Oscar Eduardo Valdés Dancuart (born 3 April 1949) is a

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

vian businessman and politician who was

Prime Minister of Peru The president of the Council of Ministers of Peru ( es, link=no, presidente del Consejo de Ministros del Perú), informally called Premier (form of address) or Prime Minister, is the head of the cabinet as the most senior member of the Council ...

from 11 December 2011 until 23 July 2012. A former military officer, he was appointed as

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

by President

Ollanta Humala Lieutenant colonel Ollanta Moisés Humala Tasso (; born 27 June 1962) is a Peruvian politician and former military officer who served as President of Peru from 2011 to 2016. Originally a socialist and left-wing nationalist, he is considered ...

on 28 July 2011. Less than five months later, Prime Minister

Salomón Lerner Ghitis Salomón Lerner Ghitis, also known as Siomi Lerner (born 4 February 1946) is a Peruvian businessman and politician, who was the Prime Minister of Peru from 28 July to 10 December 2011 and leader of the political movement Citizens for Change (Cx ...

resigned and Valdés was appointed as his successor on 11 December 2011. He was dismissed on 23 July 2012, after criticism on his handling of the Conga Mining project.

Background

Born in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

, Valdés studied at the

Chorrillos Military School The Chorrillos Military School () is the institution in charge of the undergraduate education of Officer (armed forces), officers of the Peruvian Army. Overview The school was opened in 1830 during the first government of Agustín Gamarra and w ...

from 1968 to 1972, and he entered the service of the

Peruvian Army The Peruvian Army ( es, Ejército del Perú, abbreviated EP) is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with safeguarding the independence, sovereignty and integrity of national territory on land through military force. Additional missi ...

as a second lieutenant of the artillery afterwards. From 1987 to 1988 he took course in command and staff at the

United States Army Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., and the oldest perma ...

. During the 1980s, he acted as an instructor at the Chorrillos military academy, where

was his student. Valdés retired from army service in January 1991 when he was lieutenant colonel, because he was shunted from promotion by intelligence chief

Vladimiro Montesinos Vladimiro Lenin Ilich Montesinos Torres (born 20 May 1945) is a former long-standing head of Peru's intelligence service, National Intelligence Service (SIN), under President Alberto Fujimori. In the year 2000, the infamous "Vladi-videos" came ...

. Following his resignation, Valdés engaged in the private sector, managing different businesses in his home region of

Tacna Tacna is a city in southern Peru and the regional capital of the Tacna Region. A very commercially active city, it is located only north of the border with Arica y Parinacota Region from Chile, inland from the Pacific Ocean and in the valley of ...

. Valdés took a tough stance towards the protesters against the controversial Conga mining project and social conflicts in general. Ex-president

Alejandro Toledo Alejandro Celestino Toledo Manrique (; born 28 March 1946) is a Peruvian politician who served President of Peru, from 2001 to 2006. He gained international prominence after leading the opposition against president Alberto Fujimori, who held ...

, whose

Possible Peru Possible Peru ( es, Perú Posible) was a Peruvian political party. It was founded in 1994 by Alejandro Toledo with the original name of Possible Country ( es, País Posible). History Possible Peru has its roots in an earlier political party, P ...

party supported the Humala administration so far, expressed concerns about the "militarization" of the government. The confrontational stance towards the conflict finally lead to Valdés' dismissal on 23 July 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valdes, Oscar 1949 births Living people Chorrillos Military School alumni Non-U.S. alumni of the Command and General Staff College Peruvian Army officers Peruvian Ministers of Interior Prime Ministers of Peru