Fernando José Cillóniz Benavides (born 15 December 1950) is a Peruvian engineer and politician who served as Governor of the

Ica Region Ica (; ) is a department and region of Peru. It borders the Pacific Ocean on the west; the Lima Region on the north; the Huancavelica and Ayacucho regions on the east; and the Arequipa Region on the south. Its capital is the city of Ica. Ge ...

from January 2015 to December 2018, elected as invited candidate under

Popular Force Popular Force (, FP), known as Force 2011 () until 2012, is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and Fujimorism, Fujimorist political party in Peru. The party is led by Keiko Fujimori, former congresswoman and daughter of former Presiden ...

. Following his term as governor, Cillóniz announced a presidential bid for the 2021 general election with

All for Peru All for Peru (, TPP), previously named National Coordinator of Independents (, CNI) was a centrist Peruvian political party. Founded as a party aimed at gathering independent politicians, it participated in the 2006 and 2011 general elections w ...

. Formally attaining the nomination, his ticket was ultimately rejected by the

National Jury of Elections The National Jury of Elections (, JNE) of is an autonomous constitutional organ, headquartered in Lima, which serves as Peru's electoral court. Its goal is to oversee the legality of electoral processes, guaranteeing the respect for the populatio ...

due to the party's internal disputes. Registered in the Christian People's Party since 2024, Cillóniz is currently a candidate for the party’s presidential nomination at the 2026 general election, advocating for a broad electoral coalition.

Early life and education

Cillóniz was born in the urban district of Miraflores on 15 December 1950. His father, Augusto Cillóniz Garfias, owned the 150-acre land of Hacienda San José. On his mother's side, Ángela Benavides de la Quintana, he is nephew of mining engineer and billionaire

Alberto Benavides de la Quintana Alberto Benavides de la Quintana (October 20, 1920 – February 12, 2014) was prominent Peruvian businessman and engineer, famous for founding the "Buenaventura Mining Company". After graduating from Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria in Lima, Peru ...

, and cousin of economist

Ismael Benavides Ferreyros Ismael Benavides Ferreyros (born 10 May 1945) is a Peruvian politician, who was the former Minister of Economy and Finance that was under President Alan García from September 2010 to July 2011. He was also Minister of Agriculture from 2007 to ...

and mining magnate

Roque Benavides Roque Eduardo Benavides Ganoza (born August 20, 1954) is a Peruvian engineer, businessman, and mining magnate, who is the chairman and former CEO of Compañía de Minas Buenaventura. A leading businessman in the mining sector, Benavides is consid ...

. Upon graduating from the Santa María Marianistas School, Cillóniz was admitted in 1967 to the

National University of Engineering The National University of Engineering (, UNI) is a public engineering and science university located in the Rímac District of Lima, Peru. It's widely considered as one of Peru's most prestigious educational institutions. History The National ...

, where he pursued a career in economic engineering. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1972, and subsequently completed a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...

Career

Cillóniz has been director of the

Interbank Interbank, formally the Banco Internacional del Perú Service Holding S.A.A. is a Peruvian provider of financial services. History In 1897, Elias Mujica opened an agency at the Jirón de la Unión in Lima's historic centre under the name o ...

and member of the advisory council of the newspaper ''El Comercio''. He also served as director of the National Council for the Environment (CONAM), as president of the Paracas Bay Rehabilitation and Sustainable Development Commission and as director of the National Cotton Board.

Political career

Governor of Ica (2015–2018)

In the 2014 regional elections, Cillóniz ran in the regional elections for Governor of Ica under the

Fujimorist Fujimorism (, , Hepburn: ) is 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, especially Keiko Fujimori. The ideology is defined ...

party. In the first round, held on 5 October 2014, he was in first place of the popular vote, ahead of candidate Javier Gallegos. As none of the candidates reached 30% of the votes cast, Gallegos and Cillóniz competed in the run-off. On 7 December 2014, Cillóniz was elected Governor of Ica in the second round of the regional elections for the 2015–2018 term.

Presidential campaign (2020)

In September 2020, following an unsuccessful run for a seat in the

Peruvian Congress The Congress of the Republic of Peru () is the unicameral body that assumes legislative power in Peru. Due to broadly interpreted impeachment wording in the Constitution of Peru, the President of Peru can be removed by Congress without cause, ...

at the 2020 snap-election with the

Peru Secure Homeland Peru Secure Homeland () is a Centre-right politics, centre-right Peruvian political party founded on 26 September 2013 by former members of the defunct Cambio 90, founded by former President Alberto Fujimori in 1990. History Debuting in natio ...

as his candidacy was excluded, Cillóniz registered in

, in order to run for the party's presidential nomination. Upon registering in the party, All for Peru leader Aureo Zegarra criticized Cillóniz for "not having the kindness of calling him". Cillóniz learned that the party was going through internal disputes, as the party's faction against Zegarra processed his party registration. Ultimately, the National Elections Jury officially recognized Zegarra's executive position in the party, and Cillóniz and Pedro Cateriano's party affiliation. Cillóniz initially faced Cateriano in the primary election scheduled for 28 November 2020, but the latter eventually withdrew this candidacy, alleging the party disputes as the determinant factor in his decision. Party president Aureo Zegarra filed a claim against Cillóniz as he continued disputing the party affiliation as not-valid due to being registered by a non-official spokesman. The National Electoral Jury dismissed the claim, and Cillóniz was declared

's presumptive presidential nominee. However, on 26 December 2020, the presidential ticket was rejected by the

Later career

Cillóniz is a member of the Madrid Forum, an international group of right-wing and far-right individuals organized by Vox.

External links

* *
JNE Hoja de Vida.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cillóniz, Fernando Peruvian engineers National University of Engineering alumni Wharton School alumni 1950 births Christian People's Party (Peru) politicians Living people People from Lima Candidates for President of Peru 21st-century Peruvian politicians Regional government of Ica