Lucía Topolansky facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lucía Topolansky
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Topolansky in 2023
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| 17th Vice President of Uruguay | |
| In office 13 September 2017 – 1 March 2020 |
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| President | Tabaré Vázquez |
| Preceded by | Raúl Sendic |
| Succeeded by | Beatriz Argimón |
| First Lady of Uruguay | |
| In role 1 March 2010 – 1 March 2015 |
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| President | José Mujica |
| Preceded by | María Auxiliadora Delgado |
| Succeeded by | María Auxiliadora Delgado |
| Senator of Uruguay | |
| In office 15 February 2005 – 12 September 2017 |
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| Constituency | At-large |
| Representative of Uruguay | |
| In office 15 February 2000 – 14 February 2005 |
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| Constituency | Montevideo |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Lucía Topolansky Saavedra
25 September 1944 Montevideo, Uruguay |
| Political party | Movement of Popular Participation |
| Other political affiliations |
Broad Front |
| Spouse | |
| Parents | Luis Topolansky María Elia Saavedra |
Lucía Topolansky Saavedra (born September 25, 1944) is an important politician from Uruguay. She served as the 17th Vice President of Uruguay from September 2017 to March 2020. She is a member of the Movement of Popular Participation (MPP) political party, which is part of the larger Broad Front group.
Before becoming Vice President, she was a Senator from 2020 to 2022 and from 2005 to 2017. She also served as a National Representative from 2000 to 2005. From 2010 to 2015, she was the First Lady of Uruguay because she is married to former president José Mujica.
In 1969, Topolansky joined a political group called the Tupamaros. This group wanted big changes in society. After a period of military rule in Uruguay, she was released from prison in 1985. She then helped start the MPP, beginning her official political career.
She was elected to the Montevideo local government in 1995. In 2004, she became a National Representative. She later became a Senator in 2005. In September 2017, she became the Vice President of Uruguay. This made her the first woman to hold this high position in the country.
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Early Life and Education
Lucía Topolansky Saavedra was born on September 25, 1944, in Montevideo, the capital city of Uruguay. She was the youngest of seven children and has a twin sister named María Elia. Her father, Luis Topolansky Müller, was a civil engineer and worked in construction. Her mother was María Elia Saavedra Rodríguez.
Lucía's family on her father's side had roots in Poland. Her father was born in Budapest and studied in Vienna before moving to Uruguay for work. Her mother's family, the Saavedras, were from Spain and were a well-known family in Uruguay.
Topolansky grew up in the Prado and Pocitos neighborhoods of Montevideo. Her family faced financial difficulties when her father's construction company went bankrupt. This happened because the Argentine president at the time stopped his citizens from visiting Uruguay, which hurt the tourism business. Her family then relied on her grandfather, who was a Justice of the Peace, to help with their education costs.
During her childhood, she and her twin sister studied at the College Sacré Cœur in Montevideo. She later attended the Alfredo Vásquez Acevedo Institute, where she was active in student groups. She also studied architecture at the University of the Republic but left her studies in 1969.
Political Beginnings
In 1967, Lucía Topolansky joined the Tupamaros, a group that sought political change in Uruguay. After the military took control of the government in 1973, she was arrested. She was held in a military prison where she faced very difficult conditions. During her time with the group, she met José Mujica, who later became the President of Uruguay. She became involved with the Movement of Popular Participation (MPP) political party.
Public Service Roles
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Lucía Topolansky served as a Representative for Montevideo from 2000 to 2005. After that, she became a Senator. In the 2009 election, she received the most votes for Senator as the leader of her party's list.
Acting President of Uruguay
On November 26, 2010, Lucía Topolansky became the Acting President of Uruguay for a short time. This happened because both President Mujica and Vice President Danilo Astori were out of the country. This made her the first woman to temporarily hold the presidential powers in Uruguay. Her time as Acting President lasted until November 28, 2010, when Vice President Astori returned.
This temporary role is part of Uruguay's Constitution. It states that if both the President and Vice President are away, the leader of the largest elected group in the Senate takes over.
Vice President of Uruguay
After Raúl Fernando Sendic resigned from his position, Lucía Topolansky was appointed Vice President of Uruguay on September 13, 2017. She was chosen because she was the Senator with the second-highest number of votes from the party that won the presidency. The Senator with the most votes, her husband José Mujica, could not take the position because he had already served as President.
See also
In Spanish: Lucía Topolansky para niños
- Politics of Uruguay
- List of political families#Uruguay
