- Ricardo Maduro
Ricardo Rodolfo Maduro Joest (born
April 20 ,1946 inPanama ) is a formerPresident of Honduras and Bank of Honduras chairman. Maduro graduated from theLawrenceville School and laterStanford University . He was President betweenJanuary 27 ,2002 , andJanuary 27 ,2006 , representing theNational Party of Honduras (PNH).Life and career
Maduro's first marriage to Miriam Andréu produced three daughters and a son, Ricardo Ernesto, who was kidnapped at age 25 on
April 23 1997 . Ricardo Ernesto's body was discovered two days later. His death inspired Maduro to aspire to the presidency and gave him the popularity that allowed him to first register and then be elected as a presidential candidate, in spite of a constitutional ban on those not born in Honduras from becoming President. This constitutional ban created great controversy before the 2001 elections. Having been chosen as the PNH candidate, he was eventually allowed to stand. In his campaign he promised to tackle crime and the gang (maras), and immediately brought troops out on to the streets of the large cities to accompany the local police. The PNH held National Congress passed laws making illicit association a crime, which have seen hundreds of gang members put behind bars.In October 2002, he married the
Spaniard Aguas Santas Ocaña Navarro , whom he met when she was a member of the Spanish Embassy in Honduras, with whom he has adopted fivechildren . Shortly after leaving office, Maduro and Ocaña filed for divorce. She consequently moved to Nicaragua with her adoptive children to direct a non-profit organization devoted to children. Maduro remained in Tegucigalpa. Maduro's eldest adopted son is a United States citizen and lives in the U.S.On
1 May ,2005 the plane Maduro was traveling in crashed into the Caribbean Sea off the shore ofTela . Maduro, his daughter Lorena, and the pilot were reportedly not seriously injured and were rescued by local residents. Maduro was taken to a hospital inComayagua to recover.On
November 27 ,2005 Maduro presided over a new set of presidential and general elections which saw the official party lose the presidency to theLiberal Party of Honduras (PLH) and its candidateManuel Zelaya . Zelaya succeeded Maduro onJanuary 27 ,2006 .He currently serves as President of Inversiones la Paz in Tegucigalpa, and is active in the education organization he created in honor of his son, the Fundacion para la Educacion Ricardo Ernesto Maduro Andreu.who
ee also
*
History of Honduras External links
* [http://www.un.int/honduras/cvmaduroingles.htm Biography] at the Permanent Mission of the
United Nations website.
*CIDOB|america_central_y_caribe/honduras/ricardo_maduro_joest
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