Justine Pasek

Yostin Lissette "Justine" Pasek Patiño is a Panamanian model, and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 2002. Originally the first runner-up at the Miss Universe 2002 competition, Pasek became the first ever runner-up to be crowned the winner after the removal of original winner Oxana Fedorova.

Early life
Pasek was born in Kharkiv, USSR, to a Panamanian mother and a Polish father; her mother was a homemaker, while her father was an engineer. Despite her birth name being Yostin, Pasek was raised being affectionately referred to by her Polish name Justyna. She is the eldest of three children. The family resided in Soviet Ukraine for one year, and later moved to the village of Wożuczyn, near Zamość in southeastern Poland, close to the border with Ukraine. After her mother finished her studies in chemistry, the family left Poland and settled in Panama City, where Pasek was raised.

She has been the image model of numerous international brands and is a Goodwill Ambassador of FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). In 2016, Pasek is the co-owner of the Señorita Panamá Organization and new national director for Miss Universe.

Career


Pasek's start in the modelling world took place when she joined the "Chica Modelo" (a model search) contest in 1996 where she won the award for Best Editorial Model. It also gave her the chance to work for Physical Modelos, her official modeling agency as of today.

Pageantry


After participating in the national contest Señorita Panamá 2001 on August 30, 2001; she won the Señorita Panamá Universe title, and represented her country at Miss Universe 2002, at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, Puerto Rico on May 29, 2002. She finished as first runner-up.

Four months after the pageant, Pasek became the first woman to assume the crown when the reigning Miss Universe Oxana Fedorova was removed by the organization for not fulfilling the duties stipulated in her contract. Pasek became the first Panamanian and Central American Miss Universe.

Pasek was formally crowned Miss Universe 2002 by then pageant co-owner Donald Trump in New York City. Pasek also received the Mikimoto Crown worth $250,000 in addition to an extensive prize package. As Miss Universe, Pasek represented the Miss Universe Organization. A self-described "citizen of the world", Pasek has since traveled to Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Egypt, Aruba, Ecuador, Peru, Cuba, Canada, Mexico, and the United States. She championed the cause against HIV/AIDS and established the first HIV/AIDS prevention center in her country. As part of her year-long reign as Miss Universe, she lived in New York City in a riverside apartment provided by the Miss Universe Organization. She worked with the Global Health Council, the Harvard AIDS Institute, AmFAR, and the Centers for Disease Control's "Act Now" campaign.