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Alfredo Palacio

Alfredo Palacio
Alfredo Palacio (cropped).jpg
42nd President of Ecuador
In office
April 20, 2005 – January 15, 2007
Vice President Alejandro Serrano Aguilar (2005-2007)
Preceded by Lucio Gutiérrez
Succeeded by Rafael Correa
Vice President of Ecuador
In office
January 15, 2003 – April 20, 2005
President Lucio Gutiérrez
Preceded by Pedro Pinto Rubianes
Succeeded by Alejandro Serrano
Minister of Health
In office
November 11, 1994 – August 10, 1996
Preceded by Patricio Abad
Succeeded by Marcelo Cruz
Personal details
Born Luis Alfredo Palacio González
(1939-01-22) January 22, 1939 (age 78)
Guayaquil, Ecuador
Nationality Ecuadorian
Political party Independent
Alma mater Case Western Reserve University
Website www.dralfredopalacio.org

Luis Alfredo Palacio González (born January 22, 1939) served as President of Ecuador from April 20, 2005 to January 15, 2007. From January 15, 2003 to April 20, 2005, he served as vice president, after which he was appointed to the presidency when the Ecuadorian Congress removed President Lucio Gutiérrez from power following a week of growing unrest with his government.

Born in Guayaquil, Palacio is a physician by profession, specializing in cardiology. He studied in his home town and, later, at Cleveland, Ohio, doing residency at Case Western Reserve University, followed by a two-year cardiology fellowship at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States. He later lectured in cardiology and public health at Guayaquil University's faculty of medicine.

Palacio was chosen as Lucio Gutiérrez's running mate in the 2002 election. It was a common sight during the campaign to see Gutiérrez, dressed in his army fatigues, accompanied by Palacio, wearing surgical scrubs. Palacio had previously served as the minister for health during the administration of Sixto Durán Ballén. Many of the ministers he chose were from the Democratic Left (Ecuador).

One of Palacio's first proposals made as president was to hold a Constitutional Assembly to amend Ecuador's 1998 Constitution. For a period of several months prior to assuming office, he had been a critic of the Gutiérrez regime, saying that the country was "falling apart" and in need of "intensive care".


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