Alfredo Palacio

Born in Guayaquil, Palacio is a physician by profession, specializing in cardiology. He studied in his home town and, later, at Cleveland, Ohio, doing residency at Case Western Reserve University, followed by a two-year cardiology fellowship at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of MedicineinSt. Louis, Missouri. He later lectured in cardiology and public health at the University of Guayaquil's faculty of medicine.^{[citation needed]}

Palacio was chosen as Lucio Gutiérrez's running mate in the 2002 election. It was a common sight during the campaign to see Gutiérrez, dressed in his army fatigues, accompanied by Palacio, wearing surgical scrubs. Palacio previously was the minister for health during the administration of Sixto Durán Ballén. Many of the ministers he chose were from Ecuador's left.^{[citation needed]}

One of Palacio's first proposals made as president was to hold a Constitutional Assembly to amend Ecuador's 1998 Constitution. For a period of several months prior to assuming office, he had been a critic of the Gutiérrez regime, saying that the country was "falling apart" and in need of "intensive care".^{[citation needed]}

Rafael Correa was elected president in November 2006 and replaced Palacio as president on 15 January 2007.

Palacio was one of the candidates for the position of director-general of the World Health Organization, to be decided in a vote on 9 November 2006. However, on 18 October 2006, he announced he would not be pursuing the position, preferring to concentrate on his presidency until the last day of his mandate.^[2]

Palacio began his presidency with an approval rating of 53%. Palacio left office with a 29% approval rating, according to a CEDATOS survey.^[3]

• List of Case Western people
• Cesar Palacio, his cousin and a Toronto City Councillor
• Emilio Palacio, his brother and a persecuted journalist

• Presidencia de la República – Presidente Biography as president
• BBC Mundo | América Latina | ¿Quién es Alfredo Palacio? (BBC News)