Michelle Suárez Bértora

Suarez was sworn into the Uruguayan senate in October 2017, becoming the first transgender senator in the nation's history. In December 2017, Suarez resigned her seat in the senate after she was found guilty in a criminal investigation of forging legal documents while working as an attorney.

Suárez was a member of, and the legal adviser to, the organization "Ovejas Negras" (Black Sheep), an LGBT rights organization. She joined in 2010, shortly after the death of her mother. Working was cathartic for dealing with her grief and she immediately set out to draft the equal marriage proposal, which was presented to Congress in 2011. The bill initially passed the Senate in 2012 and after review by the judicial committee received final approval in 2013.

Michelle Suárez Bértora (21 February 1983 – 22 April 2022) was a Uruguayan activist, lawyer, lecturer, politician, and writer. She was Uruguay's first transgender university graduate, first trans lawyer, and first transgender person elected to office.

Michelle Suárez Bértora was born 21 February 1983 in Salinas, Canelones Department, Uruguay. She transitioned at the age of 15 with the support of her mother. Studious, she followed her dream and became an attorney. Suárez went to primary and secondary school in Salinas before entering university in 2004. After six years of study, and a legal transition to allow her to graduate with her proper gender, Suárez earned her doctorate. She was the first (and only) trans-woman to become a lawyer in Uruguay graduating in 2010 from the University of the Republic as the first transgender person to complete university studies in the country. In 2014, she also became the first transgender person elected to the Uruguayan legislature.