, mistress of Bolívar, known as the
Liberator of the Liberator. The use of the title
First lady to describe the wife or hostess of an executive originated in the United States. Meanwhile, in the early days of the republic in
Colombia, there was no generally accepted title for the president's wife. Although the president's wife already acted as
hostess of San Carlos Palace, the title is often described as existing only in a tactical sense. However, many of the wives of presidents in the states that preceded present-day Colombia were addressed according to their social or familial position, and were often called "Doña," "Lady," or "Mrs.
de [''President's Last Name'']." , wife of the 1st President of Colombia
Rafael Núñez. Shortly after 1949, the title began to be used in Bogotá's social circles. The first person addressed with this title during her presidency was
Bertha Hernández de Ospina, wife of
Mariano Ospina Pérez. The national radio station
Radio Nacional de Colombia used the phrase to describe her during its live coverage of that year's presidential inauguration, in which her family and her role in her husband's political career were discussed. Another known early written example comes from Helen Delpar's 1900 article,
Red Against Blue: The Liberal Party in Colombian Politics, 1863 – 1899," in which she referred to
Rafael Núñez's political reforms and the influence of "the First Lady of Colombia," referring to
Soledad Román de Núñez. The title gained national recognition for the first time in 1956, when Cromos magazine continued to refer to presidents' wives as "the First Lady of the Nation" in its articles about the presidential inauguration.
Non-spouse in the role The title can be held officially by a woman not the wife of a president, to date only a woman not the wife of a president has served as first lady, this happens when the president is single or widowed, or when the president's wife cannot fulfill the duties of first lady. In this case, the position has been occupied by a relative of the president, such as
María Antonia Suárez, daughter of
Marco Fidel Suárez.
Potential male title Each of the 37 presidents of Colombia have been men, and all have either had their wives, or a female hostess, assume the role of first lady. Thus, a male equivalent of the title of first lady has never been needed. In 2002, as
Noemí Sanín became the second woman to win a major party's presidential nomination, questions were raised as to what her husband Javier Aguirre would be titled if she were to win the presidency. During the campaign, the title of
First Gentleman of Colombia was most frequently suggested for Javier Aguirre. In addition, regional leaders' male spouses are typically called the first gentleman of their respective place (for example, Óscar Palacio was the first gentleman of San Andrés, while his wife,
Susanie Davis, served as governor). Ultimately, Noemí Sanín lost the
election, rendering this a moot point. In 2018,
Marta Lucía Ramírez took office as vice president, making her husband
Álvaro Rincón the first male spouse of a nationally elected officeholder in Colombia. Rincón assumed the title of
second gentleman of Colombia ("gentleman" replacing "lady" in the title) making it likely that any future male spouse of a president will be given the title of first gentleman. ==Role==