39 Facts About Margarita Zavala

Margarita Zavala is married to the former President of Mexico Felipe Calderon and served as the First Lady of Mexico during her husband's tenure.

Margarita Zavala was born on 25 July 1967 in Mexico City.

Margarita Zavala is the fifth of seven siblings: Diego Hildebrando, Mercedes, Pablo, Juan Ignacio, Rafael and Monica.

Margarita Zavala's father was a magistrate in the Tribunal Superior de Justicia del Distrito Federal.

Margarita Zavala attended the Instituto Asuncion, an academy run by nuns.

Margarita Zavala became a youth leader of the Partido Accion Nacional at age 17.

Margarita Zavala first met Felipe Calderon in 1984, when both were activists for the PAN party.

Margarita Zavala studied law at the Escuela Libre de Derecho, where she graduated with a 9.5 grade point average.

Margarita Zavala worked for the private law firms Estrada, Gonzalez y de Ovendo and Sodi y Asociados.

Margarita Zavala was a Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Federal District between 15 September 1994 and 14 September 1997.

Margarita Zavala was a professor at the Universidad Iberoamericana and taught law at the Instituto Asuncion, her high-school alma mater.

Margarita Zavala has been a national councilor for the National Action Party since 1991, and was the PAN's Legal Director of the National Executive Committee from 1993 to 1994.

Margarita Zavala was named by Luis Felipe Bravo Mena to head the Secretaria de Promocion Politica de la Mujer, which is the party's office for the promotion of the participation of women in politics, serving from 1999 to 2003.

Margarita Zavala was part of the transition team of Vicente Fox, advising on women's issues.

Margarita Zavala was a founding member of the Junta de Gobierno del Instituto Nacional de las Mujeres, which is the government office that works toward gender equality and elimination of discrimination and violence against women.

Margarita Zavala was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 2003, as part of the LIX Legislature of the Mexican Congress.

Margarita Zavala was nominated through the National Action Party's list under the principle of proportional representation.

Margarita Zavala served on three Chamber of Deputies commissions: Commission on Labor and Social Security, Commission on Justice and Human Rights, Commission on National Defense.

Margarita Zavala was a member on the Law Studies and Parliamentary Investigations Center Committee.

Margarita Zavala resigned in April 2006 to campaign for her husband's 2006 bid for the Mexican presidency.

Margarita Zavala is the only First Lady to have served in Congress, although she served as non-elected member through a position defined as plurinominal by the Mexican law.

Margarita Zavala served as president of the civic advisory board to the Desarrollo Integral de la Familia, a government agency that promotes child and family development.

Margarita Zavala supported organizations that fight drug addiction and others that help migrant children returning from the United States.

Margarita Zavala became a pledged organ and tissue donor upon death in 2009 to help promote organ donation in Mexico.

Margarita Zavala launched an anti-addiction program called Nueva Vida, which planned to have 310 centers nationwide as of 2011.

Margarita Zavala continued to hold influence in the PAN, with the election of Gustavo Madero Munoz for PAN presidency cited as an example of her lobbying.

Margarita Zavala was eyed as the possible leader of the National Action Party, as well as a potential presidential candidate in 2018, though in 2013 she declined both.

In September 2014, after two years as private citizen, Margarita Zavala revealed her intentions of becoming a candidate for the Chamber of Deputies.

In January 2015, Margarita Zavala formally registered as a pre-candidate for a term as a Federal Deputy, through the means of proportional representation in the fourth electoral region, stating that Mexico required a Congress capable of balancing power.

Margarita Zavala was backed by several members of her party, including former presidential candidate Josefina Vazquez Mota.

Margarita Zavala campaigned for various PAN candidates at municipal and state levels during the 2013,2015,2016 and 2017 election cycles.

On 14 June 2015, Margarita Zavala released a video announcing her desire to run as a presidential candidate in 2018.

Margarita Zavala was consistently the front runner in polls among likely PAN presidential candidates between March 2016 and April 2017.

Margarita Zavala released her 3de3 financial records in December 2016.

On 16 May 2018, Margarita Zavala publicly withdrew her name from the ticket, ending her presidential campaign.

Margarita Zavala was a proponent for constitutional amendments that would have allowed politicians to seek reelection.

Margarita Zavala opposes abortion; with her only political declaration during her time as First Lady being the condemnation of the legalization of abortion in Mexico City.

Margarita Zavala was criticized by the media, and was asked again to clarify her position on same-sex marriage which caused her to say she regretted having done that.

On 13 June 2012, Margarita Zavala underwent surgery in her right eye to avoid retinal detachment from an injury; she was submitted to emergency surgery following a retinal detachment on 18 October 2016.