Jorge Mario García Laguardia

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is García and the second or maternal family name is Laguardia.

Jorge Mario García Laguardia (13 July 1931 – 13 September 2021) was a Guatemalan jurist.^[1]

Jorge Mario García Laguardia
Ombudsman of Guatemala
In office 1 July 1993 – 19 August 1997
Preceded by	Ramiro de León Carpio
Succeeded by	Julio Arango Escobar
Magistrate of the Constitutional Court
In office 14 April 1991 – 1 July 1993
Nominated by	Supreme Court of Justice
Preceded by	Héctor Zachrissom Descamps
Succeeded by	Edmundo Vásquez Martínez
Deputy Magistrate of the Constitutional Court
In office 9 June 1986 – 14 April 1991
Nominated by	Supreme Court of Justice
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Rodolfo Rorhmoser
Personal details
Born	(1931-07-13)13 July 1931 Guatemala City, Guatemala
Died	13 September 2021(2021-09-13) (aged 90) Guatemala City, Guatemala
Political party	Independent

Biography

He has been a tenured lecturer at several Guatemalan and foreign universities, including the Universidad de San Carlos in Guatemala City, where he founded the School of Political Science,^[2] and the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and he has served the Guatemalan state in several juridical capacities.

García Laguardia's academic work has focussed on three main areas: the history of public law, Latin American integration (particularly that of Central America), and constitutional law.

He spent a number of years in exile during Guatemala's Civil War, lecturing and conducting research at the UNAM in Mexico City.

In 1983 he became executive director of the Interamerican Center for Electoral Advice and Promotion (Centro Interamericano de Asesoría y Promoción Electoral, Capel), based in San José, Costa Rica.^[2] Between 1985 and 1989 he worked for the Costa Rica–based Inter-American Institute of Human Rights.

As the Guatemalan Civil War drew to a close, he returned to his country and was appointed a magistrate of the Constitutional Court;^[3] he was serving there during President Jorge Serrano's attempted "self-coup" of 25 May 1993, when the Court was instrumental in preserving the country's constitutional order, preventing a military takeover, and installing Ramiro de León as caretaker president. After his time with the Constitutional Court, he was appointed to serve as the country's Procurator (ombudsman) for Human Rights (Procurador de Derechos Humanos).^[4]

References

1. "En Guatemala sólo pueden vivir 657 chinos". El Periódico (in Spanish). 30 October 2010. Archived from the original on 4 April 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
2. "Jorge Mario García Laguardia, Impulsor del proceso electoral democrático en América Latina", El País, 21 January 1987.
3. Roberto Molina Barreto (15 May 2009). "Reflexiones sobre la magistratura de lo constitucional". El Periódico (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
4. Francisco Mauricio Martínez (17 October 2010). "Gesta legendaria con ideales inconclusos". Prensa Libre (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 4 November 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2010.