Nilda Garré

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nilda Garré (b. San Telmo Buenos Aires 1945, a former leftist militant, is the current defense minister of Argentina. She is the first woman to hold this position in that country, replacing José Pampuro in 2005.

Garré was elected a deputy in the Argentine Chamber of Deputies in 1973 for the Frente Justicialista de la Liberación, a militant Peronist movement, serving until the dissolution of Congress in 1976. In 1995, having joined FrePaSo with other left-wing Justicialists, she became a deputy once again, stepping down in 2000 to become a junior minister in the government of Radical Fernando de la Rúa who was backed by FrePaSo. She returned to the Chamber of Deputies in 2001, serving until 2005.

In 2005 Garré served as ambassador to Venezuela but was recalled to join the government of President Néstor Kirchner.

Garré is often mentioned in the same breath as other South American women who have recently assumed leadership positions traditionally held by men. This group includes Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and Garré's compatriot Felisa Miceli, who serves as minister of finance.