Irene Renée Moreira Fernández (born 11 August 1964) is a

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

an lawyer, rural businesswoman and politician of

Open Cabildo The open cabildo (Spanish: ''cabildo abierto'') is a traditional Hispanic American political action for convening citizens to make important decisions. It is comparable to the North American town hall meeting. History Colonial period The open ...

(CA) serving as Minister of Housing and Territorial Planning of Uruguay since March 1, 2020.

Education

Moreira enrolled at the

University of the Republic The University of the Republic ( es, Universidad de la República, sometimes ''UdelaR'') is Uruguay's oldest public university. It is by far the country's largest university, as well as the second largest public university in South America an ...

, where she studied three years of Law. However, after the birth of her children she dropped out of school. Later, she resumed her studies at the

Catholic University Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical un ...

and graduated from it.

Political career

She began her militancy for the National Party in the

Artigas Department Artigas Department ( es, Departamento de Artigas, ) is the northernmost department of Uruguay, located in its northwestern region. Its capital is the city of Artigas, which borders on the Brazilian city of Quaraí. Artigas Department has an area ...

. There she served, for three periods, as deputy edila in the Artigas Departmental Board. From 2015 to 2020 she served as incumbent edila heading the 404 list of

Luis Lacalle Pou Luis Alberto Aparicio Alejandro Lacalle Pou (; ''Luis Lacalle'' locally or ; born 10 August 1973) is a Uruguayan politician and lawyer serving as President of Uruguay since 1 March 2020. Son of former president Luis Alberto Lacalle, Lacalle ...

. In that legislature she integrated the Committee on Culture and Gender. In the 2014 general election, Moreira was a candidate for deputy in the Chamber of Representatives, without being elected. In April 2019, after the foundation of

, Moreira decided to change her political affiliation to accompany her husband's presidential candidacy, so she left the National Party. In the 2019 general election, she was a candidate for Senator of the Republic by Open Cabildo, being elected to the 49th Legislature. However, after the victory of Luis Lacalle Pou as

President of Uruguay The president of Uruguay ( es, Presidente del Uruguay), officially known as the president of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (), is the head of state and head of government of Uruguay. Their rights are determined in the Constitution of Urugu ...

, she was appointed Minister of Housing, Territorial Planning and Environment, as a member of a party that makes up the electoral alliance, Coalición Multicolor. On February 15, 2020, she assumed her seat in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

pending her inauguration as head of the ministerial portfolio, on March 1. Her seat was occupied by Raúl Lozano, her first substitute.

Personal life

Daughter of Roque Moreira, a retired colonel from the National Army, she first met

Guido Manini Ríos Guido Manini Stratta (born 8 December 1958) is an Uruguayan politician and retired general officer who served as Commander-in-Chief of the National Army, serving in this post from 1 February 2015 until being sacked by the president on 12 March 20 ...

at a wedding, when he was 21 and she was 15 years old. When she came of age, they entered into a relationship, and after three years they were married in the Sacred Heart Church. Together they have two children: Bruno and Micaela.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moreira, Irene Living people Open Cabildo (Uruguay) politicians Catholic University of Uruguay alumni Uruguayan women lawyers Women government ministers of Uruguay Ministers of Housing, Territorial Planning and Environment of Uruguay 21st-century Uruguayan women politicians 21st-century Uruguayan politicians 1964 births 20th-century Uruguayan lawyers