Gerónimo Wilfredo Pedraza Sierra (born 30 September 1960) is a

Peruvian Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century; Peruvian p ...

lawyer and politician. He served as interior minister of Peru from July 2012 to 31 October 2013.

Career

Pedraza is a lawyer by profession. His speciality in the field of law is criminal system and citizen security. He served as the coordinator of the special investigations unit of the truth and reconciliation commission. He headed Peru's prison system, the national penitentiary institute, for two terms. He was appointed interior minister in a reshuffle on 24 July 2012 to the cabinet led by prime minister Juan Jimenez. Pedraza, an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

politician, succeeded Wilver Calle Girón in the post. Calle had been in office since 15 May 2012. In March 2013, Pedraza and other senior officials including 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 ...

were harshly criticised due to government's ineffective combat against crime in the country. Asked for his opinion regarding the population's claim for the growing wave of crime and violence that is hitting the capital, Pedraza said that insecurity was only a matter of "sensation", an expression that was harshly criticized, although months later it was it retracted and recognized that insecurity was not just a perception but "a real problem". On 15 November 2013, the opposition presented a motion of censure against Pedraza for the scandal that compromised the National Police for the undue protection provided to the house of Óscar López Meneses, former political operator of

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 ...

at the time of

Fujimorism Fujimorism () denotes the policies and the political ideology of former President of Peru Alberto Fujimori as well as the personality cult built around him, his policies and his family. The ideology is defined by authoritarianism, its support for ...

. He resigned immediately, without waiting for the vote of censure. In his resignation letter, he gave an account of his management, highlighting the expansion and equipping of the police stations, as well as the modernization of the Criminalistics Directorate of the

National Police of Peru The Peruvian National Police ( es, Policía Nacional del Perú, PNP) is the national police force of Peru. Its jurisdiction covers the nation's land, sea, and air territories. Formed from the merge of the Investigative Police, the Civil Guard, a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pedraza, Wilfredo 1960 births Living people 20th-century Peruvian lawyers Peruvian Ministers of Interior Government ministers of Peru People from Apurímac Region University of San Martín de Porres alumni Peruvian Nationalist Party politicians