Alicia Kirchner
Encyclopedia
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
Justicialist Party
Justicialist Party
The Justicialist Party , or PJ, is a Peronist political party in Argentina, and the largest component of the Peronist movement.The party was led by Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, until his death on October 27, 2010. The current Argentine president, Cristina Fernández de...
politician. She is the sister of former President
President of Argentina
The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Carlos Kirchner was an Argentine politician who served as the 54th President of Argentina from 25 May 2003 until 10 December 2007. Previously, he was Governor of Santa Cruz Province since 10 December 1991. He briefly served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations ...
and served in his government as Minister of Social Development, a role which she continues to hold under new President, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner , commonly known as Cristina Fernández or Cristina Kirchner is the 55th and current President of Argentina and the widow of former President Néstor Kirchner. She is Argentina's first elected female president, and the second female president ever to serve...
, her sister-in-law
Sister-in-law
A sister-in-law is the sister of one's spouse, the wife of one's sibling, or sometimes the wife of one's spouse's sibling...
.
Kirchner worked as a teacher and social worker, holding a PhD in social work. In 1975 and again in 1983 she served as a sub-secretary of social action in her native Santa Cruz Province
Santa Cruz Province (Argentina)
Santa Cruz is a province of Argentina, located in the southern part of the country, in Patagonia. It borders Chubut province to the north, and Chile to the west and south. To the east is the Atlantic Ocean...
. From 1987 to 1990 she was a minister in the municipality of Río Gallegos
Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz
Río Gallegos is the capital of the Patagonia province of Santa Cruz, Argentina. It has a population of about 79,000 as per the , while at 2009, the estimated population may be well over 100,000...
, leading on public health, education, culture, social action, recreation and sport. For a few months in 1990, and again between 1991 and 1995 she served as provincial minister for social affairs, under her brother who had been elected governor of Santa Cruz.
She resigned in 1995 to stand for Mayor of Río Gallegos but lost and worked in the Argentine Senate
Argentine Senate
The Argentine Senate is the upper house of the Argentine National Congress. It has 72 senators: three for each province and three for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires...
advising on education and family matters, returning to her ministerial position between 1997 and 2003.
In May 2003 Néstor Kirchner became President and appointed his sister to his cabinet in a similar position she had held under him at provincial level.
In December 2005, Kirchner was elected to the Argentine Senate
Argentine Senate
The Argentine Senate is the upper house of the Argentine National Congress. It has 72 senators: three for each province and three for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires...
as senator for Santa Cruz Province for the Front for Victory
Front for Victory
The Front for Victory is a Peronist political party and electoral alliance in Argentina, although it is formally a faction of the Justicialist Party. Both the former President Néstor Kirchner and the current President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner belong to this party, located on the left-wing...
faction, replacing her sister-in-law Cristina Fernández de Kirchner who stood in Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
. From her senate seat in a few months she steered two important social development matters through the Senate and was widely seen as still holding great influence in the ministry. http://www.clarin.com/diario/2006/08/17/elpais/p-00401.htm However in August 2006 she returned to her former position in the cabinet replacing Juan Carlos Nadalich, leaving her senate seat vacant during a leave of absence
Leave of absence
Leave of absence is a term used to describe a period of time that one is to be away from his/her primary job, while maintaining the status of employee...
.
Kirchner was touted as a likely Front for Victory candidate to be governor of Santa Cruz in the 2007 elections, with fellow minister Julio de Vido
Julio de Vido
Julio Miguel de Vido is an Argentine policy maker, currently the President's Minister of Planning and Public Works.-Biography:...
as the other possible candidate mentioned. http://www.clarin.com/diario/2006/07/27/elpais/p-01201.htm President Kirchner's re-appointment of his sister to his cabinet was seen in some quarters as an initial show of support for her as candidate. http://www.terra.com.ar/canales/politica/144/144460.html Ultimately, however, Kirchner remained a minister following the 2007 elections (and Daniel Peralta
Daniel Peralta
Daniel Román Peralta is an Argentine Justicialist Party politician, elected governor of Santa Cruz Province in 2007.-Biography:...
became governor of Santa Cruz).