Víctor Andrés García Belaúnde (born 6 June 1949, in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

), 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 lawyer and politician belonging to the Popular Action and a former

Congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

representing

between 2006 and 2019. He was president of the Popular Action from 2004 to 2009.

Early life and education

Víctor Andrés García descends from a family that has been linked to Peruvian politics for a long time. His great-grandfather General

Pedro Diez Canseco Pedro Diez Canseco Corbacho (January 31, 1815 in Arequipa, Viceroyalty of Peru – April 3, 1893 in Chorrillos, Peru) was a Peruvian soldier and politician who served as President of Peru The president of Peru (), officially the constit ...

was three times interim President of Peru in the 1860s. His grandfather, the influential thinker, writer and diplomat

Víctor Andrés Belaúnde Víctor Andrés Belaúnde Diez Canseco (15 December 1883 – 14 December 1966) was a Peruvian diplomat, politician, philosopher and scholar. He chaired the 14th Session and the 4th Emergency Special Session of the President of the United Nations ...

was

President of the United Nations General Assembly The president of the United Nations General Assembly is a position voted by representatives in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on a yearly basis. The president is the chair and presiding officer of the General Assembly. Election ...

from 1959 to 1960 and his uncle

Fernando Belaúnde Terry Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, and former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa and Asia (like the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka). It is e ...

was the founder of the Popular Action and twice democratically elected President (1963–1968 and 1980–1985). His brother,

José Antonio García Belaúnde José Antonio García Belaunde (born March 16, 1948) is a Peruvian career diplomat, who served as Foreign Minister during the Second Presidency of Alan Garcia from 2006 to 2011, making him the only Foreign Affairs Minister to serve a complete t ...

has served as foreign minister during the second administration of Alan García. His older brother, Domingo García Belaúnde, is also a prominent lawyer and constitutionalist, but not a politician. After graduating from the

Peruvian Naval School The Naval Academy of Peru () is the institution in charge of the undergraduate education of Officer (armed forces), officers of the Peruvian Navy. It is located at La Punta District, La Punta, Callao, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Its current dir ...

, García studied law at the

University of Valladolid The University of Valladolid is a public university located in the city of Valladolid, Valladolid province, autonomous region of Castile and Leon, Spain. Established in the 13th century, it is one of the oldest universities in the world. The ...

in Spain and the prestigious

National University of San Marcos The National University of San Marcos (, UNMSM) is a public university, public research university located in Lima, the capital of Peru. In the Americas, it is the first officially established (Privilege (legal ethics), privilege by Charles V, ...

. He received his

Licence A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

in 1975.

Political career

During his uncle's presidency, García was the Secretary General of the Council of Ministers.

Deputy

In the 1985 general election, García was elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

on his uncle's Popular Action (AP) list for a five-year term, representing the

Lima Region The Department of Lima (), known as the Department of the Capital () until 1823, is a department and region located in the central coast of Peru; the seat of the regional government is Huacho. Lima Province, which contains the city of Lima, ...

. Parallel, he was secretary of the AP-led cabinet. In the 1990 general election, he was re-elected for a second term, representing the liberal-conservative FREDEMO-coalition comprising his Popular Action, the Christian People's Party and the

Liberty Movement Liberty Movement () was a classical liberal political party in Peru. It was founded in 1987 by people who opposed decrees such as the nationalization of the banking sector in 1986 under the first presidency of Alan García, including Mario Varga ...

and served until authoritarian president

Alberto Fujimori Alberto Kenji Fujimori Fujimori (26 July 1938 – 11 September 2024) was a Peruvian politician, professor, and engineer who served as the 54th president of Peru from 1990 to 2000.* * * * * * * Born in Lima, Fujimori was the country's fir ...

dissolved the Congress in a

self-coup A self-coup, also called an autocoup () or coup from the top, is a form of coup d'état in which a political leader, having come to power through legal means, stays in power illegally through the actions of themselves or their supporters. The le ...

in 1992.

Presidential candidate (2000)

At the end of the Fujimori dictatorship, Víctor García was AP's presidential candidate for the 2000 general election without considerable success, placing ninth with 0.4% of the vote and Fujimori was subsequently re-elected in the runoff that was marred by electoral fraud.

Congressman

In the 2006 general election, García Belaúnde was elected

representing

for the 2006–2011 term on the

Center Front The Centre Front (Spanish: ''Frente de Centro,'' FC), was a Peruvian political coalition formed by the parties Acción Popular (AP), Somos Perú (PDSP) and Coordinadora Nacional de Independientes (CNI) for the 2006 national election. Its leade ...

ticket, assembled by AP,

We Are Peru The Democratic Party "We Are Peru" (, PDSP) is a Christian democratic political party in Peru. It has party committees in nineteen regions of the country. History Founding (1997-2000) We Are Peru was formed in 1995 under the name of "We Ar ...

and National Coordinator of Independents party. In Congress, he was the speaker of the ''Parliamentary Alliance'', a joint group of Center Front,

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 ...

and, initially, the National Restoration Party lawmakers. In the 2011 general election, he was re-elected on the list of the

Possible Peru Alliance The Possible Peru Electoral Alliance () was an electoral alliance in Peru formed for the 2011 general election, dominated by the eponymous party Possible Peru and led by presidential candidate and ex-president Alejandro Toledo. Constituent Part ...

, where his Popular Action party has now integrated. He was again re-elected in the 2016 general election and left office in 2019 following to the dissolution of the Congress by

Martín Vizcarra Martín Alberto Vizcarra Cornejo (; born 22 March 1963) is a Peruvian engineer and politician who served as President of Peru from 2018 to 2020. Vizcarra Martín Vizcarra's governorship of Moquegua, previously served as List of regional governor ...

. In 2017, he questioned the addendum to the Chinchero airport contract, as, in his opinion, it was harmful to the interests of the State. In this regard, he had a strong controversy with the then Vice President and Minister of Transport and Communications

, whom he described as a "sell-out country". In 2018, he ran for the presidency of Congress, leading a multiparty alliance that wanted to curb the hegemony of Fujimorism in the Board of Directors, but lost with a difference of 14 votes to

Daniel Salaverry Daniel Enrique Salaverry Villa (born 7 August 1972) is a Peruvian architect, businessman and politician. Between 2016 and 2019, he served in Congress representing the Department of La Libertad. Elected to Congress under the Fujimorist Pop ...

Party politics

From 2002 to 2003 he was vice president, of the Popular Action party and from January 2004 to May 2009 he became the president of the Popular Action party.

References

External links

Official Congressional SiteResume on the National Electoral Committee (JNE) site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia Belaunde, Victor Andres 1949 births Living people Popular Action (Peru) politicians Members of the Congress of the Republic of Peru National University of San Marcos alumni 20th-century Peruvian lawyers Politicians from Lima Candidates for President of Peru Center Front politicians