Salomón Lerner Ghitis, also known as Siomi Lerner (born 4 February 1946) is a

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

vian businessman and politician, who was the

Prime Minister of Peru A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

from 28 July to 10 December 2011 and leader of the political movement Citizens for Change (CxC). He was appointed prime minister following the 2011 general election which was won by

Ollanta Humala Ollanta Moisés Humala Tasso (; born 27 June 1962) is a Peruvian politician and former military officer who served as president of Peru from 2011 to 2016. Originally a socialist and left-wing nationalist, he is considered to have shifted towar ...

. Lerner resigned on 10 December 2011.

Early life

Salomón Lerner is of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

descent. He was born on 4 February 1946. He studied in Anglo-Peruvian School. From 1962 to 1967, he studied industrial engineering with focus on agribusiness at 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 ...

(UNI) in Lima. Later he attended post-gradual courses at the Monterrey Institute of Technology in Mexico, in 1968, and at the Technion Institute in Haifa, Israel, in 1989. As a student, he joined politics and became the chairman of the students' wing of the social-democratic APRA party.

Career

Under the left-wing military administration of

Juan Velasco Alvarado Juan Francisco Velasco Alvarado (June 16, 1910 – December 24, 1977) was a Peruvian Army general, general who served as the President of Peru after a successful 1968 Peruvian coup d'état, coup d'état against Fernando Belaúnde's presidency ...

(1968–75), he was general manager of the Public Fish-Meal and Oil Marketing Enterprise (EPCHAP). In the government of Velasco's successor, Francisco Morales Bermúdez, Lerner was vice minister of foreign trade. In 1997, he managed CPN Radio channel, and from October 1997 to March 1998, he was a member of the board of Frecuencia Latina. At the end of the 1990s, he served as the CEO of the Banco del Progreso. When the NBK bank acquired Banco del Progreso in 2000, he stayed CEO of the merged bank, until his resignation during the crisis in July of that year. Other functions performed by Salomón Lerner include manager of Helicópteros del Sur, Tecal S.A., and the Cotton Corporation of Peru, president of the Institute for Economic and Social Development (Indes), and the industrial engineers' chapter in the Association of Peruvian Engineers (CIP).

Political career

In 2001, Lerner was general coordinator of the ''Civil Association Transparencia'' which observed the 2001 general elections. Afterwards he became a member of the editorial board of the daily newspaper '' La República''. He also managed the campaign of left-wing nationalist

for both the

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and the

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

presidential elections.

Prime minister

On 28 July 2011, newly elected president Ollanta Humala appointed Salomón Lerner to be

President of the Council of Ministers The president of the Council of Ministers (sometimes titled chairman of the Council of Ministers) is the most senior member of the cabinet in the executive branch of government in some countries. Some presidents of the Council of Ministers are ...

of Peru. His government had congressional support of the Peru Wins and

Possible Peru Possible Peru () was a Peruvian political party. It was founded in 1994 by Alejandro Toledo with the original name of Possible Country (). History Possible Peru has its roots in an earlier political party, Possible Country, which was founded ...

parliamentary groups. During his tenure, the government of Peru was marked by internal and external debate over the political orientation of the cabinet and Lerner's ability to control, the suspension of the President's 2nd Vice President and some members of Congress, coupled with social mobilisations and heavy protests, including a dispute over the $4.8 billion Conga gold mining investment project by a Canadian company. On 10 December, he resigned as Prime Minister, without directly referencing to the mining conflict and was succeeded by his Interior Minister Óscar Valdés.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lerner Ghitis, Salomon 1946 births Living people Prime ministers of Peru Peruvian businesspeople Peruvian engineers Peruvian Jews Jewish Peruvian politicians Jewish prime ministers