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Gabriel Gurméndez Armand-Ugon (born July 4, 1961) is a Uruguayan industrial engineer, business executive and politician of the Colorado Party (PC), who served as president of the National Administration of Telecommunications from 2020 to 2023, and as Minister of Transport and Public Works in 2004. Gurmendez was born in
Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
within a family with long ties to the Colorado Party, and graduated from the University of the Republic with a degree in
electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
, also obtaining diplomas in economics and business management. Throughout his professional career he has served in the management of numerous companies and business groups, such as the
Cancún International Airport Cancún International Airport () is Mexico’s List of the busiest airports in Mexico, second busiest airport and the largest in the country and List of the busiest airports in Latin America, Latin America for international passengers. Locate ...
. In the political sphere, he has served as a technical advisor in various government institutions, as well as president of the National Administration of Telecommunications and Minister of Transport and Public Works. Gurmendez was a candidate in the 2024 Colorado presidential primaries for
president of Uruguay The president of Uruguay (), officially known as the president of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (), is the head of state and head of government of Uruguay. The president presides over the Cabinet of Uruguay, Council of Ministers, directing ...
.


Early life and education

Gabriel Gurméndez Armand-Ugon was born in
Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
on July 4, 1961, the eldest son of Máximo Gurméndez, a lawyer who served as minister of the Electoral Court and as ambassador to Mexico between 1985 and 1990, and Margarita Armand-Ugon, a mathematics teacher. His paternal grandfather was the diplomat Carlos María Gurméndez who, while serving as ambassador to the Netherlands during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, saved 25 Jewish families from the Nazis by granting them Uruguayan passports or appointing them to positions in the embassy. He was raised in the Pocitos neighborhood of Montevideo and attended The British Schools. He graduated from the University of the Republic with a degree in
electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
and earned a diploma in economics from the Montevideo Institute of Economics. He began to be politically active in the Colorado Party in his youth, campaigning for the "NO" option in the 1980 constitutional referendum. In 1981, during the civic-military dictatorship, he was under arrest for three days for distributing political material on the streets, considered by the regime as "subversive pamphlets".


Career

In 1993 he was employed in the financial administrative department of the textile company Sudamtex. However in 1994 he resigned to assume the position of general manager of Consorcio Aeropuertos Internacionales S.A. He led the construction of the Punta del Este International Airport, which he also managed for eight years. Between 2001 and 2002 he was president of the Tourism and Development League of Punta del Este. In 2004 he was appointed as executive director of
Cancún International Airport Cancún International Airport () is Mexico’s List of the busiest airports in Mexico, second busiest airport and the largest in the country and List of the busiest airports in Latin America, Latin America for international passengers. Locate ...
in Mexico, managed by
Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S.A.B. de C.V., known as ASUR, is a Mexican airport operator headquartered in Mexico City, Mexico. It operates 9 airports in the southeastern states of Mexico, including that of Cancún. It is the third largest ai ...
(ASUR). In that position he directed the expansion of Terminal 3, inaugurated by Mexican President
Felipe Calderón Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa (; born 18 August 1962) is a Mexican politician and lawyer who served as the 63rd president of Mexico from 2006 to 2012 and Secretary of Energy during the presidency of Vicente Fox between 2003 and 2004. ...
in 2007, as well as the second runway and control tower project, which was one of the most ambitious investment programs for airport infrastructure in the country. From 2015 to 2020 Gurméndez served as CEO of HRU S.A, the management company of the Hipodromo Nacional de Maroñas and concessionaire of different racecourses in the country. In 2017 he became part of the board of directors of HRU S.A, as well as the Codere Uruguay Group, a business group of which he also served as country manager.


Political career

After the democratic transition he served as an advisor in different institutions, such as the
Central Bank of Uruguay The Central Bank of Uruguay (, BCU) is the central bank of Uruguay. History The Central Bank of Uruguay was established on July 6, 1967 as an autonomous state entity (), with the passing of the 196th article of the Constitution of 1967. Prior ...
and the State Railways Administration. From 1990 to 1993 he served as a board member of the National Administration of Telecommunications (ANTEL) as a representative of the Colorado Party. In 2002, then-president
Jorge Batlle Jorge Luis Batlle Ibáñez (; ''Batlle'' locally or ; 25 October 1927 – 24 October 2016) was a Uruguayan politician and lawyer, who served as the 38th president of Uruguay from 2000 to 2005. A member of the Colorado Party (Uruguay), Colorado ...
appointed him president of ANTEL after the resignation of Fernando Bracco. He held the position until July 2004 when he was appointed Minister of Transport and Public Works, to succeed Lucio Cáceres. In June 2020, he was appointed president of ANTEL, following the resignation of Guillermo Iglesias at the request of President
Luis Lacalle Pou Luis Alberto Aparicio Alejandro Lacalle Pou (, ; born 11 August 1973), is a Uruguayan politician and lawyer, who served as the 42nd president of Uruguay from 2020 to 2025. The son of former president Luis Alberto Lacalle, Lacalle Pou attended ...
. He resigned on October 26, 2023 to run for president of Uruguay in the 2024 Colorado Party primary. In the election, he came in third place with 18.6% of the votes for the party. In August, he confirmed that he would form an alliance with
Pedro Bordaberry Juan Pedro Bordaberry Herrán (born 28 April 1960) is a Uruguayan attorney, lecturer, and politician, serving as Senate of Uruguay, Senator of the Republic since 2025. He previously served in the same position from 2010 to 2020, as Ministry of To ...
's Vamos Uruguay sector. In the
general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
, ''Lista 10'' was the most voted electoral list of the Colorado Party, and Gurméndez was elected to the Chamber of Representatives for the 50th Legislature.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurmendez, Gabriel 1961 births Living people Uruguayan industrial engineers Colorado Party (Uruguay) politicians Ministers of transport and public works of Uruguay University of the Republic (Uruguay) alumni People educated at The British Schools of Montevideo