Brigadier General
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
Kjell Eugenio Laugerud García (24 January 1930
[''Heads of States and Governments Since 1945''](_blank)
Harris M. Lentz, Routledge, 4 Feb 2014, page 345 – 9 December 2009) was a Guatemalan military officer who served as the 36th
President of Guatemala
The president of Guatemala ( es, Presidente de Guatemala), officially known as the President of the Republic of Guatemala ( es, Presidente de la República de Guatemala), is the head of state and head of government of Guatemala, elected to a s ...
from 1974 until 1978. He was the son of a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
father and a
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
n mother.
Biography
Laugerud received part of his military training in the United States, attending classes at
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, and at
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, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...
,
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
. He served as Guatemalan delegate to the
Inter-American Defense Board
The Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) is an international committee of nationally appointed defense officials who develop collaborative approaches on common defense and security issues facing countries in North, Central, and South America. The ...
between 1968 and 1970.
Laugerud had been chief of the army staff and defence minister under President
Carlos Arana since 1972, then was elected president in a
March 1974 vote that was marred by violence and charges of fraud. His candidature had been endorsed by both the military-backed
Institutional Democratic Party
The Institutional Democratic Party ( es, Partido Institucional Democrático, PID) was a Guatemalan pro-government political party active during the 1970s.
The PID was formed in 1963 by Enrique Peralta Azurdia after he had seized power in a coup. ...
and the
far right National Liberation Movement. During his term, Guatemala experienced a
disastrous earthquake in 1976, and had continuing disputes with neighbouring
Belize
Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
. In 1977, after the
Carter administration published a report critical of the human rights situation in Guatemala, Laugerud announced that the country would no longer accept US military aid. Guatemala did in fact receive funds that had already been appropriated for that year, and later turned to other nations, such as
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, and
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
for military aid and arms supplies.
Just before the end of his term, Laugerud was also faced with the consequences of a stand-off between
Kekchi Indians and the military in
Panzós
Panzós () is a town, with a population of 22,068 (2018 census), and a municipality in the Guatemalan department of Alta Verapaz.
On 29 May 1978, the village of Panzós was the site of a massacre in which between 30 and 106 local inhabitants (fi ...
, in which 53 unarmed civilians were killed by the Army, and another 47 were wounded.
In 1983, Laugerud and three other ex-presidents were forced to retire from the army.
References
External links
Capsule biography From Rulers.org; search for "Laugerud"
Historical Clarification Commission In 1994 Guatemala's Commission for Historical Clarification - La Comisión para el Esclarecimiento Histórico (CEH) - was created as a response to the thousands of atrocities and human rights violations committed during the decades long civil war th ...
(Guatemala's Truth Commission) on 1971-78 (in Spanish)
INAUGURATION OF NEW PRESIDENT OF GUATEMALA AP Archive, 2 July 1974
Presidents of Guatemala
People of the Guatemalan Civil War
Guatemalan generals
Institutional Democratic Party politicians
National Liberation Movement (Guatemala) politicians
People from Guatemala City
Guatemalan people of Norwegian descent
1930 births
2009 deaths
Guatemalan anti-communists
Defense Ministers of Guatemala
Non-U.S. alumni of the Command and General Staff College
{{Guatemala-politician-stub