Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The movements of the highest authority in government will never escape public attention. The way they interact, communicate, behave, and act will always be in the spotlight.
In fact, the public’s attention is never separated from the existence of a figure who is always around the country’s leaders, namely the First Lady. The designation for the wife or spouse of the president or prime minister becomes support behind the activities of a state leader.
As the number one woman in a country, many decisions or policies are taken with the intervention of the First Lady. They also often represent a country as a figure that protects the nation.
Unfortunately, there are several first ladies who do not even reflect these characteristics. It turns out that the practice of fraudulent corruption still drags on some of the big names of first ladies from several countries around the world. Who are they?
1. Imelda Marcos, Philippines
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Photo: AP/Alberto Marquez
FILE – Ferdinand Marcos, with his wife Imelda at his side and Ferdinand Marcos Jr., far right, gestures strongly from the balcony of Malacanang Palace on Feb. 25, 1986 in Manila, just after taking the oath of office as president of the Philippines. Marcos Jr., son of the late dictator and his running mate Sara, who is the daughter of the outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte, is leading pre-election surveys despite his family’s history. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez, File) |
Imelda Romualdez Marcos is a Filipino politician who served as First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986 and wife of 10th president Ferdinand Marcos. Imelda wielded significant political power during her husband’s dictatorship.
Born December 30, 1965 to February 25, 1986, Imelda Marcos is known for having a glamorous lifestyle when the Filipino people were suffering from poverty. Imelda Marcos is famous for her fantastic collection of luxury goods, including bags from the Hermes fashion house, which are famous for fantastic prices. Besides bags, he also has a collection of watches, jewelry, shoes, luxury cars, and more.
According to People newspaper journalist Roger Wolmuth, Imelda always spends millions of dollars every trip abroad. “She bought sheets for US$10,340, cutlery for US$43,370, napkins for US$19,400,” Walmoth wrote.
He is also known to have vacationed in New York and bought the 66-floor Woolworth Story skyscraper Herald Center for $60 million (Rp. 800 billion).
Not only that, during her husband’s reign, the period was filled with cases of corruption, kidnappings and murders of her political opponents. Finally in 1986 Ferdinand Marcos was forced out of office by a protest action by more than 1 million citizens known as the People Power Revolution.
2. Rosmah Mansor, Malaysia
 Photo: REUTERS/Athit PerawongmethaFILE PHOTO: Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak of Barisan Nasional (National Front) and his wife Rosmah Mansor show their ink-stained fingers after voting in Malaysia’s general election in Pekan, Pahang, Malaysia, May 9, 2018. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo |
Rosmah Mansor is the wife of Najib Razak, a former prime minister of Malaysia who is currently in prison for corruption. She was the First Lady of Malaysia from 3 April 2009 to 10 May 2018.
On September 1, Rosmah was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined RM970 million (US$216 million) after being found guilty of participating in corruption.
The 70-year-old woman was charged with soliciting RM187.5 million in bribes from contractor Saidi Abang Samsudin in 2016 and 2017 so that her company Jepak Holdings could secure a RM1.25 billion government project to supply solar energy to 369 rural schools in Sarawak.
3. Sara Netanyahu, Israel
 Pictured: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara wave as Netanyahu speaks after the announcement of opinion polls in Israeli parliamentary elections at the party’s headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel April 10, 2019. (REUTERS/Ammar Awad) |
Sara Netanyahu is the wife of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel. She was the First Lady of Israel from 31 March 2009 to 13 June 2021.
In June 2018, Sara Netanyahu was first indicted in a breach of trust fraud case for misusing state funds to pay for US$100,000 worth of food on the grounds that there was no food available at the prime minister’s official residence.
In addition, Sara Netanyahu was fined 10 thousand shekels (Rp. 39.7 million), must return state funds of 45,000 shekels (Rp. 178.7 million), then Sara will return the money in nine installments.
4. Rosa Elena Bonilla de Lobo, Honduras
Rosa Elena Bonilla de Lobo is the wife of a former Honduran president, Porfirio Lobo Sosa. The husband managed to become president through a military coup that at that time succeeded in overthrowing President Manuel Zelaya.
Last September, Rosa was sentenced to 14 years in prison for being found guilty of corruption.
She embezzled more than US$1 million in government funds between 2010 and 2014, when her husband Porfirio Lobo was president. Last year, the United States government banned former president Lobo from entering the country because of drug trafficking allegations.
5.Grace Mugabe, Zimbabwe
Full name Grace Ntombizodwa Mugabe, she is the wife of the former president of Zimbabwe, namely Robert Mugabe. Grace is one of at least 132 people accused of illegal transactions on state land.
Grace had a reputation as a first lady who lived a lavish lifestyle, at a time when Zimbabwe was living below the poverty line due to a hyperinflationary economic crisis. At that time, the value of the currency there was worthless because US $ 1 is equal to 35 Quadrillion (ZWR 35,000,000,000,000,000) or 35,000 trillion Zimbabwean dollars.
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