José Mujica
| José Mujica | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 40th President of Uruguay | |
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In office 1 March 2010 – 1 March 2015 |
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| Vice President | Danilo Astori |
| Preceded by | Tabaré Vázquez |
| Succeeded by | Tabaré Vázquez |
| President pro tempore of the Union of South American Nations | |
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In role 4 December 2014 – 1 March 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Dési Bouterse |
| Succeeded by | Tabaré Vázquez |
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In office 1 March 2005 – 3 March 2008 |
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| President | Tabaré Vázquez |
| Preceded by | Martín Aguirrezabala |
| Succeeded by | Ernesto Agazzi |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
José Alberto Mujica Cordano 20 May 1935 Montevideo, Uruguay |
| Political party |
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| Other political affiliations |
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| Spouse(s) | Lucía Topolansky |
| Residence | Rincón del Cerro, just outside Montevideo |
| Occupation |
Farmer Politician |
| Signature |  |
José Alberto "Pepe" Mujica Cordano (Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈse muˈxika]; born 20 May 1935) is a Uruguayan politician who was the 40th President of Uruguay between 2010 and 2015. A former urban guerrilla fighter with the Tupamaros, he was imprisoned for 13 years during the military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s. A member of the Broad Front coalition of left-wing parties, Mujica was from 2005 to 2008 and a Senator afterwards. As the candidate of the Broad Front, he won the 2009 presidential election and took office as President on 1 March 2010.
He has been described as "the world's 'humblest' president" due to his austere lifestyle and his donation of around 90 percent of his $12,000 monthly salary to charities that benefit poor people and small entrepreneurs.
Mujica was born on 20 May 1935, to Demetrio Mujica, of Spanish Basque ancestry, and Lucy Cordano, a daughter of Italian immigrants. Mujica's father was a small farmer who went bankrupt shortly before his death in 1940, when his son was five. His mother's parents were very poor immigrants from Liguria. Lucy Cordano was born in Carmelo, where her parents had bought 2 hectares (4.9 acres) in Colonia Jose to cultivate vineyards. Between the ages of 13 and 17, Mujica cycled for several clubs in different categories. He was also active in the National Party, where he became close to Enrique Erro.
In the mid-1960s, he joined the newly formed MLN-Tupamaros movement, an armed political group inspired by the Cuban Revolution. He participated in the brief 1969 takeover of Pando, a town close to Montevideo, leading one of six squads assaulting strategic points in the city. Mujica's team was charged with taking over the telephone exchange and was the only one to complete the operation without any mishaps. In March 1970 Mujica was gunned down while resisting arrest at a Montevideo bar; he injured two policemen and was in turn shot six times. The surgeon on call at the hospital saved his life. Tupamaros claimed that the surgeon was secretly Tupamaro and this is why his life was saved. In reality the doctor was simply following ordinary medical ethics. At the time the president of Uruguay was the controversial Jorge Pacheco Areco, who had suspended certain constitutional guarantees in response to MLN and Communist unrest.
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