Adela Van Severen

Adela Van Severen de Contreras (1909 – December 9, 2007) was a Salvadoran politician, recognized as the first woman to serve as mayor in all of El Salvador.[1][2]

The coat of arms of Santa Tecla, El Salvador.

Born in San Salvador in 1909, Van Severen was educated in the United States. She then settled in the city of Santa Tecla with her husband, José Luis Contreras, and became involved in municipal politics.[3][4] In 1954, she was chosen to take over the term of incumbent Santa Tecla Mayor José Marcos Biguer, and the following year she was elected directly, becoming the first female mayor in El Salvador.[5][6][7] Women had fully earned the right to vote in El Salvador only five years prior, under the Constitution of 1950.[8]

Among her accomplishments as mayor was overseeing the pavement of the city's streets. She served in the post until 1958.[5]

Van Severen remained in Santa Tecla until her death in 2007, at age 98.[5][9]

A park in Santa Tecla was named in her honor in 2015.[10][2]

References
  1. "22 mujeres influyentes en la historia de El Salvador". Noticias de El Salvador - elsalvador.com (in Spanish). 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  2. "Nombran parque en honor de primera alcaldesa". La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). 2015-07-29. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  3. Santa Tecla : cronología. Contreras Callejas, Juan José., Alvarado Cea Campo, Mauricio., Alvarado, Angela Margarita. (1. ed.). San Salvador, El Salvador: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes. 2004. ISBN 99923-0-141-4. OCLC 57071898.CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. Alvarado España, Mauricio Alberto (2020). "La mujer en la diplomacia salvadoreña" (PDF). Instituto Especializado de Educación Superior Para la Formación Diplomática.
  5. "ALCALDESAS EN LA HISTORIA DE SANTA TECLA". Diario Co Latino (in Spanish). 2020-08-04. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  6. "ISDEMU participa en evento cívico". Instituto Salvadoreño para el Desarrollo de la Mujer. 2011-09-12. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  7. "'Adela Van Severen de Contreras' es nuevo parque para los tecleños". Noticias de El Salvador (in Spanish). 2015-07-29. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  8. ¡Titaketzakan Nawat! ¡Tikishmatikan ne tunelwayu! (PDF). Ministerio de Educación. 2018.
  9. "Généalogie de Adela VAN SEVEREN". Geneanet (in French). Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  10. "Inauguración de Parque Adela Van Severen". Alcaldía de Santa Tecla. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
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