Erwin Rafael "Winchi" Contreras (born 9 July 1966)

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was foun ...

. (accessed 19 November 2014) is a Belizean politician and former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

. From 2008 to 2012 he was the Minister of

Economic Development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and ...

, Commerce, Industry and Consumer Protection in Belize. After the 2012 election he was made Minister of Trade Investment, Private Sector Development and Consumer Protection.

Biography

He was born in

Benque Viejo del Carmen Benque Viejo del Carmen ("Benque") is the westernmost town in Belize, by road west and south of Belize City, at the Guatemalan border. San Ignacio lies 13 km to the east and Melchor de Mencos just across the border. The Mopan River runs al ...

, Cayo District, Belize. At one point, Contreras was second in the line of succession to Prime Minister

Dean Barrow Dean Oliver Barrow, SC PC (born March 2, 1951) is a politician from Belize who served as prime minister of Belize from 2008 until 2020 and as leader of Belize's United Democratic Party. An attorney by profession, Barrow served as Belize's ...

, behind Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Faber. He belongs to the United Democratic Party. Contreras is a former member of the

Belize national football team The Belize national football team represents Belize in international football and is controlled by the Football Federation of Belize, a member of the Central American Football Union of CONCACAF. Although Belize has never qualified for a FIFA ...

. He played in both of Belize's 1998 World Cup qualification games against

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cost ...

in 1996.

Electoral history

Contreras was first elected to the Belize House of Representatives in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, defeating

Amin Hegar Amin may refer to: People * Amin (name), a masculine given name and also a surname * Al-Amin, the sixth Abbasid caliph, who ruled from 809 to 813 * Amin (Qing dynasty), an Imperial Prince of the Qing Dynasty * Amin, an arbitrator who assessed and ...

of the

People's United Party The People's United Party (PUP) is one of two major political parties in Belize. It is currently the governing party of Belize after success in the 2020 Belizean general election, winning a majority of 26 seats out of 31 in the Belizean House ...

by 10 votes. Bucking a national trend, Contreras was the only UDP candidate to defeat a PUP House incumbent in 1998 and one of only three UDP members elected nationwide that year.General Elections 1998

Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission The Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission is the primary electoral body in Belize. It supervises all local and national elections. The commission also establishes the boundaries of Belize's electoral divisions. Formation and duties The EBC w ...

. (accessed 19 November 2014) Contreras won re-election with at least 54 percent of the vote in every election through 2015. Contreras was defeated at the

2020 Belizean general election General elections were held in Belize on 11 November 2020 to elect the 31 members of the House of Representatives. Nomination day was 21 October. The People's United Party achieved its first national election victory since 2003, winning 26 seats ...

by Jorge "Milon" Espat .

References

External links

* 1966 births Living people People from Benque Viejo del Carmen United Democratic Party (Belize) politicians Government ministers of Belize Members of the Belize House of Representatives for Cayo West Belizean men's footballers Belize men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders {{Belize-politician-stub