Luana Volnovich (born 26 September 1979) is an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish ( masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines ...

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and

Justicialist Party The Justicialist Party ( es, Partido Justicialista, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Current president Alberto Fernández belongs to the Justicialist Party (and has, since 2021, served ...

politician. She currently serves as a National Deputy elected in Buenos Aires Province, a position she previously held from 2015 to 2019. From 2019 to 2023, during the government of

Alberto Fernández Alberto Ángel Fernández (; born 2 April 1959) is an Argentine politician, lawyer and professor, serving as president of Argentina since 2019. Born in Buenos Aires, Fernández attended the University of Buenos Aires, where he earned his law ...

, Volnovich served as the executive director of the Comprehensive Medical Attention Program (PAMI), Argentina's biggest

public health insurance Publicly funded healthcare is a form of health care financing designed to meet the cost of all or most healthcare needs from a publicly managed fund. Usually this is under some form of democratic accountability, the right of access to which are se ...

agency.

Early life and education

Luana Volnovich was born on 26 September 1979 in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

, Brazil to Argentine parents exiled during the last civic–military dictatorship in Argentina (1976–1983). The family returned to Argentina in 1989. Volnovich studied and earned a ''

licenciatura A licentiate (abbreviated Lic.) is an academic degree present in many countries, representing different educational levels. It may be similar to a master's degree when issued by pontifical universities and other universities in Europe, Latin A ...

'' on

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

at the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one of the most prestigi ...

(UBA). She also counts with a post-graduate degree on Public Policy Administration and Control from the

Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences The Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences ( es, Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, pt, Faculdade Latino-Americana de Ciências Sociais or FLACSO) is a graduate-only university and inter-governmental autonomous organization for La ...

(FLACSO). During her studies at the UBA, she co-founded the Centro de Estudios Políticos (CEP; "Centre for Political Studies") alongside the economist Iván Heyn.

Political career

Volnovich was one of the founding members of

La Cámpora La Cámpora is an Argentine left-wing political youth organization supporting the governments of Néstor Kirchner, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, and Alberto Fernández. It is named after former Peronist president Héctor José Cámpora. It ...

, one of the youth wings of the

Front for Victory The Front for Victory ( es, Frente para la Victoria, FPV) was a centre-left Peronist electoral alliance in Argentina, and is formally a faction of the Justicialist Party. Former presidents Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner w ...

. In 2014, during the presidency of

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner (; born 19 February 1953), often referred to by her initials CFK, is an Argentine lawyer and politician who has served as the Vice President of Argentina since 2019. She also served as the President ...

, Volnovich was appointed as National Director for the enlargement and strengthening of educational rights at the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. Her administration saw the implementation of the ''Progresar'' and ''FinEs'' educational social assistance schemes. At the 2015 legislative elections, Volnovich was the 12th candidate in the

list to the

Argentine Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies ( es, Cámara de Diputados de la Nación), officially the Honorable Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Nation, is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress ( es, Congreso de la Nación). It is made up of 257 n ...

in Buenos Aires Province. The list received 37.38% of the vote, and Volnovich was elected. She was sworn in on 10 December 2015. As deputy, Volnovich voted against the

Mauricio Macri Mauricio Macri (; born 8 February 1959) is an Argentine businessman and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 2015 to 2019. He has been the leader of the Republican Proposal (PRO) party since its founding in 2005. He previ ...

administration's pension reform in 2017, and introduced a bill to overturn it after it had passed the Chamber. She also voted in favor of the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy bill, which would have legalized abortion in Argentina, but was struck down by 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 ...

on 8 August 2018. She was re-elected at the 2019 legislative election, this time as the second candidate in the

Frente de Todos The Frente de Todos (translated as "Everyone's Front") is a coalition of Peronist and Kirchnerist political parties in Argentina formed to support President Alberto Fernández and Vice President Cristina Kirchner. Fernández won the 2019 gene ...

list, under

Sergio Massa Sergio may refer to: * Sergio (given name), for people with the given name Sergio * Sergio (carbonado), the largest rough diamond ever found * ''Sergio'' (album), a 1994 album by Sergio Blass * ''Sergio'' (2009 film), a documentary film * ''Ser ...

. She was easily re-elected, but was never sworn in as she was appointed as executive director of

PAMI Usermaatre Setepenre Pami was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 22nd Dynasty who ruled for 7 years. "Pami" in Egyptian, means "the Cat" or "He who belongs to the Cat astet" Identity Pami's precise relationship with his immediate predecesso ...

on 12 December 2019 by incoming president

. Her seat in the Chamber of Deputies was replaced by Jimena López.

Personal life

Volnovich was in a relationship with the economist Iván Heyn until his death in 2011. She has a son.

Electoral history

References

External links

Profile at pami.org.ar
(in Spanish) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Volnovich, Luana 1979 births Living people Politicians from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian emigrants to Argentina People from Berazategui Partido Argentine political scientists Members of La Cámpora Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Buenos Aires Province Women members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies 21st-century Argentine politicians 21st-century Argentine women politicians University of Buenos Aires alumni