Francisca Fernández-Hall facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Francisca Fernández-Hall
Born	Francisca Fernández-Hall Zúñiga 12 April 1921 Guatemala City, Guatemala
Died	27 November 2001 Guatemala City, Guatemala
Nationality	Guatemalan
Occupation	engineer, diplomat
Years active	1947–1981

Francisca Fernández-Hall Zúñiga (born April 12, 1921 – died November 27, 2001) was a pioneering engineer and diplomat from Guatemala. She achieved many "firsts" in her life. Francisca was the first woman to graduate from the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. She was also the first woman in all of Central America to earn an engineering degree.

She was the first woman accepted into the Instituto Militar de Engenharia in Brazil. Later, she became the first female ambassador for Guatemala. Her work opened doors for many women who came after her.

Early Life and Family

Francisca Fernández-Hall Zúñiga was born on April 12, 1921, in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Her father, Francisco Fernández-Hall, was a writer. Her mother was Concepción Zúñiga Becker. Francisca had four siblings. These included Alicia, Haroldo, María Teresa Fernández-Hall de Arévalo, and Francisco Fernández-Hall. Her brother Francisco became a journalist and teacher. He also directed the Museum of History and Fine Arts.

Francisca's mother passed away in 1926. Her father raised the children by himself and never remarried.

Becoming an Engineer

Francisca first earned a Bachelor of Science and Letters degree. She also completed a Master of Education. She then wanted to study engineering at the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. At first, she was not accepted into the program. She had wanted to study law but could not meet the requirements.

Instead, she joined the mathematics department. Three months later, she scored perfectly on an exam. This amazing score helped her get into the engineering program. She worked very hard and had the highest grades in her class. In 1947, she earned her Civil Engineering degree. She was the first woman in Central America to graduate as an engineer from that university.

Francisca then won a scholarship. This allowed her to study engineering in Brazil. She attended the Instituto Militar de Engenharia in Rio de Janeiro. She was the first woman ever accepted or to attend this military engineering school. She graduated in 1950 with a Construction Engineering degree.

A Career in Diplomacy

Even while studying engineering, Francisca Fernández-Hall taught at two schools: Colegio Belga and the Instituto Normal Central para Señoritas Belén. When she moved to Brazil for her studies, she also started working for her country. She joined the foreign service as a Cultural Attache for Guatemala. This meant she helped share Guatemalan culture in Brazil.

After finishing her engineering degrees, Francisca had a long career as a diplomat. She represented Guatemala in several countries. These included Greece, Israel, and Costa Rica. She made history as Guatemala's first female ambassador. In 1956, she was listed as the Chargé d'affaires (a type of diplomat) to Israel.

In 1959, while serving as ambassador, she helped a musician named Jorge Sarmientos start his international career. In 1960, she met Golda Meir, who later became the Prime Minister of Israel. In 1964, Francisca attended a big meeting in New York. It was the first International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists. She spoke there about the role of engineers and scientists.

In 1975, Francisca moved to Costa Rica. She continued her diplomatic work there until 1981. While in Israel, she was chosen as the Dean of the foreign diplomatic corps. This meant she was the leader of all the foreign ambassadors and diplomats in the country.

Francisca Fernández-Hall passed away on November 27, 2001. She was buried in the General Cemetery in Guatemala City.

Achievements and Recognition

Francisca Fernández-Hall received several important awards for her hard work and achievements:

• In 1947, she won the Premio Unión y Labor (Union and Labor Award) from the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. This was an academic award.
• In 1997, she received the Medal of Honor for Merit from the same university.
• She was also awarded the Order of the Quetzal. This is one of Guatemala's highest honors.
• In 2001, she received the Silver Crest from the National Council of Women of Guatemala.

See also

In Spanish: Francisca Fernández-Hall para niños