Álvaro Colom
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His Excellency Álvaro Colom |
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|---|---|
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| 35th President of Guatemala | |
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In office 14 January 2008 – 14 January 2012 |
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| Vice President | Rafael Espada |
| Preceded by | Óscar Berger |
| Succeeded by | Otto Pérez Molina |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Álvaro Colom Caballeros 15 June 1951 Guatemala City, Guatemala |
| Political party | National Unity of Hope |
| Spouse(s) | Sandra Torres (2003–2011) |
| Alma mater | University of San Carlos of Guatemala |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Álvaro Colom Caballeros (Spanish: [ˈalβaɾo koˈlom]; 15 June 1951) is a Guatemalan politician who was the President of Guatemala from 2008 to 2012, as well as leader of the social-democratic National Unity of Hope (UNE).
Colom was born in Guatemala City, the son of Antonio Colom Argueta and Yolanda Caballeros Ferraté, being the fourth of five siblings. His uncle, Manuel Colom, was a mayor of Guatemala City who was killed by the military in 1979 just after the creation of his political party was approved. He is also the father of Antonio Colom Szarata, the bass player of a Guatemalan pop rock band, Viento en Contra. He and his third wife, Sandra Torres, divorced in 2011 in order for his wife to be able to run in the 2011 presidential election.
After gaining a degree as an industrial engineer at the University of San Carlos (USAC) he became a businessman involved in a variety of businesses, and a government civil servant, including being the founding General Director of the Fondo Nacional para la Paz and Vice Minister of the Economy before turning to politics.
Representing the UNE (Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza) in the 2003 presidential elections, he lost to Óscar Berger on December 28, 2003, this is the closest a left-wing presidential candidate had come to winning the presidency since democracy was restored in 1985.
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