Beatriz Argimón Cedeira (born 14 August 1961) is a Uruguayan politician and notary of the
National Party currently serving as the 18th
Vice President of Uruguay since 1 March 2020, being the first woman to be elected in that position.[1][2]
Beatriz Argimón Cedeira was born in
Montevideo on 14 August 1961 to Juan Carlos Argimón, a civil servant for the
Herrerism political faction of the National Party, and María Esther Cedeira, a housewife.[8] Her paternal grandmother had brothers who fought in battles alongside
Aparicio Saravia, and her grandfather was a member of the
National Movement of Rocha.[9] The oldest child in a Catholic family of Catalan and Galician descent, she has one sister, Estela.[10] She attended Primary School No. 8 República de Haití in Montevideo, and later high school at the
José Pedro Varela National School.[11][12]
When Argimón was in high school, her father, who worked as manager of the fishing terminal of Industrias Loberas y Pesqueras del Estado, was dismissed by the
civic-military dictatorship, but was reinstated in the position once the regime ended.[13] In 1989, Argimón graduated from the
University of the Republic as a
notary public, working in the field for ten years.[14] She also studied human rights and family law. While she was studying, she began to work as an administrator for the
National Administration of State Sanitary Works, a position to which she agreed after winning a public competition.[15]
Argimón has also been active as a television personality. In 2007, she acted, together with
Glenda Rondán and several Uruguayan actresses and public women, in the play Los monologues de la vagina, to benefit the Casa de la Mujer, a women's rights organization, in order to denounce
gender violence against women.[16] From 2008 to 2011, she served as a panelist on the
Teledoce weekday program, Esta boca es mía.[3] In addition, from 2015 to 2017, Argimón was the president of the Josefa Oribe Study and Training Center.[17] She currently hosts a cable program called Diseñarte, along with María Noel Álvarez and Claudia Calace on
Canal 5, which aims to promote nationally manufactured products.[18]
Beatriz Argimón began her political activism at the age of 17 during the dictatorship.[21] Four months after graduating from college, she was a candidate for Edilade Montevideo (member of the legislature of the capital) in the
1989 election. During
Luis Alberto Lacalle's administration, she served as head of the National Institute of Minors.[22] Together with the then first lady
Julia Pou, Argimón founded the group "Acción Comunitaria", and was elected
National Representative for Montevideo for the 45th Legislature (2000-2005) in the 1999 election.[23] Later she joined the
Wilsonist Current, being reelected to the position of the 46th Legislature (2005-2010).[24] She became the first woman reelected consecutively in the history of the National Party.
On April 16, 2018, she took office as President of the National Party, being the first woman to hold the position in the 182-year history of the party.[28] She succeeded
Luis Alberto Héber and stated, "We must respect the times that each institution and each party have to make decisions of these characteristics."[29] She remained in office until March 2020 because at that time she assumed the vice-presidency of the Republic.[30]
Following the election of Lacalle Pou as President of Uruguay in the
2019 election, Argimón assumed office as vice president of Uruguay on 1 March 2020, becoming the first female vice president to be elected.[32][33] On November 30, in her first speech as vice president-elect, Argimón reaffirmed her commitment to the fight for gender equality.[34] She was sworn in before the General Assembly on March 1, 2020.[35]
Personal life
Argimón married Jorge Fernández Reyes on 14 December 2009.[36] She has two children from previous marriages, María Belén and Juan Santiago.[3]
^"Que nadie se escape" [Let No One Escape]. La Diaria (in Spanish). 4 August 2015.
Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
^historico.espectador.com.
"Argimón lanzó la Lista 2018". HISTORICO.ESPECTADOR.COM (in Spanish).
Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
^Álvarez, Cecilia (8 July 2011).
"Sin que me echen" [Without Being Thrown Out]. La Diaria (in Spanish).
Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
^"Se casó Beatriz Argimón" [Beatriz Argimón Gets Married] (in Spanish). Montevideo Portal. 14 December 2009.
Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2018.