Abdalá Bucaram | |
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38th President of Ecuador | |
In office August 10, 1996 – February 6, 1997 |
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Vice President | Rosalía Arteaga (1996-1997) |
Preceded by | Sixto Durán Ballén |
Succeeded by | Rosalía Arteaga |
Mayor of Guayaquil | |
In office 1985–1986 |
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Preceded by | Bolívar Cali Bajaña |
Succeeded by | Jorge Norero González |
Personal details | |
Born |
Abdalá Jaime Bucaram Ortiz February 4, 1952 Guayaquil, Ecuador |
Nationality | Ecuadorian |
Political party | Ecuadorian Roldosist Party |
Abdalá Jaime Bucaram Ortiz (/ɑːbdəˈlɑː buːkəˈrɑːm/ ahb-də-LAH boo-kə-RAHM; born February 4, 1952) is an Ecuadorian politician and lawyer who was President of Ecuador from August 10, 1996, to February 6, 1997. As President, Abdalá Bucaram was nicknamed "El Loco" ("the mad man," a nickname he himself championed) and was removed from office after being declared mentally unfit to rule by the National Congress of Ecuador. Bucaram and his followers claim that all cases against him have been dismissed. After having lived in Panama under political asylum, he returned to Ecuador in 2017 when the charges against him expired .
Born in Guayaquil, he was the son of Lebanese immigrants. He grew up playing football in the streets of Guayaquil and later went on to become a successful athlete and earn a degree in physical education. He was also a hurdler. He was the flag bearer for Ecuador at the 1972 Summer Olympics but did not compete in the Games due to injury. He was the police chief of Guayas and the president of Barcelona Sporting Club, a football team from his hometown. Besides being a gym teacher, he earned a degree in law and soon began his political career. He used to live in Kennedy Norte, a neighborhood next to the José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport before he left to Panama after the deposition of his government. He was the nephew of the politician Assad Bucaram, who was mayor of Guayaquil. His sister, Martha Bucaram, was married to former President Jaime Roldós Aguilera, both of whom were killed in an aviation accident.