Chilean President's Girlfriend Moves to Official First Lady Government Department
"First Lady Needs Autonomy... Will Not Attend Official Events"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The first lady who no longer wants to be a first lady. This is the story of Irina Karamanos (33), the girlfriend of Chilean President Gabriel Boric (36).
On the 13th (local time), The Washington Post (WP) detailed Karamanos' story, who held a press conference earlier last month announcing reforms to the role of the first lady. Karamanos, the daughter of a German-Uruguayan mother and a Greek father who passed away when she was eight, is an immigrant's daughter who earned degrees in education and anthropology from Heidelberg University in Germany and is a feminist fluent in four languages.
Since Boric was elected president last December, she resisted the title of "first lady." Boric, a leftist, is the youngest leader in South America, and Karamanos was an activist who helped secure his victory. When Boric was inaugurated in March, Karamanos reluctantly agreed to serve, hoping to change the role of the first lady. Over the following months, Karamanos began behind-the-scenes work to reorganize the role of the first lady. She aimed to transfer responsibilities traditionally held by the first lady?such as managing six foundations, overseeing child care networks, science museums, and women's development organizations?to government ministries. By doing so, she hoped to redefine what it means to be a first lady not only in Chile but worldwide, and to ensure that these reforms would continue beyond the current president's term and apply to future first ladies.
Having avoided media interviews for eight months, Karamanos told reporters at a public event early last month, "The institutional role of the first lady as we know it will come to an end." She said this reform "grants future first ladies professional and economic autonomy."
Regarding this, WP commented, "Karamanos knows that the role of the first lady is merely a 'title' unrelated to her skills, experience, or degrees, and that she is more than that." WP viewed the concept of the first lady as originating in the United States, beginning with Dolly Madison, wife of the fourth U.S. president James Madison. Subsequently, first ladies such as Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Roosevelt, and Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of John F. Kennedy, developed the role by accompanying the president, and later, supportive first ladies appeared in South America as well.
Karamanos is not the only first lady to reject the traditional role. Melania Trump, wife of former U.S. President Donald Trump, was also known to be reluctant about the first lady role. Anne Malherbe Gosselin, the Belgium-born wife of former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, often did not attend events. Beatriz Guti?rrez M?ller, wife of Mexican President Andr?s Manuel L?pez Obrador, works as a university professor but accompanies the president on diplomatic events. Jill Biden, wife of U.S. President Joe Biden, teaches English composition at Northern Virginia Community College. She is the first U.S. first lady to receive a salary outside the White House during her husband's presidency.
Karamanos said that people she meets on the street often ask her to "take care of the president," and she responded, "Of course, I take care of him. But if I don't, can he not be president and be self-sufficient?" She added, "I want to break the stereotype that a powerful man can only be trusted if a woman is by his side and maintain balance," and declared, "I will no longer attend any overseas trips or official events."
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