WHAT’S THE STORY?

URUGUAY has welcomed its first female vice-president – a former guerilla fighter who undertook a Shawshank Redemption-style prison break and was nicknamed “the Tree Trunk”.

Lucia Topolansky was given the title “La Tronca” due to her tough reputation.

Earlier this week the 72-year-old became the first woman to take the high-ranking position in her capacity as senator for the centre-left to left-wing coalition Broad Front.

WAS SHE VOTED IN?

NO, Topolansky took the role after previous incumbent Jose Sendic stood down amid corruption claims.

According to the country’s constitution, as the senator with the highest number of votes in the previous election, former president Jose Mujica should have taken his place.

However, he could not do so due to rules against presidential re-election, leaving Topolansky – his wife – the next eligible candidate.

The change means she will now also lead the country’s senate.

The promotion comes almost seven years after Topolansky became Uruguay’s acting president for two days while Mujica and his vice president were out of the country.

WHAT ABOUT HER GUERILLA PAST?

RAISED in the comfort of a wealthy family, Topolansky joined the armed Marxist Tupamaro movement in the 1960s.

The left-wing insurgency was named after Inca rebel Tupac Amaru, who headed an indigenous revolt against the Spanish colonial powers in 1780.

With its membership made up of students, farm workers and assorted others, the group stole from banks and businesses to redistribute cash and goods to the country’s poor.

It went on to stage kidnappings, including that of UK ambassador Geoffrey Jackson, who was held for eight months, and also attacked the military and political opponents. Mujica was also a member.

WHAT DID SHE DO?

TOPOLANSKY orchestrated an armed raid on private banking institution Monty Financial House in 1969, taking papers to prove financial wrongdoing, as well as cash.

She has refused to comment on claims that she was one of the Tupamaro’s leading markswomen.

AND WHAT’S THIS SHAWSHANK CONNECTION?

TOPOLANSKY was one of almost 40 political prisoners who escaped from the Carcel Cabildo women’s prison in 1971.

The group spent 45 minutes making their way through the sewer system before reaching a tunnel that had been made leading them to a safe house.

The escape is similar to that by Andy Dufresne in the 1994 US movie, who emerged from the sewers to freedom. But, unlike Dufresne, Topolansky’s liberty did not last – she was recaptured months later and held in solitary confinement for several years.

The period saw her separated from Mujica for more than a decade as they were kept in different facilities.

Topolansky was just 19 at the time of the escape, and had helped plan and execute the scheme and endured torture following her recapture.

Freedom finally came with the return of democracy in 1985, when the couple were amongst guerillas granted amnesties.

WHAT IS SHE LIKE NOW?

AFTER her release from jail, Topolansky co-founded the Movement for People’s Participation (MPP), which joined allies in Broad Front.

Mujica called his partner and long-term collaborator his “hard drive” for her political skills and, since entering politics, she has prioritised law-making over the pomp and ceremony of high office. As Uruguay’s first lady, she and Mujica chose to remain in their flower farm rather than move into the official presidential residence, drawing their water from a well and working the land themselves.

In a 2013 interview, she said she sought “public happiness” and called the couple’s lifestyle “austere”, saying: “It suits us. We have fewer worries, fewer problems.”

WHAT’S NEXT?

TOPOLANSKY will again become her country’s temporary leader on Monday when President Tabare Vazquez heads to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

The pair have already held their initial talks at the presidential palace.