León Febres Cordero

León Febres Cordero Ribadeneyra (born March 9, 1931) was President of Ecuador for a four-year term 10 August 1984 to 10 August 1988. He has been credited with helping to stop terrorism in Ecuador at his presidency.

The Febres Cordero government promoted a conservative economic policy. While some praised Febres Cordero's economic policies, they became largely unpopular with most Ecuadorians. Several of their ministers were accused of corruption.

Febres Cordero, a close ally of US President Ronald Reagan, was sharply criticized for an increase in human rights violations, including torture and extrajudicial killings. Current leftist President Rafael Correa has set up a truth commission to investigate human rights violations, particularly those that occurred during Febres Cordero's administration.

Febres Cordero faced a military rebellion by members of the air force that demanded the freedom of General Frank Vargas, who was arrested attempting a coup d'etat and who was later pardoned by the National Congress.

Later he became the mayor of Guayaquil for two terms (1992 - 2000) and then ran successfully for a seat in the National Congress of Ecuador. He is a member of the centre-right political party, Social Christian Party, which he still leads.

Febres Cordero has been accused of having great influence on the courts of justice and public offices of the Ecuadorian state. Febres Cordero's power in his party has made public existing differences with Jaime Nebot Saadi, Guayaquil's mayor.

References

* [http://www.edufuturo.com/educacion.php?c=1545/ Edufuturo]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE0D6143BF930A25750C0A96E948260/ NY Times]
* [http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR280021996?open&of=ENG-2AM/ Amnesty International]
* [http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3142726/ ABC News]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE3DD173AF93BA15752C0A961948260/ NY Times]

External links

* [http://www.presidencia.gov.ec/modulos.asp?id=28/ Official Website of the Ecuadorian Government about the country President's History]