Carmen Calisto

Carmen Calisto Ponce (born 28 February 1942) is the wife of former Ecuadorian President Rodrigo Borja Cevallos and is thus the 36th First Lady of Ecuador, a position she held from 10 August 1988 to 9 August 1992.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Calisto and the second or maternal family name is Ponce.

Carmen Calisto
First Lady of Ecuador
In role August 10, 1988 – August 9, 1992
President	Rodrigo Borja Cevallos
Preceded by	María Eugenia Cordovez
Succeeded by	Josefina Villalobos
Personal details
Born	Carmen Calisto Ponce (1942-02-28) February 28, 1942 Quito, Ecuador
Nationality	Ecuadorian
Political party	Democratic Left
Spouse(s)	Rodrigo Borja Cevallos ( m. 1966)
Children	See Marriage and children
Awards	Order of Isabella the Catholic

Biography

Carmen Calisto Ponce was born in Quito on 28 February 1942[1] the eldest daughter of Gonzalo Calisto Enríquez and María Ponce Martínez, making her a descendant of the Counts of Selva Florida through her mother.[2] When Calisto's mother died in her youth, she took on the responsibility of looking after her younger siblings.[3]

Marriage and children

On 16 December 1966, in the city of Quito, Calisto married Rodrigo Borja Cevallos, at that time Jurist Commission that then President Clemente Yerovi assembled to draft a new constitution. They had four children:[3]

• Gabriela Borja Calisto
• María del Carmen Borja Calisto
• Rodrigo Borja Calisto
• Verónica Borja Calisto

First Lady of Ecuador

As First Lady of Ecuador, Calisto was president of the National Institute of Children and Families (INNFA), hostess of Carondelet Palace, and companion to her husband to various formal functions at the national and international level. In a state visit to Spain, the couple were received by King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía at the Palace of Zarzuela and Royal Palace of Madrid and Calisto was made a Grand Dame of Order of Isabella the Catholic.[4]

Awards

• Order of Isabella the Catholic, Grand Cross. Granted by Juan Carlos I of Spain on 8 September 1989.[5]

Citations

1. "¿Qué proponen las parejas de los aspirantes?". El Universo (in Spanish). Guayaquil. 20 October 2002. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
2. de Gangotena y Jijón, Cristóbal (1955). "Los Guerrero" (in Spanish). Quito: National Academy of History. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
3. Pérez Pimentel, Rodolfo. "Rodrigo Borja Cevallos". diccionariobiograficoecuador.com (in Spanish). Guayaquil: Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
4. Escribano 2005, p. 303.
5. Agencia Estatal BOE. "III. Otras disposiciones" (PDF). boe.es (in Spanish). Madrid: Boletín Oficial del Estado Español. Retrieved 25 August 2016.

References

• Escribano Úbeda-Portugués, José (2005). La dimensión europea de la política exterior española hacia América latina – Política internacional de los primeros Gobiernos socialistas. Madrid: Editorial Visión Net. ISBN 84-9821-244-8.

Preceded by María Eugenia Cordovez

First Lady of Ecuador 1988-1992

Succeeded by Josefina Villalobos