Jorge Quiroga

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Quieorga and the second or maternal family name is Ramírez.
Jorge Quiroga
76th President of Bolivia
In office
August 7, 2001 – August 6, 2002
Vice President Vacant
Preceded by Hugo Banzer
Succeeded by Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada
Vice President of Bolivia
In office
6 August 1997 – 7 August 2001
President Hugo Banzer Suarez
Preceded by Víctor Hugo Cárdenas
Succeeded by Carlos Mesa
Personal details
Born Jorge Fernando Quiroga Ramírez
(1960-05-05) May 5, 1960
Cochabamba, Bolivia
Political party Social and Democratic Power
Spouse(s) Virginia "Ginger" Gale Gillum de Quiroga
Children Vanessa Quiroga Gillum,
Cristina Quiroga Gillum,

Adriana Quiroga Gillum,
Cristian Quiroga Gillum

Alma mater Texas A&M University (B.S.)
St. Edward's University (M.B.A.)
Religion Roman Catholic

Jorge Fernando "Tuto" Quiroga Ramírez (born May 5, 1960) was President of Bolivia from August 7, 2001 to August 6, 2002. He is Bolivian of Spanish descent.

Background and early life

Quiroga was born in Cochabamba. He graduated from Texas A&M University in 1981 with a degree in industrial engineering, becoming the first head of state from that university.[1] He went on to be a self-declared "corporate yuppie" working for I.B.M. in Austin, Texas[1] while earning a master's degree in business administration from St. Edward's University. He and his American wife Virginia then moved back to Bolivia.[1] Like many other Bolivian Presidents, Quiroga is of European descent. He has 4 children: Vanessa Elena, Cristina Andrea, Adriana Patricia and Jorge Cristian.

Vice President of Bolivia

Quiroga was elected as Vice President of Bolivia in 1997 running on the Nationalist Democratic Action ticket with former dictator Hugo Banzer.[2] At 41, he was the youngest vice president in Bolivia's history.

President of Bolivia

He became President when Banzer resigned because of aggravated health problems (he died a year following his resignation). Quiroga assumed office as acting president on July 1, 2001 and was sworn-in on August 7, to complete Banzer's five-year mandate.

Soon after becoming President he told a reporter from the New Yorker "We [Bolivia] will be the vital heart of South America.." believing that gas exports would lift the economy, that a long-anticipated transcontinental highway connecting Brazil to Chile would be built passing through the Bolivian city of Cochabamba, and that fibre-optic cables would soon be laid.[1] He blamed Bolivia’s lack of economic progress on hypocrisy on free trade in the United States and Europe, saying "Bolivia is the most open economy in Latin America. Meanwhile, American and European farm subsidies, along with tariffs on textiles and agricultural products, make it impossible for Bolivia to sell its exports in the Global North. They tell us to be competitive while tying our arms behind our backs."[1] When asked about the Bolivian Water Wars of 2000, he said “A lot of things certainly could have been different along the way, from a lot of different actors. The net effect is that we have a city today with no resolution to the water problem. In the end it will be necessary to bring in private investment to develop the water."[1]

Later life

Quiroga ran for President in his own right in the 2005 election, as the candidate for a new right-of-center coalition known as Social and Democratic Power (PODEMOS), which included the bulk of Banzer's former ADN organization. His main opponent was the leftist Evo Morales of the Movement Towards Socialism. Morales won the election and Quiroga finished a distant second place, receiving 28.6% of the vote.

Quiroga has received the World Leader of Tomorrow Award from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He has also worked as a consultant for the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

He is a member of the Club de Madrid, a group of more than 80 former Presidents and Prime Ministers of democratic countries, which works to promote democratic leadership and governance.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 William Finnegan (2002-04-08). "Leasing The Rain". The New Yorker.  Retrieved on Feb. 15, 2007
  2. ↑ Vicepresidency of Bolivia
  3. ↑ http://www.clubmadrid.org/en/estructura/former_heads_of_state_and_government_1/letra:q

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Hugo Banzer		 President of Bolivia
2001-2002 		Succeeded by
Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada
Preceded by
Víctor Hugo Cárdenas		 Vice President of Bolivia
1997-2001 		Succeeded by
Carlos Mesa
Bolivia Candidates in the 2005 Bolivian presidential election
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.