga to be named Ecuador’s first female president. Her administration lasted for only two days, as the National Congress quickly rewrote the constitution to allow the installation of Alarcón as president.

After leaving elected office, Arteaga worked for various educational and development organizations, including the Fundación para la Integración y Desarrollo de América Latina (Spanish: Foundation for the Integration and Development of Latin America), the International Federation of Attorneys, and the Encyclopædia Britannica Editorial Board of Advisors. From May 2004 to June 2007 Arteaga served as secretary-general of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, an international group dedicated to promoting sustainable development in the Amazon region. In June 2007 she received the Decoration of Rio Branco for meritorious service to Brazil. She later served as a member of the board of Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE; Centre of Tropical Agricultural Research and Education).