Juan Alberto Melgar Castro (20 June 1930 – 2 December 1987) was a army officer in the
Honduran military who served as the
head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
of
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
from 22 April 1975 to 7 August 1978, when he was removed from power by others in the military.
Presidency
General Melgar Castro took power in the
1975 Honduran coup d'état which removed
Oswaldo López Arellano
Oswaldo Enrique López Arellano (30 June 1921 – 16 May 2010) was a Honduran politician who twice served as the President of Honduras, first from 1963 to 1971 and again from 1972 until 1975.
Early life
Lopez was born in Danlà to Enrique Là ...
after his bribery scandal with
United Fruit Company
The United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) was an American multinational corporation that traded in tropical fruit (primarily bananas) grown on Latin American plantations and sold in the United States and Europe. The company was formed in 1899 fro ...
.
During his rule, the process of
land reform
Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...
was slowed down, because of pressure from land-owning sectors and influential
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
s.
Biography
His wife
Nora Gúnera de Melgar
Alba Nora Gúnera Osorio (May 1942 – 1 October 2021) was a Honduran politician and wife of General Juan Alberto Melgar, the Honduran military Head of State from 1975 to 1978. After being elected mayor of Tegucigalpa, she ran for presidency for ...
was Mayor of
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa (, , ), formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( es, Tegucigalpa, Municipio del Distrito Central or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz'', is the capital and largest city ...
. She was the nominee of the
National Party (''Partido Nacional'') for
President of Honduras
The president of Honduras ( es, Presidente de Honduras) officially known as the President of the Republic of Honduras (Spanish: ''Presidente de la República de Honduras''), is the head of state and head of government of Honduras, and the Comm ...
in 1997, but lost to the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
nominee,
Carlos Roberto Flores
Carlos Roberto Flores Facussé (born 10 March 1950) is a Honduran politician and businessman who served as the President of Honduras from 1998 to 2002. A member of the Liberal Party, Flores was previously the President of the National Congre ...
.
General Melgar Castro died of a heart attack near
San Pedro Sula
San Pedro Sula () is the capital of Cortés Department, Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country in the Sula Valley, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea. With a population of 671,460 ...
on 2 December 1987 .
References
External links
National Party of Hondurasofficial site
1930 births
1987 deaths
People from La Paz Department (Honduras)
Presidents of Honduras
Leaders who took power by coup
Leaders ousted by a coup
{{NorthAm-mil-bio-stub