Álvaro Colom Caballeros (; born 15 June 1951) is 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 politician who was the
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 ...
from 2008 to 2012, as well as leader of the
social-democratic
Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
National Unity of Hope
The National Unity of Hope ( es, Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza, UNE) is a political party in Guatemala. It was founded in 2002 and defines itself as a social-democratic and social-christian party. It is the largest political party in Guatemal ...
(UNE).
Early years
Colom was born in
Guatemala City
Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...
, the son of Antonio Colom Argueta and Yolanda Caballeros Ferraté, being the fourth of five siblings. His uncle, Manuel Colom, was a mayor of Guatemala City who was killed by the
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
in 1979 just after the creation of his
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
was approved. He is also the father of Antonio Colom Szarata, the bass player of a Guatemalan pop rock band, Viento en Contra. He and his third wife, Sandra Torres, divorced in 2011 in order for his wife to be able to run in the 2011 presidential election.
After gaining a degree as an
industrial engineer
Industrial engineering is an engineering profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex processes, systems, or organizations by developing, improving and implementing integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information a ...
at the
University of San Carlos
The University of San Carlos, also referred to by its acronym USC or colloquially shortened to San Carlos, is a private, Catholic, research, coeducational basic and higher education institution administered by the Philippine Southern Province ...
(USAC) he became a businessman involved in a variety of businesses, and a
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
civil servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
, including being the founding General Director of the Fondo Nacional para la Paz and Vice Minister of the Economy before turning to politics. One of his businesses was a "maquila" with associate Luis Mendizabal.
Representing the UNE (Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza) in the 2003 presidential elections, he lost to
Óscar Berger
Óscar José Rafael Berger Perdomo (; born 11 August 1946) is a Guatemalan politician who served as the President of Guatemala from 2004 to 2008.
Early years and family
Berger was born to an upper-class family with large sugar and coffee hol ...
on 28 December 2003–the closest a
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
presidential candidate had come to winning the presidency since democracy was restored in 1985.
President (2008–2012)
He was one of the two candidates to reach the second stage of the 2007
presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pre ...
Otto Pérez Molina
Otto Fernando Pérez Molina (born 1 December 1950) is a Guatemalan politician and retired general, who was President of Guatemala from 2012 to 2015. Standing as the Patriotic Party (Guatemala), Patriotic Party (''Partido Patriota'') candidate, ...
. At 10:00 p.m. local time on election night, Colom was declared the newly elected president by over five percentage points, 52.7% to 47.3%, with over 96% of polling places counted, becoming Guatemala's first
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
president in 53 years. During the presidential campaign, Colom promised to tackle
poverty
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...
in an effort to reduce the rate of crime in the country.
As President, Colom expanded social programs and access to health, education, and social security. These contributed to a rise in the living standards of the Guatemalan poor.
In 2010 he appointed
Helen Mack Chang
Helen Beatriz Mack Chang (born 19 January 1952) is a
"Murder of Myrna Mack" , Guatemala Human Rights Commission, 2011, accessed June 13, 2013
Although he is opposed to the
death penalty
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
, Colom stated that he would not pardon those sentenced to death out of respect for the country's laws, although the option to do so was granted in 2008. The last execution in Guatemala, however, took place in 2000 and was since abolished for civilian crimes in 2017.
2018 arrest
On 13 February 2018, Colom was arrested alongside all other members of his former Cabinet "as part of a local corruption investigation". On 3 August 2018, he was released from prison on a 1 million quetzal bail.
Honors
*
Order of Brilliant Jade
The Order of Brilliant Jade is a civilian order of the Republic of China that can be worn only by the head of a nation. According to regulations, the order can only be presented by the president of the country or an emissary expressly dispatched ...