Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán
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His Excellency Colonel Jacobo Árbenz |
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|---|---|
 |
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| 25th President of Guatemala | |
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In office March 15, 1951 – June 27, 1954 |
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| Preceded by | Juan José Arévalo |
| Succeeded by | Carlos Enrique Díaz de León |
| 1st Minister of National Defense of Guatemala | |
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In office March 15, 1945 – March 15, 1951 |
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| President | Juan José Arévalo |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Carlos Enrique Díaz de León |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán September 14, 1913 Quetzaltenango, Guatemala |
| Died | January 27, 1971 (aged 57) Mexico City, Mexico |
| Political party | Revolutionary Action Party |
| Spouse(s) | María Cristina Villanova (m. 1939–71) |
| Children |
Arabella Leonora Jacobo Árbenz, Jr. |
| Alma mater | Politecnic School |
| Profession | Soldier |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Official website (tribute) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Guatemala
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| Service/branch | Guatemalan Army |
| Years of service | 1932–1954 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | Guardia de Honor |
| Battles/wars |
Guatemalan Revolution Attempted military uprising of 1949 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état |
Colonel Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán (Spanish pronunciation: [xaˈkoβo ˈarβenz ɣuzˈman]; September 14, 1913 – January 27, 1971), nicknamed The Big Blonde (Spanish: El Chelón) or The Swiss (Spanish: El Suizo) for his Swiss origins, was a Guatemalan military officer who was the second democratically elected President of Guatemala, serving from 1951 to 1954. He was also the Minister of Defense from 1944 to 1951. He was a major figure in the ten-year Guatemalan Revolution, which represented some of the few years of representative democracy in Guatemalan history. The landmark program of agrarian reform Árbenz enacted as president was enormously influential across Latin America.
Árbenz was born in 1913 to a middle-class family, son of a Swiss German father and a Guatemalan mother. He graduated with high honors from a military academy in 1935, and served in the army until 1944, quickly rising through the ranks. During this period, he witnessed the violent repression of agrarian laborers by the United States-backed dictator Jorge Ubico, and was personally required to escort chain-gangs of prisoners, an experience that radicalized him. In 1938 he met and married his wife María Villanova, who was a great ideological influence on him, as was José Manuel Fortuny, a Guatemalan communist. In October 1944 several civilian groups and progressive military factions led by Árbenz and Francisco Arana rebelled against Ubico's repressive policies. In the elections that followed, Juan José Arévalo was elected president, and began a highly popular program of social reform. Árbenz was appointed Minister of Defense, and played a crucial role in putting down a military coup in 1949.
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