Eliane Karp facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Eliane Karp
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Karp in 2009
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| First Lady of Peru | |
| In role 28 July 2001 – 28 July 2006 |
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| Preceded by | Nilda Jara de Paniagua |
| Succeeded by | Pilar Nores de García |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Eliane Chantal Karp Fernenburg
24 September 1953 Paris, France |
| Citizenship |
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| Nationality | Israeli |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | Stanford University (PhD) Hebrew University of Jerusalem (BA) |
| Profession | Anthropologist |
Eliane Chantal Karp Fernenburg de Toledo (born 24 September 1953) is a Peruvian anthropologist. An anthropologist is a scientist who studies human societies and cultures. She was the First Lady of Peru from 2001 to 2006. She held this role because she was married to the Peruvian president, Alejandro Toledo. Eliane Karp is an expert in studying the ancient cultures of the Andes Mountains.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Eliane Karp was born in Paris, France. Her family was of Ashkenazi Jewish background. During World War II, her father, Charles Karp, was hunted by the Gestapo. He later joined the French Resistance, a group that fought against the occupation of France.
She finished her high school studies at the Lycée Français in Brussels, Belgium. Later, she earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology in Israel. She studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. There, she focused on Latin American studies. Eliane Karp also has a master's degree in anthropology from Stanford University in the United States. She also completed her PhD, which is a very high university degree, in anthropology at Stanford.
Karp also took classes about native communities at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. She did more advanced studies in anthropology and how countries develop economically at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.
Marriage and Family
While studying at Stanford, Eliane Karp met Alejandro Toledo. They got married in 1972. Karp first came to Peru in the late 1970s. She wanted to study the native communities there. In 1992, Karp and Toledo divorced. She then moved back to Israel with their daughter. However, they remarried and returned to Peru before her husband's election campaign in 1995.
Professional Career
Working for International Groups
In 1980, Eliane Karp started working for big international organizations. These included the OAS, UNICEF, and UNDP. She helped measure how well development projects worked for native populations.
From 1982 to 1987, she worked as a consultant for the Agency for International Development (USAID) in Lima, Peru.
In November 1987, she joined the World Bank in Washington D.C.. She was a project officer for Latin America and Africa until 1992.
Karp also worked as an officer for the Middle East at the European Investment Bank. Later, she returned to Israel. There, she worked at Bank Leumi, where she helped build relationships with banks in other countries.
Teaching and Research
More recently, Eliane Karp was a professor at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. She has also been a visiting professor and researcher at Stanford University in the anthropology department.
Karp was a special fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford. She has also been a visiting professor at Salamanca University - Instituto de Iberoamérica in Spain.
Role as First Lady of Peru
During her husband's run for president in 2001, Eliane Karp played a big part. She highlighted Toledo's native heritage. She often wore traditional Andean clothes. She spoke to voters in Quechua, a native language. This showed their dedication to issues important to native people. The New York Times newspaper said her "flaming red hair and fiery speeches made her a popular and controversial fixture at campaign rallies."
In 2001, Karp became the First Lady of Peru when Toledo was elected president. She held this important position until 2006. While in office, Karp became the honorary president of a fund. This fund helped develop native communities in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Supporting Native Communities (CONAPA)
Soon after Toledo became president, his government created a special group. It was called the National Commission on Andean, Amazon and Afro-Peruvian Communities (CONAPA). Eliane Karp was its president. This group aimed to create plans for native communities. It also wanted to make sure native interests were heard in the government. And it worked towards changing laws to help native peoples.
Some people felt the commission was not very effective. They noted it didn't have much money or power to make things happen. However, others like Martin Scurrah from Oxfam said it did good work. He pointed out that Karp helped push for native rights in the new constitution. She also "intervened on numerous occasions in support of or in defense of indigenous initiatives."
Some critics thought creating the commission was a step backward. They felt it should have been led by a government minister, not someone without an official government job. The commission also took over an older office for native affairs (SETAI). This reportedly made that office less independent. Others worried that Karp leading the commission was a conflict of interest. This was because she was also involved with her own private non-profit group, Fundación Pacha.
In 2003, partly because of these concerns, Karp left CONAPA. The group was then changed into a national institute.
Machu Picchu Artifacts
During her husband's time as president, Karp helped with talks with Yale University. These talks were about returning over 350 native artifacts to Peru. These ancient items were found at Machu Picchu around 1915. They were sent to Yale for a one-year loan. Peru had the support of the National Geographic Society and Senator Christopher Dodd from the U.S. state of Connecticut. The talks stopped when Yale would not agree that Peru was the only owner of the artifacts. But they started again under the next president, García.
In an article for The New York Times, Karp said Yale seemed to wait until Peru had a new leader. She felt this new leader was "hostile to indigenous matters." She also criticized the agreement made in 2008 between Peru and Yale. Under this agreement, Peru would have to build a museum and research center. It had to meet Yale's specific requirements. Only then would Peru get some of the artifacts to show and study. Most of the artifacts would stay with Yale.
Pacha Foundation for a Change
In 2001, Karp started Fundación Pacha. This is a non-profit organization. It works on development projects for native Peruvians. The foundation focuses on creating projects that help communities grow in a lasting way. It uses traditional organizations and helps people develop skills. This promotes Peru's rich natural resources and its potential for ecotourism, which is tourism that helps the environment.
Karp led the organization until 2006. Pacha's small projects have included giving vaccinations to Amazonian people. These vaccinations were for diseases like yellow fever, hepatitis B, and malaria. They also built basic community centers and provided equipment for medical centers in rural areas with native populations.
In 2002, Karp asked billionaire Bill Gates for money. She wanted to fund a vaccination program for the Candoshi tribespeople. Gates decided not to help Peru. Instead, he started humanitarian aid efforts in Africa and China. Karp has since criticized Gates for not helping Peru. She felt it was unfair to ignore Peru when conditions in rural Peru are as difficult as in other poor areas.
Current Activities
Supporting Rights for Native People and Women
Eliane Karp has shown support for having more women in the Peruvian congress. She believes that setting quotas, or specific numbers, can help achieve this.
In March 2012, Karp returned to Peru. She took a teaching job at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. In the fall, she taught anthropology in a special program about Andean studies. She also announced that she would write a book. This book would explore how native populations become part of the democratic political process.
In May 2012, Karp took part in a human rights conference. It was organized by Stanford University. She called for discussions about the rights of native peoples in Peru. Karp stated, "We believe that including everyone in society and giving them equal rights are key for good government... The native way of seeing the world must be respected and included in public policies."
In October 2012, Karp shared about her meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi. She said it was inspiring. She was amazed that Suu Kyi stayed so calm even after being imprisoned for 15 years. Karp compared this to when she met the Dalai Lama, who lives away from his home country. She urged people to support a petition to the United Nations to help fight human rights violations.
See also
In Spanish: Eliane Karp para niños
