Admiral Melendez ... trailblazer
Reuters/Caracas
Venezuela named a female admiral who had been a close aide to Hugo Chavez as its first woman defence minister on Friday in a ceremony at the military museum that houses the late socialist leader’s remains.
Carmen Melendez, who became the South American country’s first female admiral a year ago, takes over the defence ministry from Diego Molero. Until Friday, she was serving as minister in the office of the president.
“Here, where the remains of our commander lie, I have decided to name a new military high command,” President Nicolas Maduro said in a speech carried live on all local TV networks.
“I’ve decided to name a woman to head the defence ministry for the first time: Carmen Melendez, soldier of the fatherland.”
Melendez played a prominent role in Chavez’s administration. In October he gave her a broad mandate to carry out inspections of government departments and public works to investigate claims of inefficiency and corruption.