Sarah Luísa Lemos Kubitschek de Oliveira GCC • GCIH, known as '' Dona'' Sarah Kubitschek (October 5, 1908 – February 4, 1996) was a Brazilian charity worker and

First Lady of Brazil First Lady of Brazil (''Portuguese'': ''Primeira-dama do Brasil'') is a title given to the hostess of Alvorada Palace. The position is traditionally filled by the wife of the current President of Brazil, but may apply to women who are not the ...

from 1956 to 1961, wife of President

Juscelino Kubitschek Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira (; 12 September 1902 – 22 August 1976), also known by his initials JK, was a prominent Brazilian politician who served as the 21st president of Brazil from 1956 to 1961. His term was marked by economic prosp ...

. She was the founder of the Organização de Pioneiras Sociais (Organization of Social Pioneers), which carried out charity works in Minas Gerais, including the founding of schools and daycares in the countryside, and distribution of clothing, food, wheelchairs and mechanical devices for the physically disabled. In addition, she set up flying hospitals in most of the states and hospital boats made in Germany to the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

Biography

Family

Sarah Luísa Gomes de Sousa Lemos was born into a family from Belo Horizonte,

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literall ...

; she was the daughter of federal deputy Jaime Gomes de Sousa Lemos and his wife, Maria Luísa Negrão. She had four siblings: Amelia, Maria Luisa, Geraldo and Idalina. Sarah was the great-niece of the Baron of Rio Verde.

Marriage and children

In her youth, she fell in love with Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, then a medical student. However, when he decided to specialize in urology in Europe, he broke the engagement and did not respond to her letters. Despite this, advised by her mother, Sarah decided to wait for him. On December 30, 1931, Sarah and Juscelino married in the city of

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 ...

. The next day, they celebrated New Year's Eve at the

Copacabana Palace Hotel Belmond Ltd. (formerly Orient-Express Hotels Ltd) is a hospitality and leisure company that operates luxury hotels, train services and river cruises worldwide. In 2015, the company had 35 deluxe hotels, 7 tourist trains, 3 river cruises and rest ...

. Shortly after the wedding, she signed her name as "Sara Luísa Lemos de Oliveira". Years later, when

assumed the presidency, she adopted the surname Kubitschek, signing as "Sarah Luisa Lemos Kubitschek de Oliveira". Sarah Kubitschek had a daughter, Marcia Kubitschek, in 1943. Years later, the couple adopted Maria Estela, a year older than Márcia.

Last years and legacy

After Juscelino's death, she lived on his pension in a rented apartment in Brasília, where she died of cardiac arrest at the age of 87. Sarah Kubitschek Hospital is named in her honor. Specializing in the treatment of polytrauma patients, it has units in seven Brazilian capitals:

Fortaleza Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the ...

Macapá Macapá () is a city in Brazil with a population of 512,902 (2020 estimation). It is the capital of Amapá state in the country's North Region. It is located on the northern channel of the Amazon River near its mouth on the Atlantic Ocean. The ...

, Belo Horizonte,

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

, São Luís,

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in ...

and

Salvador Salvador, meaning " salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ...

. In

Areia Branca Areia Branca may refer to: * Areia Branca (Rio Grande do Norte) – city in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil * Areia Branca (Sergipe) – city in Sergipe, Brazil {{Geodis ...

, there is also the Sarah Kubitschek Maternity Hospital.

Honors and cultural depictions

Brasília Kubitschek and wife sculpture 2009

On July 30, 1957, she received the

Grand Cross of the Military Order of Christ The Military Order of Christ is the former order of Knights Templar as it was reconstituted in Portugal. Before 1910 it was known as the Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Order of the Knights of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It was ...

, and on February 28, 1961, she received the Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry. She was played by

Marília Pêra Marília Soares Pêra (22 January 1943 – 5 December 2015) was a Brazilian actress, singer, and stage director. Hailed as "one of the decade's 980sten best actresses" by Pauline Kael, Pêra won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Bes ...

and

Débora Falabella Débora Lima Falabella (born 22 February 1979) is a Brazilian actress. Early years Débora was born in Belo Horizonte City, the daughter of actor Rogério Falabella and the lyrical singer Maria Olympia. During her childhood she became inte ...

(young Sarah) in the 2006 miniseries '' JK'', aired on

Rede Globo TV Globo (, "Globe TV", or simply Globo), formerly known as Rede Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Grupo Globo. The TV statio ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kubitschek, Sarah Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Grand Crosses of the Order of Prince Henry 1996 deaths 1908 births First Ladies of Brazil First Ladies of Minas Gerais