Beatriz Merino

Beatriz Merino
National Ombudsman of Peru
In office 29 September 2005 – 30 March 2011
Preceded by	Walter Albán (Acting)
Succeeded by	Eduardo Vega Luna (Acting)
Prime Minister of Peru
In office 23 June 2003 – 15 December 2003
President	Alejandro Toledo
Preceded by	Luis Solari De La Fuente
Succeeded by	Carlos Ferrero
Personal details
Born	(1947-11-15) 15 November 1947 Lima, Peru
Political party	Democratic Front (1990–1992) Independent (1992–1995, 2000–present) Independent Moralizing Front (1995–2000)
Alma mater	National University of San Marcos Harvard University London School of Economics

Martha Beatriz Merino Lucero (born November 15, 1947, Peru) was the first female Prime Minister of Peru. Merino served as Prime Minister from 23 June 2003 to 15 December 2003. Merino served as the national ombudsman for Peru from 29 September 2005 to 30 March 2011, a position also known as the defender of the people. She was the third person to hold the position (the first title holder was Jorge Santistevan and his successor, in an interim position, was Walter Albán). Following the expiry of her five-year term in March 2011, Merino was succeeded by Eduardo Vega Luna.

Beatriz Merino Lucero became the Prime Minister of Peru in 2003, the highest political rank ever held by a woman in the history of Peru.^[1] Merino held office between June 23, 2003 and December 12, 2003. Previously, she served as Superintendent of the Peruvian Internal Revenue Service "SUNAT", proposed by then Minister of Economy, and today President of Peru, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski. In Peru, she studied Law at National University of San Marcos. She graduated from Harvard University with a master's degree in law, becoming the first Peruvian woman to graduate from Harvard Law School. She also obtained an LLM degree from the London School of Economics in 1974. Merino was director of the Women’s Leadership Program at the Inter-American Development Bank to support and finance projects to enhance women’s leadership in Latin America. She also worked as a lawyer at the law firm Estudio Merino and Reano, where she worked extensively in commercial, labor, corporate and environmental legislation.^[2]

From left to right. Leading Peruvian businessman Diego de la Torre, Director of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies Merilee Grindle, President of the Harvard Club of Peru Víctor M. Marroquín, and Beatriz Merino at a Harvard Club of Peru meeting in 2011.

Merino served Peru as a Senator from 1990 to 1992, and then served in Peru's Congress from 1995 to 2000. She was also the first Peruvian woman to serve on the Commission of Andean Jurists. At the University of Lima, she was the director of foreign cooperation and of the master’s program on tax revenues and fiscal policies.

In 2015, Merino was chosen to receive the Harvard University Lifetime Achievement Award, becoming the first woman in Peru to obtain the highest recognition from Harvard Alumni and Faculty. In 2016, she was elected as one of the most influential leaders in Latin America by America Economía, together with Peruvian Nobel Prize Mario Vargas Llosa, a close friend and political ally of Merino.

Merino is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, an international network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers whose mission is to mobilize the highest-level women leaders globally, for collective action on issues of critical importance to women and equitable development.

References

• Wildman, Sarah. "Prime Minister's Peril." Advocate 907 (2004): 15. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. Hugh Stephens Library, Columbia. 5 Apr. 2008. Keyword: Beatriz Merino.
• "Initial Signataries to the Global Action Plan." Win with Women Global Initiative. NDI Women's Programs. 5 Apr. 2008 >.
• Skard, Torild (2014) "Beatriz Merino" in Women of power - half a century of female presidents and prime ministers worldwide, Bristol: Policy Press, ISBN 978-1-44731-578-0