,type=downsize)
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen made history as the first woman to be elected to the Federal Congress, leaving a lasting impact on the Hispanic community in the United States. With over four decades of experience in public service, she focused on foreign policy, leveraging her expertise to advocate for the rights of migrants, older adults, and the LGBT community.
Her advocacy extended to the people of Cuba, a cause close to her heart as a refugee who arrived in North America at eight. Born in Havana, Cuba, Ileana is the daughter of Amanda and Enrique Ros, a noted Cuban historian and activist exiled during the revolution. Her early years in the United States were marked by the challenges typical of a migrant child. "I came here to the United States when I was eight years old, without knowing any English," she confessed a few years ago in an interview with Univisión.
From a young age, she was exposed to politics, thanks to her father's profession, which greatly influenced her life and of which she was always proud. She attended Florida International University, earning a bachelor's and master's in Education. After graduating, she established a private school, Academia del Este.
In 1982, she entered American politics by being elected to the state's House of Representatives, which welcomed her as a refugee. "I think the adaptation was more difficult for my parents than for me because I was eight. I remember that trip from Havana to Miami; I remember my mother crying all the time, and my brother and I were saying, "Why is she crying?" she revealed in a chat with Telemundo a couple of years ago.
In 1986, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen made history by becoming the first Latina elected to the Florida Senate. Following this, she won a special election to fill the vacant seat by Congressman Claude Pepper's passing. On August 29, 1989, she achieved another milestone by becoming the first Hispanic woman to be elected as a representative of zone-18 in the United States Congress.Throughout her career, Ileana has demonstrated a strong commitment to the Hispanic population, particularly in South Miami, where over 67% of the community is Hispanic. Significant achievements have marked her political journey despite facing numerous challenges.
"The biggest obstacle was that, for my first contest, I had a racist opponent, who was anti-Latino," she recalled about her first popular election, which she won, even though the panorama was not in her favor I never thought, not even remotely, that I would be in the United States Congress, I was a teacher, I had my school," she recalled.
Ileana was in Congress longer than any other Florida legislator. In December 2018, she announced her retirement as a congresswoman to dedicate her days to consulting. "It has been the greatest honor," she said. Although the Republican fought tirelessly for the people of the country where she was born, in her retirement, she confessed what had been her only pending task in politics:
"Not seeing the day of freedom for the Cuban people, that hurts."
Having become one of the most prominent Hispanics in the United States, Ileana has become a great inspiration for all the women who, like her, came to North America with a suitcase full of dreams: "The girls are going to say: 'Oh look, I can be in the Supreme Court, I can be the President of the United States.'"