First Ladies of Chile

First Lady of Chile is the unofficial title for the wife of the President of Chile. In colonial times the wives of the Royal Governors were known as "Presidentas", title that was in use during the first half of the XIX century, but was slowly superseded by the newer of "First Lady". Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the President, there is no clarity for the case of the spouse of a female president. In these cases, the title "First Gentleman" has been proposed, but never actually used (to date, the only female president is divorced.)

The First Ladies fulfill a protocole function as hostesses, and since 1925, they have had their own private office and staff, and preside over different charitable organizations, such as Ropero del Pueblo (1947-1958), CEMA Chile (1967-1990), Fundación Nacional de Jardines Infantiles, Fundación de la Familia, and others. At present, and since the current president is a female, the position (renamed "Director of the social-cultural area of the Presidency") has been filled as an administrative position under direct appointment of President Michelle Bachelet. This social-cultural area of the Presidency comprises a series of non-profit foundations: Integra; Promoción y Desarrollo de la Mujer, Prodemu (Women's promotion and development); Fundación de la Familia (Family foundation); Tiempos Nuevos (New times), MIM (Interactive museums); Matucana 100 (Theater promotion); Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Chile (Youth Orchestras); Artesanías de Chile (Arts and crafts) and Todo Chilenter [cite news | title =Bachelet designa a esposa de Sergio Bitar en funciones de Primera Dama | publisher =El Mostrador | date =2007-01-26 | url =http://www.elmostrador.cl/modulos/noticias/constructor/noticia_new.asp?id_noticia=208570 | accessdate =2007-01-26] .

List of First Ladies

Footnotes and references