Topic summary
Ollanta Humala
affiliations
Union for Peru (2006)
Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (MA)
Peru
Peruvian ArmyCenepa War
Ollanta Moisés Humala Tasso (born 27 June 1962) is a Peruvian former militaryofficer and politician who served as president of Peru from 2011 to 2016. A leftist, he founded the Peruvian Nationalist Party, but shifted towards neoliberalism and the political centre during his presidency.
Born to a prominent political family affiliated with the ethnocacerist movement, Humala is the son of Quechua labour lawyer Isaac Humala. He entered the Peruvian Army in 1981, eventually achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel. During his time in the military, he fought in the internal conflict against left-wing terrorist group Shining Path as well as in the Cenepa War with neighboring Ecuador. In October 2000, Humala attempted an unsuccessful coup d'etat against President Alberto Fujimori during the final days of his regime; eventually, the Congress of the Republic of Peru granted him amnesty and he was allowed to return to military duty.
Humala entered electoral politics in 2005, founding the Peruvian Nationalist Party (PNP) in order to run in the 2006 Peruvian general election. After finishing first in the opening round, he lost the runoff by a narrow margin to the centre-left former president and Peruvian Aprista Party nominee Alan García. His campaign received widespread international attention in 2006 given the pink tide in Latin America.
In the 2011 Peruvian general election, Humala ran again, defeating Keiko Fujimori of the right-wing Force 2011 in the runoff. To allay fears of radical policies, Humala filled much of his cabinet with centrists at the start of his term. His presidency proved unpopular and was overshadowed by corruption allegations involving him and Nadine Heredia. Environmentalists were highly critical of Humala's mining policies, and argued that he reneged on his campaign promise to rein in mining companies.
In 2017, Humala was arrested by Peruvian authorities on corruption charges. Humala attempted a political comeback in the 2021 presidential election, but only received 1.5% of the vote, finishing in 13th place. In 2025, he and Heredia were convicted of money laundering linked to the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht and each sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment; Heredia was granted diplomatic asylum by Brazil and remains there. As of 2026, Humala was the last Peruvian president to serve a full term, with most of his successors either resigning or being impeached.