Cristina Kirchner (born February 19, 1953) is an Argentine lawyer and the current President of Argentina. She is the wife of former President Nestor Kirchner. Before she became president, she was a Senator for Buenos Aires and First Lady during her husband's term. She swept to power in October 2007. She crushed the other candidates, with a 22% lead over her nearest rival.

 

Kirchner briefly started out in politics in the 1970s. However, due to the authoritarian rule in her country, she dropped out to practice law. She re-entered politics in the late 1980s and in 1995, she became a senator. She was a guiding light behind her husband’s successful presidential campaign in 2003. She gained a reputation for being a strong speaker and won many admirers.

 

Kirchner is Argentina's second female president. She is the first wife in any country’s history to be elected to succeed her husband as leader. She is often compared to Eva ‘Evita’ Peron but always rejects the comparisons. She once said the only similarity is "the hair in a bun and the clenched fist before a microphone".

 

Kirchner immediately faced some mighty challenges upon taking power. She had to tackle high inflation, unions demanding higher salaries, corruption, and a credit crisis. She introduced some very unpopular taxes and her popularity nosedived. A poll taken in April 2008 showed her disapproval rating was at 61.8%. She needs to dig deep to turn around her country’s economy and her own political fortunes.