Josie Fitial
| Josie Fitial | |
|---|---|
Josie Fitial in 2009
|
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| First Lady of the Northern Mariana Islands | |
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In role January 9, 2006 – February 20, 2013 |
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| Preceded by | Diane Babauta |
| Succeeded by | Dolores Inos |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 25, 1962 Gapan, Nueva Ecija, Philippines |
| Political party | Covenant |
| Spouse(s) | Benigno Fitial |
| Children | 2 children; 4 stepchildren |
| Alma mater | University of the East-Recto |
Josepina "Josie" Padiermos Fitial (born November 25, 1962) is the former First Lady of the Northern Mariana Islands and the wife of former Governor Benigno Fitial. She became First Lady upon the inauguration of her husband as the 7th Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands on January 9, 2006.
Fitial, who is nicknamed Josie, was born Josepina Padiermos, in 1962 in Gapan, Nueva Ecija, the Philippines. She was the oldest child of four children of a poor family. She earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of the East in Manila.
Padiermos moved to the Northern Mariana Islands in 1983 to financially support her family in the Philippines. There she met her future husband, Benigno Fitial, a politician, while working as a waitress on Saipan. The couple later married and had two children, Patrick and Christina, in addition to Benigno Fitial's four children from a previous marriage, Jason, Cathy, Junella and Julie.
Benigno Fitial would later serve as the Speaker of the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives and the Governor of the CNMI beginning in 2006. Josie Fitial became First Lady of the Northern Mariana Islands when her husband took office on January 9, 2006.
Fitial has placed emphasis on programs and initiatives relating to education, health care, recycling and the environment, as well as children, students and the elderly. She has been named an honorary goodwill ambassador of the Red Cross, CNMI Chapter, and is a former member of the CNMI Lions Clubs International.
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