Hilda Rosario Hernández Alvarado (5 October 1966 Gracias, Honduras – (?) 16 December 2017 Yerba Buena, Honduras) was an

agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

engineer and Honduran politician. She held posts in the nationalist governments of

Ricardo Maduro Ricardo Rodolfo Maduro Joest (born 20 April 1946 in Panama) is a Honduran politician who served as President of Honduras from 2002 to 2006. A member of the National Party, Maduro was previously chairman of the Central Bank of Honduras. He grad ...

Porfirio Lobo Sosa Porfirio Lobo Sosa (born 22 December 1947), known as Pepe Lobo, is a Honduran politician and agricultural landowner who served as President of Honduras from 2010 to 2014. A member of the conservative National Party and a former deputy in the ...

, and of her brother,

Juan Orlando Hernández Juan Orlando Hernández Alvarado (; born 28 October 1968), also known as JOH, is a Honduran lawyer and politician who served as President of Honduras from 2014 to 2022. A member of the National Party, Hernández previously served as the presi ...

, who served as Honduran president between 2014 and 2022. From January 2017 until her questionable death, she was a political advisor to her brother in his campaign for re-election in the Honduran general election of 2017.

Biography

Hilda's parents were Juan Hernández Villanueva and Elvira Alvarado Castillo; she was sister of the current President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, and Juan Antonio Hernández. She graduated as an

engineer from the Centro Universitario Regional del Litoral Atlántico, after attending the Escuela Agrícola Panamericana. During the government of

(2002–2006), Hilda headed the now-defunct Corporación Hondureña de Desarrollo Forestal (Cohdefor), and in the government of

(2010–2012) she was the minister for Social Development. After the presidential victory of her brother Juan Orlando Hernández, Hilda was appointed Minister of Communications and Strategy on 22 July 2014, a controversial decision given the Constitution of Honduras prohibits (Article No. 250) family members of the President acting as Secretary of State. Hilda Hernández allegedly died on 16 December 2017 in a helicopter accident while travelling to

Soto Cano Air Base Soto Cano Air Base is a Honduran military base to the south of Comayagua in Honduras and from November 2021 will be the principal gateway to Honduras. It houses 1,200–1,500 U.S. troops and is also used by the Honduran Air Force academy. The ...

Comayagua Comayagua () is a city, municipality and old capital of Honduras, located northwest of Tegucigalpa on the highway to San Pedro Sula and above sea level. The accelerated growth experienced by the city of Comayagua led the municipal authoriti ...

. Along with five others, she left

Toncontín International Airport Toncontín International Airport or Teniente Coronel Hernán Acosta Mejía Airport is a civil and military airport located from the centre of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The History Channel programme ''Most Extreme Airports'' ranks it as the second ...

in Tegucigalpa, and was reported as missing after last contact was made at 09:47. Hours later, it was confirmed that the helicopter crashed in the Reserva Biológica Yerba Buena, north of Tegucigalpa. Details around her death remained unclear, as even ex-captain Santos Orellana doubted Hilda was aboard the helicopter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hernández, Hilda 1966 births 2017 deaths Victims of helicopter accidents or incidents Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Honduras