- Anel Townsend
Ana Elena Townsend Diez Canseco is a
Peru vianpolitician and former member of the Peruvian Congress. She is the daughter ofAndrés Townsend , who was formerly the President of the Peruvian House of Representative and who founded the Latin American Parliament in in 1964.Professional career
Townsend was elected to Congress in 1995 as a guest member on the candidate list presented by Ambassador
Javier Perez de Cuellar . Townsend was again reelected in 2000 and in 2001. In 2001, as part ofAlejandro Toledo ´s political party she obtained the highest vote count of all elected representatives. In total, she served in the Peruvian legislature from 1995 to 2006.In 2003 President Alejandro Toledo nominated her as Minister of Women's Affairs and Social Development.
Legislative Work
Her legislative work focused on
human rights , anticorruption, transparency, and gender issues. Further, she chaired a committee charged with investigating the corruption ofAlberto Fujimori ´s Presidency. Notably, she was the author of the first "Law of Access to Information in Peru".Present Activities
Currently, Townsend is a member of a number of issues-based multi-national organizations. She is involved with the Advisory Council of the
Latin American Parliament , which gathers 22 legislative bodies from Latin America and the Caribbean and also participates in the Advisory Council of Vital Voices for a Global Partnership in Washington DC which is a non profit organization chaired by SenatorHillary Clinton and K Bailey Hutchinson that promotes female involvement in global leadership. Additionally, she works as an international consultant in governance, gender, and anticorruption matters in Washington DC, USA.Anel Townsend has authored three books: "In the Name of Law", a compilation of her parliamentarian speeches; "The Strengthening of Political Parties in Latin America"; and lastly, "For a World Without Poverty and Inequality": The role of the Latin Ameican Parlaiamentarians in the implementation of Millennium Development Goals".
External links
* [http://www.congreso.gob.pe/congresista/2001/atowsen/hoja_vida.htm Website for Anel Townsemd (Spanish)]
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