Sixto Durán-Ballén | |
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Sixto Durán Ballén in 2011.
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37th President of Ecuador | |
In office August 10, 1992 – August 10, 1996 |
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Vice President |
Alberto Dahik (1992–1995) Eduardo Peña Triviño (1995–1996) |
Preceded by | Rodrigo Borja |
Succeeded by | Abdalá Bucaram |
12th Mayor of Quito | |
In office August 1, 1970 – February 16, 1978 |
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Preceded by | Jaime del Castillo |
Succeeded by | Álvaro Pérez Intriago |
Personal details | |
Born |
Sixto Alfonso Durán-Ballén Cordovez July 14, 1921 Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
Died | November 15, 2016 Quito, Pichincha Province, Ecuador |
(aged 95)
Resting place | Church of Santa Teresita, Quito |
Nationality | Ecuadorian |
Political party | Republican Union Party (1991–2016) |
Other political affiliations |
Social Christian Party (1951–91) |
Spouse(s) | Josefina Villalobos (m. 1945–2016) (his death) |
Alma mater |
Stevens Institute of Technology University of Wisconsin-Madison Columbia University |
Sixto Alfonso Durán-Ballén Cordovez (July 14, 1921 – November 15, 2016) was an Ecuadorian political figure and architect. He served as Mayor of Quito between 1970 and 1978. In 1951, he founded a political party, the Social Christian Party. In 1991, he left the Social Christian Party party and joined a newly formed conservative group, the Republican Union Party, before running for president for the third time in 1992.
Ballén was elected as President of Ecuador in 1992. He served as congressman in 1984 and again in 1998. Under his campaign slogan, "Ni un paso atrás" (Not one step back), he helped to modernize the Ecuadorian economy while facing challenges from the World Bank and oversaw and resolved the Cenepa War during the last years of his presidency. He received positive ratings, upon leaving office four years later on August 10, 1996. His presidency was seen favorably by the public polls, but received mixed opinions from scholars.
Ballén was born on July 14, 1921, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was born while his parents, Sixto Durán-Ballén Romero and Eugenia Cordovéz y Cayzedo, were on a diplomatic mission in the United States.
Ballén studied at San Jose La Salle College in Guayaquil. At first, Ballén pursued a career in architecture and went to study abroad at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and at Columbia University.
He married Josefina Villalobos in 1945.
Durán was one of the founders of the Catholic Social Christian Party (PSC). Under the presidency of his party colleague Camilo Ponce Enríquez, he served as minister of public works from 1956 to 1960. Subsequently, he worked for the Inter-American Development Bank. He was elected Mayor of Quito in 1970 and re-elected in 1974.