Ollanta Humala

Ollanta Moisés Humala Tasso (Spanish pronunciation: [oˈʎanta uˈmala]; born 27 June 1962) is a Peruvian politician. He was the 65th President of Peru from 2011 to 2016. Humala lost the 2006 presidential election and eventually won the 2011 presidential election in a run-off vote.^[1] He was elected as President of Peru in the second round, defeating Keiko Fujimori (daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori).

Ollanta Humala
65th President of Peru
In office 28 July 2011 – 28 July 2016
Prime Minister	Salomón Lerner Ghitis Oscar Valdés Juan Jiménez Mayor César Villanueva René Cornejo Ana Jara Pedro Cateriano
Vice President	Omar Chehade Marisol Espinoza
Preceded by	Alan Garcia
Succeeded by	Pedro Pablo Kuczynski
President pro tempore of the Union of South American Nations
In office 29 June 2012 – 30 August 2013
Preceded by	Fernando Lugo
Succeeded by	Dési Bouterse
President of the Nationalist Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 26 August 2016
Preceded by	Nadine Heredia
In office 3 October 2005 – 30 December 2013
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Nadine Heredia
Personal details
Born	Ollanta Moisés Humala Tasso (1962-06-27) 27 June 1962 (age 62) Lima, Peru
Political party	Nationalist Party
Other political affiliations	Peru Wins (2010–present)
Height	165 cm (5 ft 5 in)
Spouse(s)	Nadine Heredia (1999–present)
Children	3
Alma mater	Chorrillos Military School Pontifical Catholic University of Peru
Signature
Website	Government website
Military service
Allegiance	Peru
Branch/service	Peruvian Army
Years of service	1981–2006
Rank	Lieutenant colonel
Battles/wars	Internal conflict in Peru Cenepa War

Early life

Born to a prominent political family affiliated with the ethnocacerist movement, Humala is the son of famed Quechua labour lawyer Isaac Humala. Humala entered the Peruvian Army in 1981, eventually achieveing the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. During his time in the military, he fought in the internal conflict against far-left terrorist group Shining Path as well as in the Cenepa War with neighboring Ecuador. In October 2000, Humala attempted an unsuccessful coup d'etatagainst President Alberto Fujimori during the dying days of his regime;^[2] eventually, Congress granted him amnesty and Humala was allowed to return to military duty.^[3]

Politics

In 2005, Humala entered electoral politics, founding the Peruvian Nationalist Party (PNP) in order to run in the 2006 presidential election. Having received first place in the first round, he faced former centre-left President and APRA candidate Alan García in the second round, ultimately losing by a narrow margin. His campaign received widespread international attention in 2006 given the recent success of left-wing politicians in Latin America.^[4] In 2011, he would once again run for President, and narrowly defeated Keiko Fujimori in the runoff.

Humala's election initially concerned investors, who feared he would govern similar to far-left Venezuelan PresidentHugo Chavez, a former ally of his. To assuage these fears, Humala would begin his term by choosing centrists for positions in his cabinet.^[5] Humala's unpopular presidency was dominated by corruption scandals surrounding him and his politically influential wife Nadine Heredia.^[6][7] Environmentalists were highly critical of Humala's mining policies, and argued that he reneged on his campaign promise to reign in mining companies.^[8][9]

Humala was arrested by Peruvian authorities in July 2017 for illegally accepting bribes and awaits a corruption trial.^[10]

Humala ran for president again in 2021, but lost in the first round of the election.

References

1. The Guardian, April 11, 2011, Peru elections: Fujimori and Humala set for runoff vote
2. Diario Hoy, October 31, 2000, PERU, CORONELAZO NO CUAJA Archived 2013-08-17 at the Wayback Machine
3. Peru.com, Redacción (2012-10-04). "Ollanta Humala recibió perdón del Congreso por levantamiento en Locumba". Peru.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2021-05-21. Retrieved 2021-05-21.
4. "Peru's Humala is Washington's next "Worst Nightmare"". Institute for Policy Studies. 2006-04-24. Archived from the original on 2021-04-16. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
5. Staff, Reuters (2011-07-21). "Leftist Humala picks centrists for Peru Cabinet". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-04-16. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help)
6. "First lady drags Peru's President to new public approval low". Perú Reports. 2015-06-16. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
7. "The Prosecutor Investigating Peru's Powerful First Lady Has Been Fired". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
8. Staff, Reuters (2016-07-27). "Anti-mining politician freed from jail in Peru slams government". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-04-16. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help)
9. "Peru: Humala Submits to the United States and the Mining Industry". NACLA. Archived from the original on 2021-04-16. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
10. McDonnell, Adriana Leon and Patrick J. "Another former Peruvian president is sent to jail, this time as part of growing corruption scandal". latimes.com.