Hortense Rabenjarivelo neé Rakotomena made history when she became the First President of the Court of Appeal of Antananarivo, Madagascar. She was born in 1951 and holds a Bachelor of Laws degree, specializing in trade, lease, and rents, provisional defense amongst others. Hortense was appointed as a judge of the First Instance Division of the COMESA Court of Justice in 2005 for an initial term of three years. Her tenure of office was renewed at the Thirteenth Summit of the COMESA Authority in 2009 and finally came to an end in 2015 after ten years of dedicated service. Other roles Judge Hortense has occupied include the Alternate President for the Succession Chamber Responsible for Matrimonial Systems, Contract, Civil and Criminal Cases, a judge in the Magistrates Court, and an advisor in the Antananarivo Court of Appeal.