Verónica Abad Rojas

Verónica Abad Rojas (born 14 November 1976) is an Ecuadorian business coach and politician who is the vice president of Ecuador following the second round of the 2023 general election. She was also an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Cuenca in 2023 and previously worked on international projects to support entrepreneurship for young people and women.

Early life
Veronica Abad was born in Cuenca. She belongs to a musician family, in which she spent her childhood practicing ballet, and playing musical instruments such as piano and violin.

Abad studied Business Administration, but did not finish her degree. Then she took some short courses about Entrepreneurship in Santiago de Chile, Political Strategy at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom in Gummersbach, Germany, and Innovation and Technology at the Friends of Zion Institute, Jerusalem.

Career
Abad began in politics when she participated at the 2006 Ecuadorian local elections. Later on, she became the founder of the Network of Women Directors and worked on international projects to support entrepreneurship, especially for young people and women.

Abad worked at the Secretary Against Child Malnutrition between 2020 and 2022.

In the 2023 Ecuadorian local elections, Abad was candidate for Mayor of Cuenca for the AMIGO Movement. In the general election later that year, Abad became the running mate of presidential candidate Daniel Noboa and they unexpectedly advanced to the run-off election. They were running under the National Democratic Action ticket.

Following her election as Vice President in 2023, Verónica Abad's first official role was a highly-charged one. President Daniel Noboa assigned her as a Special Envoy for Peace to Israel, tasked with facilitating dialogue and de-escalating tensions in the wake of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, effectively distancing her from his administration. On December 4, she was formally appointed by President Noboa as Ecuador's peace envoy to Israel. She arrived at the diplomatic mission on December 10.

Political positions
Abad opposes abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and 4th wave feminism. She says she defends freedom of religion, individual rights, private property, small government and free markets. She has also shown sympathy for politicians including Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro, and the far-right Spanish party Vox.

Personal life
Abad is a mother of three and grandmother. She is a Christian.