Luis Castiglioni

Luis Alberto Castiglioni Soria (born 31 July 1962) is a Paraguayan politician.

Career

Castiglioni was born in Itacurubí del Rosario and obtained a qualification in civil engineering from the Catholic University of Asunción. His national political career began in 1984 as leader of Colorado party's juvenile wing. In 2003 Nicanor Duarte chose him as his running mate in the 2003 presidential election. Castiglioni served as Vice President of Paraguay from August 15, 2003 to October 2007, when he resigned in order to pursue presidency.

He was a candidate for the Colorado Party's nomination in the April 2008 presidential election. Initial results in the December 2007 party primary election showed rival candidate Blanca Ovelar, who is backed by President Nicanor Duarte, narrowly defeating Castiglioni;[1] however, the result was disputed, leading to a recount.[2] On January 21, 2008, the Colorado Party electoral commission announced that Ovelar had won with 45.04% of the vote against 44.5% for Castiglioni. Castiglioni said that he would never accept defeat, claiming to have proof that 30,000 votes in his favor were "stolen", and said that he would take the matter to court.[3]

Preceded by
Julio César Franco		 Vice President of Paraguay
2003-2007		 Succeeded by
Francisco Oviedo

References

  1. ^ "Woman leads Paraguay ruling party's presidential primary", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), December 17, 2007.
  2. ^ "Once-jailed Paraguayan army chief nominated for opposition run for president", Associated Press (The China Post), January 14, 2008.
  3. ^ "Paraguay nominates first woman for president, ruling party schism threatens bid", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), January 22, 2008.