Martha Beatriz Merino Lucero (LLM, 1972) became Peru’s first female prime minister in 2003. She was subsequently National Ombudsman for Peru until 2011. She is currently a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, a body of current and former women presidents and prime ministers. Born in Peru in 1947, she studied law at the National University of San Marcos and later at LSE and Harvard University, where she also graduated with a LLM. She joined Procter & Gamble but later established a law firm in Peru. From 1990 to 1992 she was a Peruvian Senator and from 1995 to 2000 a member of Congress, chairing the Environment Committee and the Women’s Rights Committee. She was the Director of the Women’s Leadership Programme at the Inter-American Development Bank and until 2025 was executive president of the César Vallejo University.