Rosalía Arteaga

Rosalía Arteaga Serrano (born December 5, 1956) is an Ecuadorian politician who served as the country's first female head of state as acting president for a few days in 1997.[1]

Rosalía Arteaga
39th President of Ecuador
In office February 9, 1997 – February 11, 1997
Preceded by	Abdalá Bucaram
Succeeded by	Fabián Alarcón
Vice President of Ecuador
In office August 10, 1996 – February 6, 1997
President	Abdalá Bucaram
Preceded by	Eduardo Peña
In office February 11, 1997 – March 30, 1998
President	Fabián Alarcón
Succeeded by	Pedro Aguayo Cubillo
Personal details
Born	Lupe Rosalía Arteaga Serrano (1956-12-05) December 5, 1956 Cuenca, Azuay, Ecuador
Political party	Alfarista Radical Front (Before 1995) Independent Movement for an Authentic Republic (1995–2001)
Spouse(s)	Pedro Fernández de Córdova Álvarez (divorced)
Residence	Quito, Ecuador
Education	Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador University of Cuenca
Occupation	Lawyer politician writer

She was born in Cuenca, Ecuador. She became Vice President in 1996, following the election of Abdalá Bucaram as President.[2] On February 6, 1997, however, President Bucaram was declared unfit to govern by Congress. Arteaga and congressional leader Fabián Alarcón became locked in a dispute over who should succeed Bucaram since the constitution was vague on the issue. Initially, Alarcón was sworn in with the support of Congress. On February 9, however, Arteaga, who had insisted that as vice president she should become president, was sworn in instead as Ecuador's first female president. Two days later, however, on February 11, with the support of Congress and the army, Alarcón was sworn in again, and Arteaga resigned.

Arteaga continued to clash with Alarcón and resigned from her post as vice president in March 1998. She then ran for president in the elections that were held in May 1998 but received only 3% of the vote.

Arteaga was secretary-general of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization until 2007 and is a member of the editorial board of the Encyclopædia Britannica.[3]

She continues to receive a lifetime pension from the Ecuadorian government of $ 48.690 annually.

She serves as a member of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center, a global policy think-tank composed primarily of current and former presidents and prime ministers, and has lately contributed an article on "The Virus and the Economy" to its journal.[4]