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 ...

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 The 1975 Honduran coup d'état took place on 22 April 1975, with Oswaldo López Arellano being ousted in a military coup led by his fellow General Juan Alberto Melgar Castro. The coup was prompted in part by the "Bananagate" scandal, exposed by th ...

which removed Oswaldo López Arellano 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 agricultura ...

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, ...

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 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 671,46 ...

on 2 December 1987 .

References

External links

National Party of Honduras
official 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