Claudia Ledesma Abdala

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ledesma and the second or maternal family name is Abdala.
Claudia Ledesma Abdala
Claudia Ledesma Abdala 24-06-2021.jpg
Provisional President of the Senate
Assumed office
10 December 2019
Preceded byFederico Pinedo
National Senator
Assumed office
10 December 2019
ConstituencySantiago del Estero
Governor of Santiago del Estero
In office
10 December 2013 – 10 December 2017
Vice GovernorJosé Emilio Neder
Preceded byGerardo Zamora
Succeeded byGerardo Zamora
National Deputy
In office
10 December 2017 – 10 December 2019
ConstituencySantiago del Estero
Personal details
Born (1974-09-14) September 14, 1974 (age 47)
La Banda, Santiago del Estero Province, Argentina
Political partyJusticialist Party
Other political
affiliations		Civic Front for Santiago
Frente de Todos
Spouse(s)Gerardo Zamora
Alma materCatholic University of Santiago del Estero
ProfessionLawyer and notary

Claudia Alejandra Ledesma Abdala de Zamora (born 14 September 1974) is an Argentine politician, currently serving as a National Senator for Santiago del Estero Province and as Provisional President of the Argentine Senate since 2019. A member of the local Civic Front for Santiago, Ledesma Abdala was governor of Santiago del Estero from 2013 to 2017, succeeding and preceding her husband, Gerardo Zamora.

Early life and education[]

Ledesma was born in La Banda. Her father, Oscar Ledesma, was active in local politics as a supporter of Governor Carlos Juárez.[1] She graduated as a lawyer and notary from the Catholic University of Santiago del Estero.[2] Her grandfather, Ricardo "Pololo" Abdala, was a physician and a prominent Radical Civic Union leader in the province as well.[3]

Political career[]

Vice Governor José Neder, then President Cristina Kirchner, Governor Claudia Ledesma Abdala, and her husband and predecessor Gerardo Zamora shortly after Ledesma's election in 2013.

Ledesma entered public service in 2003 when she was elected Citizen Ombudsman for La Banda on the UCR ticket, and in 2005 she was appointed local infractions judge. Ledesma and her first husband, Jorge Amerio, were divorced,[4] and in 2005 she met her future husband, Governor Gerardo Zamora.[1] She was later appointed by her husband as Director of the Provincial Motor Vehicle Registry.[2] The couple had two sons and a daughter.[5]

Governor of Santiago del Estero[]

Governor Zamora nominated his wife for the governor's race held in 2013, while he himself ran for Senator. Both won their respective races on the Civic Front for Santiago ticket, and Ledesma was elected governor with nearly 65% of the vote.[6]

Zamora had presided over an ambitious public works agenda in historically underdeveloped Santiago del Estero, 90% of whose US$1.8 billion budget was financed by the federal government in 2013.[4] Ledesma continued this policy and initiated or inaugurated numerous significant projects as governor. These included among others a new building for the Provincial Legislature;[7] the Juan Felipe Ibarra provincial office building (the first LEED certified government building in Argentina);[8] increases in the educational budget for 1,100 new teachers and 10,000 new desks;[9] and improvements in sewer systems and other public services.[10][11]

Some of the most notable health and social care improvements during her tenure include expansion works in 14 hospitals and a new, 150,000 ft² hospital in La Banda;[12] a driver safety education and enforcement program that led to a 40% reduction in motor vehicle accidents;[12] a new child nutrition program that provides probiotic yogurt to over 47,000 poor children;[13] and housing programs that included public housing,[14] as well as the promotion of both cooperative housing[15] and of self-building programs that financed over 3,000 such homes in 2015.[16]

Ledesma Abdala's term ended on 10 December 2017. She was succeeded by Zamora, who ran for a third term and won.

Provisional president of the Senate[]

Ledesma Abdala ran for a seat in the National Senate at the 2019 elections on the Civic Front for Santiago ticket. She won with 56.96% of the vote, and took office on 10 December 2019.[17][18] On that same day, she was sworn in as the provisional president of the Senate, succeeding Federico Pinedo.[3]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "El camino a la gobernación". Página/12. 2 December 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Claudia Ledesma Abdala se impuso en las elecciones y es la nueva gobernadora de Santiago del Estero". La Nación. 1 December 2013.
  3. ^ a b Rodríguez, Leonel Alberto (27 November 2019). "Quién es la senadora Claudia Ledesma Abdala, tercera en la línea presidencial". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Gerardo Zamora, el heredero del feudo de Santiago del Estero". La Voz del Interior. 10 November 2011.
  5. ^ "Nació la hija del gobernador Zamora, se llama Amparo". El Liberal. 17 November 2011.
  6. ^ "Escrutinio definitivo: el Frente Cívico obtuvo el 64,67% de los votos". El Liberal. 5 December 2013.
  7. ^ "Claudia Zamora inauguró el nuevo edificio de la legislatura provincial". Nuevo Diario. 8 April 2014.
  8. ^ "La Presidenta y la Gobernadora inauguraron las torres de Economía y Educación". Secretería General de la Grobernación de Santiago del Estero. 26 August 2014. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  9. ^ "La gobernadora inauguró una escuela y presidió el cierre del ciclo lectivo 2014". El Liberal. 6 December 2014.
  10. ^ "La gobernadora y Cristina firmaron el contrato para iniciar la obra de la cloaca máxima". El Liberal. 13 February 2014.
  11. ^ "La Gobernadora inauguró importantes obras de agua en La Banda". Nuevo Diario. 15 December 2014.
  12. ^ a b "Tenemos que cumplir las normas viales para poder vivir tranquilos". El Liberal. 28 April 2015.
  13. ^ "La Gobernadora destacó los avances en lo atinente a la salud pública". Nuevo Diario. 28 April 2015.
  14. ^ "La gobernadora inauguró más de 300 viviendas en La Banda y en el Vinalar". El Liberal. 14 February 2014.
  15. ^ "La Gobernadora inauguró viviendas construidas por cooperativas". Diario Panorama. 13 February 2014.
  16. ^ "Les propongo hacer el doble de viviendas de autoconstrucción". Nuevo Diario. 28 April 2015.
  17. ^ "El nuevo Congreso: así estará conformada la Cámara de Senadores". El Litoral (in Spanish). 28 October 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  18. ^ "Cómo quedará conformado el Congreso a partir del 10 de diciembre". Ámbito (in Spanish). 28 October 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
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