Jan Tomislav Topić Feraud (born 23 April 1983) is an Ecuadorian businessman, economist, and politician who ran for President of Ecuador in the

2023 Ecuadorian general election Snap election, Snap general elections were held in Ecuador on 20 August 2023 to vote for President of Ecuador, members of the National Assembly (Ecuador), National Assembly and two referendums. Elections followed the invocation of , which 2023 E ...

. He was eliminated in the first round held on 20 August 2023, coming fourth with 14.66% of the vote. He has served as president of Telconet since 2010. His alleged activities for the French Foreign Legion have raised concerns of Topić being a mercenary, a label that he denied. Prior to the

2023 Ecuadorian political crisis A political crisis began in Ecuador on 17 May 2023 as a result of the impeachment trial against President Guillermo Lasso. The impeachment inquiry began in the National Assembly (Ecuador), National Assembly on 9 May and lasted until 17 May when ...

, he was briefly nominated to serve as Minister of Security by Guillermo Lasso.

Early life

Topić was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador in 1983 to businessman Tomislav Topić. In 2005, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor's degree in economics and business. He obtained his master's degree in economics in 2012 from the London School of Economics., his half-sister is the Miss Universe Ecuador 2024 Mara Topić.

Military activities

He received military training in the French Foreign Legion and claimed to have fought in Ukraine during the Russian invasion and parts of Africa and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. For this fact he has been accused of being a mercenary; however, he claimed to be an "elite professional soldier" and to have fought for France because he had dual Ecuadorian-French nationality, between 2006 and 2012.

Business career

He serves as president of Telconet, a company founded by his father; since 2010. He is an administrator in eight companies, among which are Academseg, Transcorpecuador, Inmobiliaria Leonortres and is a shareholder in seven companies. In 2019, he was investigated for

money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...

during the

Odebrecht Case The Odebrecht case is one of the largest corruption cases documented in recent Latin American history, spanning more than 30 years. It is based on an investigation by the United States Department of Justice, along with 10 other Latin American coun ...

Political career

In April 2023, he had been selected by President Guillermo Lasso to replace Minister of Security Diego Ordóñez. His nomination caused controversy because of the accusations made against Topić of being a mercenary. Although he accepted the position, Lasso ultimately decided not to appoint him and appointed Wagner Bravo instead.

2023 presidential candidacy

In May 2023, following the dissolution of the National Assembly, he announced his candidacy for president of Ecuador in the upcoming

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. His candidacy was supported by the Social Christian Party. Lawyer and

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

candidate

Pedro José Freile Pedro José Freile Vallejo (born 18 January 1972) is an Ecuadorian lawyer and politician who is running for President of Ecuador in the 2025 Ecuadorian general election, 2025 general election. He previously ran for president in the 2021 Ecuadorian ...

was briefly announced as his running mate, until the National Electoral Council ruled the 2023 election must have parity in candidacies between men and women. Journalist and lawyer Diana Jácome was later confirmed as Topic's running mate. Two polls conducted on 9 August, the day of

Fernando Villavicencio Fernando Alcibiades Villavicencio Valencia (; 11 October 1963 – 9 August 2023) was an Ecuadorian journalist, trade unionist, and politician who ran for president of Ecuador in the 2023 Ecuadorian general election. He served as a member of the ...

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

, found Topić in third place narrowly behind Villavicencio for second place with Luisa Gonzalez in first place. Following Villavicencio's assassination in a video released on social media, a criminal group known as ''

Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") are an American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cumbia, ...

'' claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened to assassinate Topić. On 12 August, a poll found Topić narrowly behind Gonzalez for first place with 21.7% to Gonzalez's 24.9%. At the election, he came in fourth with 14.66% of the votes.

References

Living people 1983 births Ecuadorian people of Croatian descent Ecuadorian people of French descent People from Guayaquil 21st-century Ecuadorian politicians Candidates for President of Ecuador Ecuadorian businesspeople University of Pennsylvania alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics {{Ecuador-politician-stub