Sabina Andrea Frederic (born 13 October 1965) 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 ...

social anthropologist Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...

, university professor and politician. A specialist on military and security personnel, she was Argentina's Minister of Security from 2019 to 2021, in the cabinet of President

Alberto Fernández Alberto Ángel Fernández (; born 2 April 1959) is an Argentine politician, lawyer, and academic who served as President of Argentina from 2019 to 2023. He was also the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers from 2003 to 2008. His tenure as Cabin ...

. Since 2021, she has chaired the White Helmets Commission.

Early life and career

Frederic was born on 13 October 1965 in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. She studied anthropology at the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires (, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the second-oldest university in the country, and the largest university of the country by enrollment. Established in 1821 ...

and after obtaining her ''

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 ...

'', she went on to complete a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

social anthropology Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public university, public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. She was a permanent faculty member of the

National University of Quilmes The National University of Quilmes (, UNQui) is an Argentine national university and the most important one in the Quilmes area. The National University of Quilmes was founded on October 23, 1989. Located in Bernal ( Quilmes County), it serves th ...

starting in 2005, and is an independent researcher at

CONICET The National Scientific and Technical Research Council (, CONICET) is an Argentine government agency which directs and co-ordinates most of the scientific and technical research done in universities and institutes. History The National Scient ...

, where she has specialized on the subject of morality, and emotion in the configuration of military and security forces in modern Argentina. Frederic was appointed undersecretary of training in the Ministry of Defense in 2009, a position she held until 2011. From 2012 to 2014, she worked as an advisor in the Ministry of Security in the administration of Nilda Garré. In 2017, Frederic joined the Frente Federal Ciencia y Universidad, a collective of scientists and intellectuals opposed to the budget cuts and

austerity measures In economic policy, austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: high ...

imposed on universities and scientific institutions by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

of President

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

Minister of Security

On 6 December 2019, President-elect

announced his intention of appointing Frederic as security minister, succeeding

Patricia Bullrich Patricia Bullrich (; born 11 June 1956) is an Argentine professor and politician who was appointed Ministry of Security (Argentina), Minister of National Security in 2023 under president Javier Milei, having previously held the office under pres ...

; Frederic positioned herself as a staunch opponent of Bullrich's security policies. She assumed office alongside the rest of Fernández's cabinet on 10 December 2019. On 24 December, she published Resolution 1231/19, which reversed many of Bullrich's policies in the Minisitry: she overturned the previous protocols on the use of firearms by security forces and mandated the creation of a protocol on the use of taser guns; additionally, the resolution annulled the program overseeing offenders in the railway system and the 1149 Protocol, which "allowed security forces to harm the rights of LGBT citizens". Policy-wise, Frederic has been vocal about her support for the decriminalization of marijuana for personal use. In April 2020, Frederic stated that the ministry would continue her predecessor's policy of cyber surveillance to measure "social humour"; these statements were widely criticized by social organizations and the Opposition. Following the government's poor showings in the 2021 legislative primary elections, Frederic was replaced by

Aníbal Fernández Aníbal Domingo Fernández (born January 9, 1957) is an Argentine Justicialist Party politician, lawyer, and certified public accountant. Throughout his career, he has remained a close ally to the former Presidents Néstor Kirchner and Cristina ...

as part of a cabinet reshuffle.

Publications

Frederic has authored or co-authored some of the following books and publications: * (co-authored with Marcelo Escolar and Gustavo Badía) * * * * (co-authored with Laura Masson and Germán Soprano) * (co-authored with Germán Soprano, Beatriz Ocampo and Carlos Kuz)

References

External links

Official website of the Ministry of Security
(in Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Frederic, Sabina 1965 births Living people Argentine anthropologists Argentine women anthropologists Alberto Fernández administration cabinet members 21st-century Argentine women politicians 21st-century Argentine politicians Government ministers of Argentina Women government ministers of Argentina People from Buenos Aires University of Buenos Aires alumni Utrecht University alumni Academic staff of the National University of Quilmes