Alvaro Enrique Irigoyen (* 14. March 1946 in Guatemala city) is a Guatemalan politician. He was a president and twice mayor von Guatemala-Stadt.

Life

Alvaro comes of to a wealthy and influential Guatemalan entrepreneur family of baskischen origin. It studied on the right of and social sciences to the Universidad Rafael in Guatemala city, led by Jesuiten. Whether it locked the study, is however contentious. It is married in second marriage and has altogether five children and six grandchildren. After it had worked first as an entrepreneur within the ranges tourism, trade and industry, he was of 1978-81 a director of the national institute for tourism INGUAT (Instituto Guatemalteco de Turismo).

Political career

1981 won as a candidate of the Christian-democratic party (Democracia Cristiana Guatemalteca, DCG) and the national renewal party (Partido Nacional Renovador, PNR) the choice to the mayor von Guatemala-Stadt. Before it could begin however the office, the elections in the course of a by general R­os Montt were cancelled in March 1982. The military government offered to it thereupon a post in the municipal administration on, which it rejected however. In the course of the democratization of Guatemala created 1985 together with other entrepreneurs the citizen committee "“plan for national progress"” (plan de Avanzada Nacional), from which four years later the party for national progress (Partido de Avanzada Nacional, PAN) came out. In November 1985 it won the elections again to the mayor and could this time the office for the electoral period 1986-91 also take over. He achieved himself in this function a high measure of acknowledgment. 1990 it withdrew as a mayor, in order to be able to participate as a presidency candidate of the PAN in the elections in the November of the yearly. Its successor in the office of the mayor became Berger Perdomo, which was confirmed by the following elections also in the office. Since achieved the fourth place with the presidency elections however only, supported he and the PAN in the second ballot the later winner Jorge Serrano which thereupon as a minister of foreign affairs into its cabinet appointed. When the government Serrano recognized 1992 Belize, without over this question - how it demanded the PAN - a referendum to hold, from protest withdrew as a minister of foreign affairs. Since also on parliamentary level its alliance with the government party MAS (Movimiento de Social) quit the PAN shortly thereafter and went into the opposition, the reputation became and its party also by the Eigenputsch Serranos in the year 1993 does not damage. From 1992-95 was Secretary-General of the PAN.

Presidency

After it had decided the presidency elections in November 1995 in the second ballot against the candidate of the republican front of Guatemala (Frente Republicano Guatemalteco, FRG), Alfonso Portillo Cabrera, for itself, of 1996-2000 was a president of Guatemala.

As a president it already exerted itself for a brisk conclusion that itself since six years moving peace negotiations with the Guerillaorganisation URNG (Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca). Owing to a secret journey to Mexico, where he for the first time took up direct negotiations with the guidance of the URNG, the break-through, which finally led in December 1996 to the signing of the final peace agreement and thus to the formal completion of the thirty six-year old civil war in Guatemala, succeeded to it. All in the peace treaty agreed upon constitutional amendments were converted still under its presidency and discharged in October 1998 by the parliament. The referendum over it in March 1999 became however for the government the Fiasko, there - during an election turnout of only 18.6% - 50.6% with "“no"” and only 40.4% with "“"” was correct (10% of the voices were invalid).

A problematic consequence of the peace treaty, which got the government only with trouble into the grasp, was the precipitous rise of the general criminality. In particular it came to a wave of kidnappings.

In the economic policy Alvaro stood for a neoliberale policy, which was characterized particularly by extensive privatisations (e.g. the electricity company EEGSA, the Telefongesellschaft GUATEL, the airline AVIATECA and the railway company FEGUA).

Since the Guatemalan condition does not permit a direct re-election of the president, separated in the year 2000 from the office. In the presidency elections in November/December 1999 the candidate of the PAN, was underlaid for the candidate of the FRG Alfonso Portillo Berger, in the second ballot.

Further political career

Following its presidency of 2000-04 of delegates of the centralAmerican parliament was PARLACEN. It separated from the PAN and created together with other former party friends the Unionisti party (Partido Unionista, PU). For these it won the elections again in November 2003 to the mayor von Guatemala-Stadt for the office period 2004-08. In the year 2005 he was selected with the annually held "“World Mayors"” competition to the third-best mayor of the world (and best mayor Lateinamerikas).

Honors

was distinguished among other things 1997 with the prince von Asturien Price for international cooperation, with the Houphout Boigny price of the UNESCO and the Leonidas price of the Latin American human right combination. In addition the University lent OF pc. Paul to it.

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