Martha Hildebrandt

{{Short description|Peruvian politician and linguist (1925–2022)}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Martha Hildebrandt

| image = Martha Hildebrandt 4.jpg

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1925|1|13|df=y}}

| birth_place = La Libertad, Peru

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|2022|12|8|1925|1|13}}

| death_place = Miraflores District, Lima, Peru

| office3 = President of Congress

| term_start3 = 27 July 1999

| term_end3 = 13 November 2000

| predecessor3 = Víctor Joy Way

| successor3 = Luz Salgado

| party = New Majority

}}

Martha Luz Hildebrandt Pérez-Treviño ({{IPA|es|ˌmaɾ.ð̞a ˌlus il̪.d̪eˌβ̞ɾãn̪d̪ð̞ ˌpe.ɾes t̪ɾeˈβ̞i.ɲo}}; 13 January 1925 – 8 December 2022) was a Peruvian linguist and Fujimorist politician. She was first elected to Congress in 1995 and, in 1999, she became the second woman to serve as President of the Congress of the Republic of Peru (following Martha Chávez's term in 1995–1996).

Education

In 1942, Hildebrandt studied education and literature simultaneously at the National University of San Marcos. In 1952, she studied Structural Linguistics at Northwestern University in Illinois, United States, and subsequently Descriptive Linguistics at the University of Oklahoma, also in the United States.{{Cite web|title=Martha Luz Hildebrandt Pérez Treviño|url=http://www4.congreso.gob.pe/congresista/2006/mhildebrandt/_hoja-vida.htm|access-date=5 November 2020|website=www4.congreso.gob.pe}}{{Cite web|title=Martha Luz Hildebrandt Pérez Treviño|url=http://www.asale.org/academicos/martha-luz-hildebrandt-perez-trevino|access-date=5 November 2020|website=www.asale.org|language=es}}

Career

From 1947 to 1953, Hildebrandt worked at the National University of San Marcos as a teacher. Then she traveled to Venezuela, where she worked in linguistics at the Department of Justice of Venezuela. In 1962, she returned to the National University of San Marcos as a professor and remained there until 1973. From 1972 until 1976, she was also the General Director of the National Institute of Culture.

= Linguistics =

From 1974 to 1978, she held important positions in the Organization of American States (OAS) and in UNESCO, in the area of linguistics.

Political career

Martha Hildebrandt was a local linguist who was well known to the broad Peruvian public, though she spoke neither Quechua nor Aymara. She was the Perpetual Secretary of the Academia Peruana de la Lengua from 1993 to 2005. Her numerous books on subjects related to the Spanish Language are extensively quoted.

Hildebrandt's political life began in 1994 with her professional relationship with Alberto Fujimori. In the general elections of 1995, she was chosen by Cambio 90-Nueva Mayoría to run for Congress and won a seat in the legislature. When the general elections of 2000 approached and Alberto Fujimori sought re-election, she defended the controversial project, along with Martha Chávez, Luz Salgado and Carmen Lozada.

In 1999, she was chosen as President of Congress,{{Cite web|url=http://www.congreso.gob.pe/participacion/museo/congreso/presidentes/Martha_Hildebrandt_a|title = Martha Luz Hildebrandt Pérez-Treviño}} and in 2000 she was reaffirmed in the position. When the regime of Alberto Fujimori began to collapse, Hildebrandt was removed from the position to "avoid to be closely tied to the regime" after holding the post for 48 hours only.{{Cite news|last=Mccaughan|first=Michael|title=Peru confirms new interim president|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/peru-confirms-new-interim-president-1.1117299|access-date=6 August 2020|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en}}{{Cite quote|date=March 2009}}

She was replaced by First Vice-president Luz Salgado, and then – after two disputed elections between government supporters and opposition – Valentín Paniagua Corazao (Accion Popular) was chosen temporarily as the new President of Congress and therefore became the Transitional President of the Republic after Fujimori's resignation.

In the general election of 2001, she was not elected; Luz Salgado was her replacement in the Congress of the Republic as Salgado was suspended from Congress. Already in the general election of 2006, advanced with the number 2 to the Congress and was chosen in the third voting inside Alianza para el Futuro, a coalition of Fujimorists and she was elected. In the 2011 general election, she lost her seat when she ran for re-election under the Fuerza 2011 party, marking the end of her political career.

In August 2006, Hildebrandt criticized two congresswomen from Cusco, Hilaria Supa and María Sumire, for being sworn in before Congress in their native language Quechua on 25 July 2006. Hildebrandt demanded Spanish should be used as the only language in Congress.[https://web.archive.org/web/20120308035357/http://www.iglesiametodista.org.pe/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50%3A-lengua-quechua-del-miedo-y-desprecio-al-respeto-y-visibilizaci&catid=47%3Anacionales&Itemid=70 Dina Ludeña Cebrián: Lengua quechua - del miedo y desprecio al respeto y visibilización.][http://elcomercio.pe/EdicionImpresa/Html/2006-09-01/ImEcCronicas0569327.html Mayra Castillo: En el nombre del quechua. El Comercio, 31 de marzo de 2007] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509201711/http://elcomercio.pe/EdicionImpresa/Html/2006-09-01/ImEcCronicas0569327.html |date=9 May 2012 }} The Congress, however, decided translations from Quechua and other indigenous languages should be taken into account for all sessions.[http://elcomercio.pe/EdicionImpresa/Html/2006-08-05/ImEcPolitica0553305.html Se traducirá el quechua en el hemiciclo. El Comercio, 5 de agosto de 2006] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509201723/http://elcomercio.pe/EdicionImpresa/Html/2006-08-05/ImEcPolitica0553305.html |date=9 May 2012 }}

Death

Hildebrandt died at her home in Miraflores on 8 December 2022, at the age of 97.{{Cite web |last=PERU21 |first=NOTICIAS |date=8 December 2022 |title=¿De qué murió Martha Hildebrandt a los 97 años en su casa de Miraflores hoy 8 de diciembre? RAE lingüista {{!}} política peruana {{!}} CULTURA |url=https://peru21.pe/cultura/de-que-murio-martha-hildebrandt-a-los-97-anos-en-su-casa-de-miraflores-hoy-8-de-diciembre-rae-linguista-politica-peruana-noticia/ |access-date=8 December 2022 |website=Peru21 |language=es}}{{Cite web |last=PERÚ |first=NOTICIAS EL COMERCIO |date=8 December 2022 |title=Martha Hildebrandt: lingüista peruana y excongresista falleció a los 97 años {{!}} LUCES |url=https://elcomercio.pe/luces/libros/martha-hildebrandt-linguista-peruana-y-excongresista-fallecio-a-los-97-anos-noticia/ |access-date=8 December 2022 |website=El Comercio Perú |language=es}}