Marcela Paola Vessvessian (born 19 March 1971) is an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

politician, currently serving as National Deputy elected in Santa Cruz. A member of Kolina, she was elected in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

as part of the

Frente de Todos The Frente de Todos (translated as "Everyone's Front") was a centre-left political coalition of political parties in Argentina formed to support President Alberto Fernández and Vice President Cristina Kirchner. Fernández won the 2019 gen ...

. Vessvessian previously served as Minister of Social Development of Santa Cruz during the first governorship of

Alicia Kirchner Alicia Margarita Kirchner Ostoić (born 18 July 1946) is an Argentine politician. She is the elder sister of the late former President Néstor Kirchner and served in his government as Minister of Social Development, a role which she held under P ...

(2015–2019).

Early life

Vessvessian was born on 19 March 1971 in

Río Gallegos Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...

, Santa Cruz into a family of Armenian background. She has a ''

licenciatura A licentiate (abbreviated Lic.) is an academic degree present in many countries, representing different educational levels. The Licentiate (Pontifical Degree) is a post graduate degree when issued by pontifical universities and other universit ...

'' degree on Social Work.

Political career

Vessvessian's political career began under the mentorship of

. When Kirchner split from the

Justicialist Party The Justicialist Party (, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Following the 2023 presidential election, it has been the largest party in the opposition against President Javier Milei. Fo ...

and formed Kolina, Vessvessian became part of the new party's national authority. During Kirchner's administration the Ministry of Social Development, Vessvessian served as secretary of childhood, adolescence, and families, and chaired the National Committee for the Coordination of Social Policies. In 2015, following Kirchner's election as governor of Santa Cruz, Vessvessian was appointed as the province's minister of social development. In the 2019 legislative election, Vessvessian ran for a seat in the National Chamber of Deputies as the second candidate in the

list, behind Pablo Gerardo González. The Frente de Todos list was the most voted in Santa Cruz, with 62.13% of the vote, and both González and Vessvessian were elected. She was sworn in on 4 December 2019. As a national deputy, Vessvessian formed part of the parliamentary commissions on Petitions, Powers and Norms, Women and Diversity, Sports, Elderly People, Co-operative Affairs and NGOs, and Social Action and Public Health. She was also elected by her peers as president of the bicameral commission to appoint an Ombudsperson for Children. Vessvessian was a supporter of the 2020 Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy bill, which legalised abortion in Argentina.

References

External links

Profile on the official website of the Chamber of Deputies
(in Spanish) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vessvessian, Paola Living people 1971 births People from Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz Argentine people of Armenian descent Argentine social workers Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Santa Cruz Women members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies Justicialist Party politicians Kolina politicians 21st-century Argentine women politicians Argentine deputies 2019–2021 Argentine deputies 2021–2023