José Mujica
40th president of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
José Alberto "Pepe" Mujica Cordano (Spanish: [xoˈse muˈxika]; born 20 May 1935) is a Uruguayan politician, former revolutionary and farmer who served as the 40th president of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015.[1] A former guerrilla with the Tupamaros, he was tortured and imprisoned for 14 years during the military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s. A member of the Broad Front coalition of left-wing parties, Mujica was Minister of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries from 2005 to 2008 and a Senator afterwards. As the candidate of the Broad Front, he won the 2009 presidential election and took office as president on 1 March 2010. He was the Second Gentleman of Uruguay from 13 September 2017 to 1 March 2020, when his wife Lucia Topolansky was vice president under his immediate predecessor and successor, Tabaré Vázquez.
José Mujica | |
---|---|
40th President of Uruguay | |
In office 1 March 2010 – 1 March 2015 | |
Vice President | Danilo Astori |
Preceded by | Tabaré Vázquez |
Succeeded by | Tabaré Vázquez |
Second Gentleman of Uruguay | |
In role 13 September 2017 – 1 March 2020 | |
Vice President | Lucia Topolansky |
Preceded by | María Belén Bordone Faedo |
Succeeded by | Jorge Fernández Reyes |
President pro tempore of UNASUR | |
In role 4 December 2014 – 1 March 2015 | |
Preceded by | Dési Bouterse |
Succeeded by | Tabaré Vázquez |
Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries | |
In office 1 March 2005 – 3 March 2008 | |
President | Tabaré Vázquez |
Preceded by | Martín Aguirrezabala |
Succeeded by | Ernesto Agazzi |
Personal details | |
Born | José Alberto Mujica Cordano (1935-05-20) 20 May 1935 (age 89) Montevideo, Uruguay |
Political party | MPP (1989–present) |
Other political affiliations | Broad Front Tupamaros (1966–1972) |
Spouse | |
Occupation | Politician, farmer |
Signature | |
Mujica has been described as "the world's humblest head of state" due to his austere lifestyle and his donation of around 90 percent of his $12,000 monthly salary to charities that benefit poor people and small entrepreneurs.[2][3] An outspoken critic of capitalism's focus on stockpiling material possessions which do not contribute to human happiness, he has been praised by the media and journalists for his philosophical ideologies; the Times Higher Education referred to him as the "philosopher president" in 2015, a play on words of Plato's conception of the philosopher king.[4][5]