Dolores Balderamos-García

Dolores Balderamos-Garcia (born 1957) is a Belizean lawyer, politician, activist, broadcaster and author.

As a member of the People's United Party, she served as Belize's Minister of Human Development, Women and Civil Society, where her emphasis was on improving the condition of women and children and bringing about gender equality. From 2003 to 2008 she also worked for the Government of Belize as Ambassador/Special Envoy for Children, Gender and HIV/AIDS.

Education and early career

She received primary and secondary education in Belize, followed by a partial scholarship to Viterbo University in Wisconsin, where she graduated Cum Laude in 1979. This was followed by a Master's degree in English, from Marquette University. In 1982 Balderamos-Garcia decided to attend the University of the West Indies to study law. She received her Bachelor of Laws degree from the Norman Manley Law School in 1985 and was admitted to practice law in Belize in 1987.

She was a Member of the Board of Directors of the Belize Sugar Board between 1989 and 1991, of the Broadcasting Corporation of Belize from 1990 to 1992 and of the Belize Zoo and Tropical Educational Center (1995-1996).

Political career

She has held several positions in the People's United Party, including National Women's Organizer and member of Central Executive (1990-1994), and President of United Women's Group, the women's arm of the party (1994-1997). She was nominated Senator in the 7th National Assembly of Belize in 1993.

In 1998 Balderamos-Garcia was elected to the House of Representatives of Belize for the Port Loyola Constituency, and named Minister of Human Development, Women and Civil Society by then Prime Minister of Belize Said Musa. She served in the Senate of Belize for a second time between March 2005 and January 2008.

At the same time, she was a member of the Commonwealth of Nations Observer Group for National Elections in Zanzibar, Tanzania (2005) and served as Chairperson of the Commonwealth Expert Team of Observers for Local Government Elections in Sierra Leone (2008).

Activism

In 2000 She was appointed as the first Chairperson of the National AIDS Commission, a position she held until 2008. Through her leadership, the PUP Government passed the human rights based National Policy on HIV/AIDS, and began to provide free life saving anti-retroviral medication.

She is chairperson of the steering committee of Living With Hope, a charity organization which provides help to persons living with HIV and AIDS. She also serves on the Board of Directors of both the Belize Council for the Visually Impaired and the Alliance Against AIDS. She has been a Member of Steering Committee for the Pan Caribbean HIV/AIDS Forum since February 2008.

Broadcasting

Since the late 1980s, Balderamos-Garcia has been the host of the weekly program "Jazz Vibes" on VIBES Radio, and for several years contributed a jazz-centred column to the Belize Times. In 2009, she compiled these columns into the book "Jazz Sketches; Profiles of Thirty Greats".

References

http://www.belizetimes.bz/2009/11/18/women-on-the-verge-of-power/

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=1579&LangID=E

http://www.viterbo.edu/general.aspx?id=9692

http://ambergriscaye.com/sanpedrosun/old/01-202.html

http://www.scienceblog.com/community/older/archives/L/1999/A/un990913.html

http://www.caricom.org/jsp/pressreleases/pres121_01.jsp

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Name	Balderamos-Garcia, Dolores
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Date of birth	1957
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