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Alejandro Maldonado

Alejandro Maldonado
Official portrait, 2015
49th President of Guatemala
Acting
In office 3 September 2015 – 14 January 2016
Vice President	Alfonso Fuentes
Preceded by	Otto Pérez Molina
Succeeded by	Jimmy Morales
14th Vice President of Guatemala
In office 14 May 2015 – 3 September 2015
President	Otto Pérez Molina
Preceded by	Roxana Baldetti
Succeeded by	Alfonso Fuentes
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 6 June 1993 – 14 January 1996
President	Ramiro de León Carpio
Preceded by	Gonzalo Menéndez
Succeeded by	Eduardo Stein
Minister of Education
In office 1 July 1970 – 1 July 1974
President	Carlos Arana Osorio
Preceded by	Carlos Martínez Durán
Succeeded by	Guillermo Putzeys
Additional positions Deputy of the Central American Parliament In office 27 January 2016 – 14 January 2020 Serving with Alfonso Fuentes Soria President Jimmy Morales Preceded by Álvaro Colom Succeeded by Jimmy Morales Constituency Former President of Guatemala Member of the Court of Constitutionality of Guatemala In office 14 April 2006 – 14 May 2015 Nominated by Congress of Guatemala Preceded by Nery Saúl Dighero Herrera Succeeded by Gloria Patricia Porras In office 14 April 1996 – 14 April 2001 Nominated by Supreme Court of Justice Preceded by Edmundo Vásquez Martínez Succeeded by Rodolfo Rohrmoser In office 9 June 1986 – 14 April 1991 Nominated by Vinicio Cerezo Preceded by Position established Succeeded by Josefina Vargas de Machado First Vice President of the Congress of Guatemala In office 14 January 2005 – 14 January 2006 Serving with Roxana Baldetti and Leonel Rodríguez President Jorge Méndez Herbruger Preceded by Rubén Darío Morales Veliz Succeeded by Oliverio García Rodas Deputy of the Congress of Guatemala In office 1 July 1966 – 1 July 1970 1 July 1984 – 1 July 1986 14 January 2004 – 14 April 2006 Constituency National List
Personal details
Born	Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre (1936-01-06) 6 January 1936 (age 88) Guatemala City, Guatemala
Political party	National Liberation Movement (Before 1978) National Renewal Party (1978–1990) Unionist Party (2002–2006) Independent (2006–present)
Other political affiliations	National Opposition Union (1982)
Spouse	Ana Fagianni de Maldonado
Cabinet	Cabinet of Alejandro Maldonado
Signature

Alejandro Baltazar Maldonado Aguirre (born January 6, 1936) is a Guatemalan statesman who served as the acting president of Guatemala following the Congress' acceptance of the resignation of President Otto Pérez Molina on September 3, 2015.^[1]

He was elected as vice president by Congress on May 14, 2015, after his predecessor, Roxana Baldetti, resigned amid allegations of corruption. Before becoming vice president, he served as a constitutional judge, congressional deputy, ambassador to the United Nations, and political leader, including a failed presidential bid in 1982.^[2][3] He was Minister of Education from 1970 to 1974 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 1996.

Early life and political activities[edit]

Born in Guatemala City, Maldonado graduated from San Carlos University with a degree in law.^[4]

Since the 1960s, he was a member of the far-right National Liberation Movement political party (Movimiento de Liberacion Nacional or MLN), alleged to have started the use of death squads against communists. He was also Minister of Education under the military regime of Arana Osorio (1970–1974) and defended Guatemala before the United Nations when the international community isolated the military regime of Lucas García (1978–1982) for its gross human rights violations.

In the 1980s, he formed the National Renewal Party and joined a coalition with Guatemalan Christian Democracy in the 1982 election. Maldonado placed third in a blatantly rigged election, which he may have won had the contest been free and fair,^[5] which was followed by a military coup. In 1985, he was again a presidential candidate for his party but placed seventh out of eight candidates and had only one seat in Congress. He would continue to hold numerous public posts, including that of Foreign Minister.

Later, Maldonado served as a judge on the Constitutional Court judge on three occasions.^{[citation needed]}

One week after his appointment as Vice President in May 2015, protesters sought his resignation because he had overturned the guilty verdict in the Ríos Montt trial.^[6]

Public positions held[edit]

• 1956: Member of the Guatemala City Council
• 1966–1970: Congressional deputy, for the National Liberation Movement
• 1970–1974: Minister of Education (under President Arana Osorio)
• 1974–1976: Ambassador to the United Nations (New York City)
• 1978–1980: Ambassador to the United Nations (Geneva)
• 1984–1986: Deputy to the National Constituent Assembly
• 1986–1991: Magistrate of the Constitutional Court (incl. 1989–1991, President)
• 1991–1995: Ambassador to Mexico
• 1995–1996: Minister of Foreign Affairs (under President de León Carpio)
• 1996–2001: Magistrate of the Constitutional Court (incl. 1997–1998, President)
• 2004–2006: Congressional deputy, for the Unionist Party
• 2006–2011: Magistrate of the Constitutional Court (incl. 2006–2007, President)
• 2015: Vice President of the Republic
• 2015: President of the Republic

Vice President of Guatemala[edit]

Maldonado served as Vice President of Guatemala from his selection to the position following the resignation of Roxana Baldetti on May 14, 2015, until his accession as president on September 3, 2015.

President of Guatemala[edit]

Maldonado, as vice president, became acting president of Guatemala on September 3, 2015, upon the confirmation by the Congress of Guatemala of the resignation of President Otto Pérez Molina.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alejandro Maldonado.

• Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre: el nuevo Presidente de Guatemala
• Former Constitutional Court Judge Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre Appointed Vice President
• Congressional résumé
• Biography by CIDOB (in Spanish)