Madrid: When the Spanish Prime Minister named nine women for his 17-strong Cabinet this week, his choice prompted international headlines. Most attention has been focused on Carme Chacon (37) from Esplugues de Llobregat, near Barcelona, who is the rising star inside the re-elected Socialist party, and the first woman Defence Minister. She is also seven months pregnant. Images of her
inspecting the troops with a baby bump turned up on the front pages of Spanish newspapers, along with widespread speculation about how much maternity leave she will take.
Ms. Chacon began her political career nine years ago when she was elected to Esplugues council, later becoming Mayor. She became a parliamentary deputy in 2000 and was named Housing Minister in 2006. Originally a lawyer, she is married to another socialist politician.
Among the other appointments, eyebrows were also raised at the naming of Beatriz Corredor (38) as the Housing Minister, since her only experience in government has been serving alongside the failed socialist mayoral candidate in Madrid for less than a year. She takes over an important department at a time when Spain’s decade-long housing bubble has just burst and banks are warning of record mortgage defaults. Trained in property registration, she is married with two children.
New face
Cristina Garmendia (46) from San Sebastian is another new face. The Science and Investigation Minister is a Socialist party stalwart, but has a background in industry, having founded her own biotechnology company, Genetrix, in 2000. For Mr. Zapatero, she is a key ally in the Basque Country.
At 31, Bibiana Aido Almagro, Minister for Equality, is the youngest person ever to occupy a Cabinet post. She was born in Cadiz, Andalucia, where until her recent promotion she was head of the Flamenco Promotion Agency in the Andalusian regional government. Now her priorities will be to reduce domestic violence.
These are the new appointments, but Mr. Zapatero already had a sizeable number of women in his Cabinet — when he won his first election in 2004, he named women to half of the 16 Cabinet posts. So his “right-hand woman” was the veteran Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega (59), who returns as Deputy Prime Minister, and is known as the enforcer in his government. Mr. Zapatero has weathered a storm of criticism for his Cabinet of “ministras”, not least from the likes of Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi. But he is confident in his choices, insisting all the women were chosen on ability.
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