Marta Linares de Martinelli

Who is Marta Linares de Martinelli?

Marta Linares de Martinelli became the First Lady of Panama on July 1, 2009, when her husband, supermarket magnate, Ricardo Martinelli became President of Panama. On January 29, 2014 she was chosen to compete for Vice-President of Panama alongside Jose Domingo Arias running for President but lost.

Linares was born in Panama City, Panama. She earned a Bachelor's degree in commerce in the US, at Saint Mary of the Woods College in Indiana. She later studied insurance brokerage at the University of Panama. In 1978, she married supermarket chain owner Ricardo Martinelli, with whom she had three children: Ricardo Alberto, Luis Enrique, and Carolina Elizabeth.