Spain's Defense Minister Becomes a Mother.

Spain's first female defense minister, whose pregnancy became a symbol of Spain's new commitment to sexual equality, began maternity leave Tuesday after giving birth to a boy. The decision to appoint Carme Chacon, 37, defense minister in April raised eyebrows in Spain, a traditionally macho society whose new sexual equality laws placed the country, at least on paper, at the vanguard of Europe. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero named Ms. Chacon to Spain's first female-dominated cabinet, in which nine of 17 members are women. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]