Patricia Escobar de Arzú (born October 3, 1953), also known as Patricia de Arzú, is a

Salvadoran Salvadorans (), also known as Salvadorians, are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvadoran diaspora, particularly in the United States, with smalle ...

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

n entrepreneur and politician. She is the widow of former

president of Guatemala The president of Guatemala (), officially titled President of the Republic of Guatemala (), is the head of state and head of government of Guatemala, elected to a single four-year term. The position of President was created in 1839. Selectio ...

and mayor of

Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...

Álvaro Arzú Irigoyen Álvaro or Álvar (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname of Germanic Visigothic origin. The patronymic surname derived from this name is Álvarez. Given name Artists *Álvaro Carrillo, Afro-Mexican songwriter. ...

, having served as

First Lady of Guatemala First Lady of Guatemala is the title held by the wife of the president of Guatemala or designee. The current first lady is Lucrecia Peinado, wife of President Bernardo Arévalo, since 15 January 2024. In the First Lady's Office, located in the Pr ...

from January 14, 1996, to January 14, 2000, and as First Lady of Guatemala City from 1991 to 1996, and again from 2004 until his death in 2018. She was an unsuccessful presidential candidate in the 2011 elections for the Unionist Party.

Biography

Arzú was born on October 3, 1953, San Salvador. She married

, with whom she had four children: María Andrée, Roberto Manuel, Alvaro, and Isabel. She has 11 grandchildren. She graduated as a secretary in San Salvador. She studied

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

at the Broward Community School in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Rafael Landívar University Rafael Landívar University ''(Universidad Rafael Landívar)'' is a private Catholic coeducational higher education institution run by the Society of Jesus in Vista Hermosa III Guatemala. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1961. The main campus is ...

in Guatemala. Her interest in improving the conditions for the most vulnerable in Guatemalan society has made her one of the best-known female entrepreneurs in

. In 1987, she was the founder and general coordinator of the Secretariat of Social Affairs of the Municipality of Guatemala, allowing her to create three children's gardens that continue offering services after 20 years. Arzú ran as a candidate for president in the 2011 elections. She was 8th out of 10 candidates, with 97,277 votes, representing 2.19% of the total votes.ElPeriódico Patricia de Arzú
/ref> She is the mother of politician

Álvaro Arzú Escobar Álvaro Arzú Escobar (born 27 February 1985) is a Guatemalan politician from the Unionist Party who served as president of the Congress of Guatemala between 2018 and 2020. He is a son of former President of Guatemala Álvaro Arzú Álvar ...

, former president of the Congress.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Escobar, Patricia 1953 births First ladies of Guatemala Living people People from Guatemala City Guatemalan people of Salvadoran descent Salvadoran emigrants to Guatemala Arzú family