Who Is Dina Boluarte? Peru's First Female President In 201 Years

Dina Boluarte became Peru's first female president after her predecessor and former president Pedro Castillo was ousted in an impeachment trial and detained by the police after he tried to shut down Congress illegally.

The 60-year-old Boluarte served as the vice president and was next in line to replace Castillo. Boluarte was sworn in as Peru's sixth president in five years.

The lawyer in training was unknown to most Peruvians but rose to prominence alongside Castillo as the vice president on his ticket. The pair, Castillo and Boluarte pulled off a shock election victory for the far-left Peru Libre party in 2021.

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Who Is Dina Boluarte?

• Dina Boluarte is a Peruvian lawyer and politician who was sworn in as the president of Peru on December 7.
• Boluarte is the first female president of Peru and had previously as the vice president and as a National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (RENIEC) official, the national registry records births, marriages, and deaths.
• She worked at the RENIEC as a lawyer and was the head of the office since 2007.
• As a politician, Boluarte unsuccessfully ran for the post of mayor of Lima's Surquillo district and participated in the extraordinary parliamentary elections in 2020, though she did not obtain a congressional seat.
• Dina Boluarte rose to prominence as part of the presidential ticket of Pedro Castillo. In 20121, she was appointed as the minister of development and social inclusion in Castillo's government.
• In December 2022, then-president Castillo attempted to dissolve the Congress of the Republic of Peru during the impeachment proceedings against him.
• The police detained Castillo after he illegally attempted to dissolve Congress.
• Boluarte condemned the move as a "breakdown of the constitutional order" and was sworn in as president after Castillo was impeached. She became Peru's first female president in 201 years.
• In recent weeks, Boluarte had distanced herself from Castillo and resigned from her role as a Cabinet minister. Boluarte distanced herself after Castillo replaced his prime minister, in what some saw as an escalation in his showdown with Congress.