| Lorena Ponce de León | |
| Office: | First Lady of Uruguay |
| Birth Date: | 6 October 1976 |
| Mainwidth: | Lorena Ponce de León Núñez |
| Birth Place: | Montevideo, Uruguay |
| Party: | National Party |
| Termlabel: | In role |
| Termstart: | 1 March 2020 |
| Termend: | 17 June 2024 Suspended: 22 May 2022 – 17 June 2024 |
| Children: | 3 |
| Predecessor: | María Auxiliadora Delgado (2019) |
| Successor: | Vacant |
| President: | Luis Lacalle Pou |
| Birth Name: | Lorena Ponce de León Núñez |
Lorena Ponce de León Núñez (born 6 October 1976) is an Uruguayan landscape architect. She was the wife of Luis Lacalle Pou, who serves as the 42nd president of Uruguay.
She was born on 6 October 1976[1] in Montevideo, as the daughter of a Batllist mother and a father with little connection to politics.[2] She was raised in La Blanqueada, Montevideo, where she lived until being 9 years old, and then she moved with her parents to Carrasco. She attended the German School and the Scuola Italiana.[3]
She graduated from Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the Universidad de la Empresa with a Forest Technician degree. She also studied Forest Technician at the Professor Julio Muñoz School of Gardening.[3] She graduated from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the Universidad de la Empresa as a Forestry Technician and studied Forestry Technician at the School of Gardening Prof. Julio E. Muñoz.[4]
In March 2020, she launched Sembrando, a program that aims to support entrepreneurs after the health crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.[5] The program makes it possible to consult with experts in the area and helps to connect entrepreneurs with institutions related to the topic of their entrepreneurship.[6] [7] She herself reported on April 7 that 1,460 people had signed up.[8]
Ponce de León is a hockey player. In November 1989, Ponce de León met with Luis Lacalle Pou at a youth gathering to celebrate the victory of Lacalle Pou's father Luis Lacalle Herrera as President of Uruguay.[2] Ten years later, they met again and began dating.[9] They were married in 2000, in a service conducted by Daniel Sturla in the Montevideo Metropolitan Cathedral.[10] Together, they have three children: Luis Alberto, Violeta and Manuel. Luis and Violeta are the first twins born by IVF in Uruguay.
On 6 May 2022, she announced the separation from her husband.[11] [12] The couple divorced in June 2024.[13]