Bertha Puga Martínez

Berta Puga Martínez (c. 1909 - 2007) was twice First Lady of Colombia as wife of President Alberto Lleras Camargo. She was born in Temuco, Chile, daughter of General Arturo Puga and his wife Bertha Martínez. She moved to Colombia with her family when her father was named Chilean Ambassador to Colombia, and it was then that she met her future husband Alberto Lleras Camargo. They married in 1931 and of this union had four kids. In 1948 she travelled to the United States when her husband was named Secretary General of the Organization of American States. She died in Bogotá of natural causes at the age of 98.

Colombian First Lady

Despiter her Chilean nationality, Puga Martínez was welcomed in Colombia for her charm and kindness. She was very discreet and never a public figure despite her position. As First Lady of Colombia, she played hostess to President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline Kennedy when they visited Colombia in December 1961, whom she had met previously when she lived in Washington DC when her husband was serving as Secretary of the OAS.

Sources

• Ríos Peñaloza, Gilma (August 1996). "Primeras Damas del Siglo XX [First Ladies of the 20th Century]" (in Spanish). Revista Credencial Historia (Bogotá: Biblioteca del Banco de la República) (80). http://www.lablaa.org/blaavirtual/revistas/credencial/agosto1996/agosto2.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-09. 
• "Murió Bertha Puga Martínez, esposa del ex presidente Alberto Lleras Camargo" (in Spanish). El Tiempo (Bogotá). 2007-08-09. http://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/CMS-3672962. Retrieved 2009-12-09.