Bertha Elba Sanseverino Mansilla (April 25, 1946 – June 18, 2018) was a Uruguayan politician and member of the Broad Front (''Frente Amplio'') since 1971 and the

Liber Seregni Front The Liber Seregni Front () was the name of the centre-left faction inside the Frente Amplio which was created by Danilo Astori leader of Uruguay Assembly, Rafael Michelini leader of New Space and Rodolfo Nin Novoa, leader of Progressive Alliance ...

faction of the

Uruguay Assembly The Uruguay Assembly (''Asamblea Uruguay'') is a social-democratic political party in Uruguay, and a member organisation of the Broad Front. It was founded in 1994 by former Vice President of Uruguay, Danilo Astori, who led the party from its ...

, a

social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

. Sanseverino served as a member of the Departmental Board of Montevideo ('), the legislative body of

Montevideo Department Montevideo () is a department (''departamento'') of Uruguay. It is by far the smallest department in area, but also by far the most populated. Its capital is the city of Montevideo, which is also the national capital. While most of the departme ...

, for two terms from 1995 until 2004. In 2010, she was elected to the national

Chamber of Representatives of Uruguay The Chamber of Representatives () is the lower house of the General Assembly of Uruguay (''Asamblea General de Uruguay''). The Chamber has 99 members, elected for a five-year term by proportional representation with at least two members per depa ...

, where she served until her death in office in June 2018.

Biography

Bertha Sanseverino was born in

Colonia del Sacramento Colonia del Sacramento (; ) is a city in southwestern Uruguay, by the Río de la Plata, facing Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is one of the oldest towns in Uruguay and the capital of the Colonia Department. As of the 2023 census, it has a populatio ...

on April 25, 1946. She became the leader of the Law Student Center (''Centro de Estudiantes de Derecho'') in 1968 and a member of the Federation of Uruguayan University Students (''la Federación de Estudiantes Universitarios Uruguayos'') beginning in 1970. Sanseverino had been a member of the Broad Front since its establishment in 1971. She and her husband, Nelson Latorre, were opponents of the

Civic-military dictatorship of Uruguay The civic-military dictatorship of Uruguay (1973–1985), also known as the Uruguayan Dictatorship, was an authoritarian military dictatorship that ruled Uruguay for 12 years, from June 27, 1973 (after the 1973 coup d'état) until March 1, 1985 ...

, a military dictatorship which ruled the country from 1973 until 1985. In 1977, Bertha Sanseverino fled into

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

with her daughter following the arrest of her husband by the military regime. Sanseverino returned from exile following the restoration of democracy in the mid-1980s. She was elected to the Departmental Board of Montevideo Department in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

and won re-election to the Board in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. In 2005, Uruguay President

Tabaré Vázquez Tabaré Ramón Vázquez Rosas (; 17 January 19406 December 2020) was a Uruguayan politician and oncologist who served as the 39th and 41st President of Uruguay from 2005 to 2010 and from 2015 to 2020. During his political career, Vázquez was a ...

, the first Broad Front politician to achieve the presidency, appointed Sanseverino as head of the Plan de Atención Nacional a la Emergencia Social (PANES), an agency within the Ministry of Social Development (MIDES). She was later appointed National Director of Critical Assistance and Social Inclusion. Sanseverino remained at the Ministry of Social Development until February 2010, when she was sworn in as an elected member of the

.Berta Sanseverino
Sanseverino, a sitting member of the Chamber of Representatives, died in Montevideo on June 18, 2018, at the age of 72. A At the time, she had been hospitalized at the Centro de Tratamiento Intensivo (CTI) hospital in Montevideo for a week due to serious health conditions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanseverino, Bertha 1946 births 2018 deaths Members of the Chamber of Representatives of Uruguay 21st-century Uruguayan women politicians 21st-century Uruguayan politicians Uruguayan exiles Broad Front (Uruguay) politicians Uruguay Assembly politicians Uruguayan expatriates in France Politicians from Montevideo