María Isabel Rodríguez

María Isabel Rodríguez (born November 5, 1922) is a Salvadoran physician, academic, and government official. In 1956, she became one of the first group of four women to enter the Legislative Assembly. From 1999 to 2007, she was the rector of the University of El Salvador. She was appointed El Salvador's Minister of Health in 2009, a position she held until 2014.

Early life Rodríguez was born in San Salvador, El Salvador, on November 5, 1922. She earned her medical degree from the University of El Salvador in 1949 (despite being warned by the dean against joining such a "man's profession"). She completed postgraduate degrees in cardiology and physiological sciences in Mexico.

Political career In May 1956, she was elected to the Legislative Assembly, one of the first four women to enter the Legislative Assembly. However, she resigned from the Legislative Assembly in January 1957.

In 2009, she was appointed Minister of Health of El Salvador. Rodriguez has been credited for her role in establishing healthcare reform in that country.

At the end of her term in 2014, she was named Presidential Advisor on Health and Education, working to achieve universal health coverage and universal high-quality education in her country. From 1985 to 1994, she worked as a consultant for the International Health Training Program, based in Washington, D.C.